Borussia Mönchengladbach appoints Alexander Blessin to halt four-game losing start

New leadership at Borussia-Park

Borussia Mönchengladbach confirmed on Tuesday that Alexander Blessin has taken over as the club's new head coach on a contract running through June 2028. The 53-year-old manager replaces Eugen Polanski, who was dismissed on 13 September after the team opened the campaign with three consecutive defeats. Interim coach Jan-Moritz Lichte took charge for the subsequent 4-3 loss against FSV Mainz 05 on Saturday and will remain on staff as one of Blessin's assistants. Mönchengladbach currently sits in 18th place at the bottom of the Bundesliga standings, having collected zero points while conceding 16 goals across its opening four fixtures, the poorest defensive start over four matches in the club's history. Blessin is the sixth head coach to lead the team since Marco Rose departed the club in the summer of 2021, following tenures by Adi Hütter, Daniel Farke, Gerardo Seoane, and Polanski.

The club officially scheduled the formal introduction of the new manager for Wednesday afternoon.

Blessin will be officially unveiled at a press conference at ista-Borussia-Park at 13:30 CEST on Wednesday, 23rd September, with Head of Sports Rouven Schroeder in attendance.

Defensive rebuilding during the international break

Blessin arrives with an immediate mandate to reorganize a defense that conceded four goals per game through the opening month of the season. His initial training sessions will take place under difficult personnel conditions because all four of the squad's primary central defenders are absent on international duty. Kevin Diks, Jan Leszczyński, Ko Itakura, and Fabio Chiarodia have all joined their respective national teams for the September international window. Head of sports Rouven Schröder had reported reaching an oral agreement with a new coach following Saturday's defeat to Mainz before finalizing the paperwork on Tuesday. The club's leadership previously retained Polanski after a 12th-place finish last season, opting instead to overhaul the playing roster during the summer transfer window before changing direction after matchday three.

Coaching trajectory across Europe

Born in Bad Cannstatt, Stuttgart, Blessin played as an attacker during his playing career, making seven Bundesliga appearances for VfB Stuttgart alongside 45 appearances in the 2. Bundesliga for Stuttgarter Kickers and stints with Jahn Regensburg. He transitioned into coaching in 2012 within the RB Leipzig youth academy, where he worked for eight years after being recruited by Ralf Rangnick. Blessin earned his first senior managerial role in 2020 with Belgian side KV Oostende, guiding the club to a fifth-place finish and earning Belgian Coach of the Year honors. Following a brief spell managing Italian club Genoa in 2022, he returned to Belgium with Royale Union Saint-Gilloise for the 2023–2024 campaign. In Brussels, he won the Belgian Cup, secured a second-place league finish, reached UEFA Champions League qualification, and received his second Belgian Coach of the Year award before joining FC St. Pauli in the summer of 2024.

Upcoming matches and Rhine derby debut

Blessin's tenure at St. Pauli included guiding the newly promoted Hamburg club to a 14th-place finish and Bundesliga safety in his first season, before the team suffered relegation at the conclusion of the following campaign, leading to his departure in June 2026. The current international calendar gives Blessin nearly three weeks on the training ground before his first competitive match. Mönchengladbach will play an initial friendly fixture on Thursday against Sportfreunde Siegen, followed by an exhibition match on 3 October against Blessin's former club FC St. Pauli at the Millerntor stadium. Blessin will then make his official Bundesliga debut on 11 October in the Rhine derby away against 1. FC Köln at 15:30.