BERLIN, Sept. 22 (Xinhua) -- Borussia Monchengladbach has appointed Alexander Blessin as its new head coach on a contract until 2028 as the Bundesliga club looks to recover from a winless start to the season, the club announced on Tuesday.
The 53-year-old succeeds Eugen Polanski, who was dismissed after just three rounds. Interim coach Jan-Moritz Lichte oversaw Saturday's 4-3 defeat to Mainz, leaving Gladbach bottom of the table as the only Bundesliga side without a point after four matches.
Gladbach has conceded 16 goals in four matches. Only Union Berlin has fared worse defensively this season, conceding 17.
Sporting director Rouven Schroeder said after Saturday's defeat that the club needed a "clear direction" from its new coach as Gladbach looks to become more compact following its difficult start.
Blessin returns to the Bundesliga around five months after leaving St. Pauli, where he succeeded Fabian Hurzeler in 2024. He kept the newly promoted Hamburg side in the top flight in his first season, with St. Pauli conceding only 41 goals, the second-best defensive record behind champion Bayern Munich.
The following campaign proved more difficult, as St. Pauli finished bottom of the Bundesliga and was relegated after conceding 60 goals, with Blessin leaving the club afterward.
It will be Blessin's second Bundesliga coaching job. Before joining St. Pauli, he worked abroad with KV Oostende in Belgium, Genoa in Italy and Union Saint-Gilloise in Belgium.
Blessin began his coaching career in RB Leipzig's youth setup, where he spent eight years before leaving in 2020 to take charge of Oostende. He later moved to Genoa before joining Union Saint-Gilloise in 2023.
At Union, Blessin won the Belgian Cup in 2024 and led the club into Champions League qualifying before returning to Germany to take charge of St. Pauli.
His first match in charge of Gladbach will come after the international break on Oct. 11, when Borussia travels to face Rhine rival Cologne.
Gladbach enters the break after four successive defeats, while Cologne has four points from its opening four matches. ■
