How Blessin made FC St. Pauli better

FC St. Pauli could celebrate staying in the Bundesliga on Saturday against VfB Stuttgart. This would be a huge success for the club, but also for coach Alexander Blessin. The coach has developed his team and himself, as the data shows. This makes him attractive to others.

How much boundaries—and even one's own expectations—can shift was perhaps best expressed last Sunday by St. Pauli midfielder Philipp Treu. "Given our poor performance after the break, we can be satisfied with the point," he said after the 0-0 draw in the northern clash with European Cup hopefuls Werder Bremen.

Treu and Co. had clearly dominated SVW, who had previously celebrated four consecutive victories, in the first half at the Weserstadion, so much so that at times one could wonder who was actually fighting for survival and who for European glory. Their tools: excellent positional play, aggressive pressing, and decisive tackling. Core characteristics of Blessin's football.

The fact that this did not work out so well in the second half against a now better Werder team was enough for Treu to make his rather harsh assessment, even though his team still impressed with a combative and mentally resilient performance.

The 24-year-old also shared the equally correct assessment of many teammates that the Brown-Whites had lost such a game in the first half of the season and that a clear improvement could be seen in this regard. Yet it was important for him to point out that he missed the clarity "in our discussions" and "the intensity on second balls" in the second half. St. Pauli, which can finally secure its relegation on Saturday against VfB Stuttgart (3:30 p.m., on NDR Livecenter), has pushed its own boundaries.

Treu's statement reflects increased demands on himself, a clear stance, and a constant drive for development. Things that coach Blessin has constantly demanded since taking over last summer – from his players, but also from himself. Data from the Global Soccer Network (GSN) also illustrates how well the 51-year-old has achieved this over the past nine months.

The GSN experts attest to the Stuttgart native's "noticeable progress in his tactical management and flexibility." His work at FC St. Pauli this season, his first Bundesliga coaching position, can be divided into three phases:

Philosophy:

• Brave, aggressive approach with a front pressing line of three players.
• Offensive width via the high-positioned wingers.
• Active ball winning in the attacking third and quick switching.

Points earned:

• In the first 24 match days, St. Pauli scored 21 points, which corresponds to an average yield of 0.88 points per game.

This made it clear that while their style of play was courageous, it wasn't yet consistently successful in terms of scoring points. Team development:

• At the end of the 2023/2024 season (before Blessin), FC St. Pauli's GSN index was still at 61.95.
• Even before the start of the 2024/2025 season, with the targeted new additions that Blessin integrated, it rose slightly to 62.95.

Philosophy: Starting on matchday 25, Blessin made a tactical adjustment and switched to a 3-5-2 formation. According to GSN, however, this change was "not a pure system change—it was an expression of Blessin's conscious strategic development."

• The additional central midfielder brought more presence in the center, helped control the rhythm of the game and created superior numbers in the ball circulation.
• At the same time, the game became somewhat more compact and stable. The full-backs remained somewhat more defensive, while the center was able to react more flexibly to transitional moments.
• Blessin deliberately decided against using a third striker and instead opted for a more balanced center – risk and stability were more consciously balanced than at the beginning of the season.

Points earned:

• Between matchdays 25 and 29, St. Pauli earned eight points (1.60 points per game). According to GSN, the jump from 0.88 to 1.60 points per game underscores "that Blessin's change was having an impact."

Team development:

• Parallel to the improved points tally, the team's qualitative development continued. By matchday 29, the GSN index had risen to 63.29.

Philosophy: Starting on matchday 30, Blessin returned to the 3-4-3 formation. However, according to the GSN analysis, "not to fall back into old patterns, but to react specifically to the respective game situation."

• Against opponents who acted more openly or wanted to play offensively, Blessin again used the advantages of his original system: more width, more offensive presence and a greater danger of pressing the opposing defenders.
• This return showed that Blessin now consciously uses his systems as tools: depending on the opponent, the situation and his own game idea.

St. Pauli interpreted the 3-4-3 more maturely:

• The eights supported the pressing more intelligently.
• The distances during phases of possession were more compact.
• The transition movements were no longer focused exclusively on speed, but also on ball control and continuation of the game.

Points earned:

• In matchdays 30 and 31, St. Pauli picked up two points, which corresponds to an average of one point per game.

Team development:

• The GSN index rose again slightly to 63.31.

