FC St. Pauli

Andreas Bornemann/Alexander Blessin on…

…the reasons for appointing Alexander Blessin as new head coach:

Andreas Bornemann: "We started looking at the issue very early and drafted a set of requirements. The aim was to see who fits us, the team and the situation of us just getting promoted to the Bundesliga. It was also about who stands for a certain type of football that we think fits the Millerntor. With Alex you can say he does in fact meet virtually all of the requirements we placed on the new coach. He's also worked with teams with an international makeup. The initial talks aroused curiosity and interest on both sides. We took time for a further meeting at the Kollau training complex to make absolutely sure both parties made the right decision. We weren't entirely sure about Alex's contractual situation, especially after the cup win and finishing runners-up in the league, but we knew we had to have good arguments and be convincing. Today he's sitting here and we're able to unveil Alexander Blessin as our new head coach, which we're very glad to do."

…the decision to become head coach of FC St. Pauli:

Alexander Blessin: "The news came out on various media yesterday and I was bombarded with emails from all over Germany and Belgium, basically saying 'awesome club' and 'great stuff'. The club has incredible pulling power. I was curious after the initial talks with Andreas and we intensified the discussions. The more we talked, the more interesting it became. Now I'm sitting here and I'm really looking forward to this new challenge and new chapter. There's lots of crossover between us and points that fit with my playing philosophy. Fabian Hürzeler did an incredibly good job here, but I'm not Fabian 2.0, I'm Alex Blessin. You can see there's lots of crossover from the statistics. I think it's a good fit and I'm looking forward to the new assignment."

…the outlook for next season:

Alexander Blessin: "I'm not scared of names and there'll be no adventures here. We aim to show this football, which is very intense and shaped to a great extent by how we want to play against the ball, but it will also come down to what we do with the ball, and the team did that with great success last season. The question is, of course, how many opportunities we get to exploit this potential in the first division. We have to find the right balance, the desire and the tenacity, and bring the right mentality to the pitch. In the last 18 months you saw a team on the pitch that had found the right balance. Looking ahead to the Bundesliga, the task will be to adjust that balance because we won't have the same levels of possession. As far as pressing and gegenpressing are concerned, we want to maintain the same style and be brave and aggressive in both directions."

…the current squad and potential changes:

Alexander Blessin: "We're already in discussions. Losing Marcel Hartel and his 30 combined goal contributions is no small thing. You can only compensate for that with team cohesion. The other players have to give an extra ten per cent, but it's also a chance for other players to move more into focus. We're discussing what additional options and variability would be good for the team and we'll get down to that soon."

Andreas Bornemann: "It's now a question of fine-tuning. Whether it's two, three or five changes and adjustments – the parts again have to fit together well. When the talks became more concrete, we went to the next stage. We've had to put the brakes on slightly in the last two or three weeks and put our decisions on hold because we want to fill the vacant places in the squad in line with his thoughts and ideas. We're at the beginning of the transfer period and have a foundation to start from. Alex can gather lots of impressions from the team and look to what extent his ideas can be put into practice with the existing squad. It's a process that never ends. We're entering a really important phase. Having opted to go with Alex as our head coach, the work starts in earnest and we're both working flat out now."

Photos: FC St. Pauli