Borussia Mönchengladbach appointed Alexander Blessing as head coach

Borussia Mönchengladbach announced the appointment of Alexander Blessing as the team's new head coach. The agreement with the 53-year-old specialist runs until 2028. The official presentation of Blessing will take place on Wednesday, September 23, at a press conference at the ista-Borussia Park stadium. Together with the new mentor, the head of the club's sports department, Ruven Schroeder, will speak to the journalists. Blessing was born in Stuttgart in 1973. He began his coaching career at the RB Leipzig academy, where in 2012 he became the assistant head coach of the U-17 team, and later headed this age group. In 2018-2020, the German worked with the Leipzig U-19 team. After working in the academy, Blessing moved to adult football and took charge of the Belgian side Oostende. In his first season at the professional level, he led the team to fifth place in the Belgian championship and was recognized as the best coach in the country. In January 2022, the specialist headed Genoa, and after completing his work at the Italian club, he returned to Belgium, where he became the coach of Union Saint-Giloise. Together with the Brussels team, Blessin won the Belgian Cup and took second place in the championship, thanks to which the club got a ticket for the qualification of the Champions League. For these results, he was named the best coach of Belgium for the second time. Ahead of the 2024/25 season, Blessing returned to Germany and took charge of St. Pauli, who had been promoted to the Bundesliga the day before. Under his leadership, the team managed to keep its place in the elite division after the results of the first season after its return. However, in the following campaign, St. Pauli was relegated from the Bundesliga, after which the club decided to start a new phase and stopped cooperation with Blessing. Now the German coach will continue his work in the German championship already at the head of Borussia Mönchengladbach.