According to the GSN experts, Blessin's primary goal in the first phase was to "implement his signature style and give the team a strong foundation" – with high pressing intensity, good wing play, and vertical transition. However, especially at the beginning of the season, "there was also a certain vulnerability in tight games against deep-lying or strong opponents: If the opponent was able to circumvent the pressing or defended very compactly, solutions in the final third were sometimes lacking."

Over the course of the game, the coach refined his game plan, varied the formation "without betraying it," but also made important decisions during the course of a match through personnel or systemic adjustments.

The substitutions (an average of 4.23 per game) have often had an impact: Seven points – four goals and three assists – have come off the bench for Hamburg so far. Blessin is also good at recognizing game situations and reacting to them by changing systems (ten times in 31 games).

He sees a different level of coordination, said Blessin, who also praised his team for significantly reducing errors in forward defense and positioning. The third-best defense in the league and the fewest yellow cards are just two notable statistics from St. Pauli's season.

The fact that things are going this way is also a result of Blessin's ability to adapt and develop (further), which in turn is related to his career: Initially "socialized" in football as a coach in the youth system of RB Leipzig, he subsequently moved to Italy (CFC Genoa) and Belgium (KV Ostend and Union Saint-Gilloise). Last July, before the start of the season, sporting director Andreas Bornemann raved about the 51-year-old's work: "I'm very happy we found him. He knows the challenges that a higher league brings."

The fact that Blessin has worked at very different clubs "and in very different football cultures" is "a clear plus" for the GSN experts, because the different positions have "made him noticeably more complete": " Blessin has developed from an extremely pressing-focused, sometimes risk-taking coach at Oostende to a flexible, variable game-controlling coach, without abandoning his basic idea of ​​courageous, active football." An analysis that can also be supported by data.

For the data experts, Blessin's development follows a clear line: maintaining basic principles but adapting methods and strategies to compete at a higher level.

Building on the system of his predecessor, Fabian Hürzeler, he has adapted and further developed the "Boys in Brown" style of play for the Bundesliga. Back in February, the Global Soccer Network analyzed that his style of football is even better suited to FC St. Pauli in a higher league than it would have been under Hürzeler. At the Brown-Whites, Blessin plays the most balanced style of football of his career so far, combining pressing, possession, and winning the ball.

And even though his team has the weakest attack in the league, his success proves him right. With a squad that has only been strengthened in certain areas, Hamburg are enjoying a largely worry-free season and can finally secure their place in the league on Saturday against VfB Stuttgart. But the success also awakens interest. Once again. Last season, Hürzeler, still in the thick of the promotion race, had already attracted interest from several clubs.

Blessin, whose GSN trainer index is currently at 68.7 (Bundesliga level) and could rise to 72.6 (international class), is in a league with Heidenheim coach Frank Schmidt, Frankfurt coach Dino Toppmöller and Mainz's Bo Henriksen.

And so, in recent weeks, he's been repeatedly mentioned in connection with other Bundesliga clubs who are having a mediocre (Leipzig) to weak (Wolfsburg) season by their standards. And would he perhaps even be of interest to a club like current champions Leverkusen, who will likely have to let their star coach Xabi Alonso leave?

The GSN index for coaches is comprised of various factors. Relevant factors include:

• the strength of your own team in relation to the strength of the league - points scored are factored.
• player development - do players develop further under a particular coach, do they stagnate or even get worse?
• Tactical flexibility - is a coach able to adapt his team's tactics to suit the situation in order to be successful?
• statistical values ​​of the team - also tactical and technical.

Rating scale:

• 85 - 100: World-class coaches like Klopp, Guardiola or Flick
• 70 - 85: Coaches who have the skills to coach a national team or a club that plays internationally (within the top five leagues)
• 60 - 70: Bundesliga coach
• ...

The GSN experts have a clear opinion on this issue: "From a sporting and strategic perspective, the best option by far would be to stay at St. Pauli for the time being and gain further Bundesliga experience there." A later move to a club like Leipzig would be conceivable "if Blessin can continue his steady development to an international level."

And yet, after this season, sporting director Bornemann could face a kind of Groundhog Day moment when he has to start looking for a coach again.

First, however, Blessin and his team want to finish what they've been working on for 31 matchdays: staying in the league. And to achieve that, the otherwise meticulous and calm Blessin has been happy to use some rather harsh words in recent days: "I don't give a damn who we win against. And if it's against Stuttgart, it's better," said the Swabian native, who has made St. Pauli strong and himself so attractive.

This topic in the program: Hamburg Journal | May 1, 2025 | 7:30 PM

• NDR
• Bundesliga
• FC St. Pauli
• football