| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander Matthias Blessin | ||
| Date of birth | 28 May 1973 (age 51) | ||
| Place of birth | Stuttgart, West Germany | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | FC St. Pauli (head coach) | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| –1995 | TSV Georgii Allianz Stuttgart [1] | ||
| 1995–1996 | SV Bonlanden | ||
| 1996–1997 | TSF Ditzingen [2] | 30 | (9) |
| 1997–1999 [3] | VfB Stuttgart [4] | 7 | (0) |
| 1999–2001 | Stuttgarter Kickers [3] | 46 | (6) |
| 2001–2002 [5] | Antalyaspor [6] | 1 | (0) |
| 2002 [7] | Wacker Burghausen [5] | 10 | (1) |
| 2002–2003 [8] | 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig [9] | 33 | (6) |
| 2003–2005 | SC Pfullendorf [8] | 65 | (21) |
| 2005–2006 | 1899 Hoffenheim [10] | 34 | (7) |
| 2006–2008 [11] | Sportfreunde Siegen [12] | 63 | (14) |
| 2008–2009 [13] | Jahn Regensburg [14] | 16 | (0) |
| 2009–2010 | SSV Reutlingen [15] | 20 | (1) |
| 2010–2012 [16] | SV Bonlanden [17] | ||
| Managerial career | |||
| 2012–2018 | RB Leipzig (U17) | ||
| 2018–2020 | RB Leipzig (U19) | ||
| 2020–2022 | KV Oostende | ||
| 2022 | Genoa | ||
| 2023–2024 | Union SG | ||
| 2024– | FC St. Pauli | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Alexander Blessin (born 28 May 1973) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of FC St. Pauli.
Blessin started his senior career with TSV Georgii Allianz Stuttgart. In 2001, he signed for Antalyaspor in the Turkish Süper Lig, where he made one league appearance. [18] After that, he played for German clubs Wacker Burghausen, Lokomotive Leipzig, SC Pfullendorf, 1899 Hoffenheim, Sportfreunde Siegen, Jahn Regensburg, SSV Reutlingen, and SV Bonlanden before retiring in 2012.
Following his retirement as an active player, Blessin joined RB Leipzig as a youth coach in 2012. He left Leipzig in 2020 to accept an offer as the new manager of Oostende in the Belgian First Division A. [19]
He completed his first season with Oostende in fifth place, which led to him being linked to clubs such as Sheffield United and Celtic, as well as being named manager of the year in the Belgian top flight. [20] [21]
On 19 January 2022, he was hired by Serie A club Genoa as the club's new head coach under a two-and-a-half-year contract, after the Italian club paid a fixed fee to activate a buyout clause present in Blessin's contract with Oostende. [22]
After failing to save Genoa from relegation, Blessin was confirmed in charge of the club for the 2022–23 Serie B season, with the goal to lead the Rossoblu promptly back to Serie A. On 6 December 2022, after a string of negative results, Blessin was dismissed from his role with immediate effect. [23] [24]
In July 2023, Blessin became head coach of Belgian side Union SG. [25] He led the club to finish top of the 2023–24 regular season, eight points ahead of second-placed rival Anderlecht. [26] On 9 May 2024, Union SG won the Belgian Cup final 1–0 against Royal Antwerp for the first time after 110 years. [27]
In summer of 2024, he moved to FC St. Pauli. [28]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| KV Oostende | 7 June 2020 | 19 January 2022 | 65 | 26 | 11 | 28 | 40.00 |
| Genoa | 19 January 2022 | 6 December 2022 | 33 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 33.33 |
| Union SG | 3 July 2023 | 27 June 2024 | 58 | 36 | 12 | 10 | 62.07 |
| FC St. Pauli | 1 July 2024 | present | 25 | 7 | 3 | 15 | 28.00 |
| Total | 181 | 80 | 38 | 63 | 44.20 | ||
Union SG
Individual