Overview
- On Monday Marcel Rapp was officially presented as FC St. Pauli’s new head coach, replacing Alexander Blessin after the club’s recent relegation.
- Rapp says he will demand hard work, pressing and ball‑possession football built on defensive solidity, and he warned the team must adapt to the tighter, more physical 2. Bundesliga.
- He has kept long‑serving assistant Peter Nemeth for continuity and added Jens Schuster from his Hoffenheim/Kiel circle, while other coaching roles such as the goalkeeping set‑up may be reviewed.
- Rapp’s immediate tasks are a full audit of the squad and planning summer preparation, with preseason set to start on 26 June and several first‑team players already linked to exits.
- Sport director Andreas Bornemann frames a medium‑term goal of establishing St. Pauli among Germany’s 'Top 25,' a target Rapp endorsed while noting his mixed recent record at Holstein Kiel — promotion in 2024 and a dismissal in February 2026 — and the extra media and cultural pressures the club brings.