Bundesliga 2025/26 Tactical Previews: FC St. Pauli | OneFootball

Having polished off the Bundesliga’s last remaining non-50+1 club (RB Leipzig) yesterday, it’s now time for the fun to begin in earnest. We’ll be examining one of Germany’s famed cult clubs, FC St. Pauli, in the ninth installment of our Get German Football News tactical previews. Who doesn’t love this club? It matters zilch that they weren’t always able to furnish the most entertaining football last season. The atmosphere at the Millerntor is what really counts. That, and the fact  that the club’s politics always provide interesting stories. Sometimes it gets a bit too far left. Other times it’s spot on saving German democracy.

That’ll be the extent to which we cover off-the-pitch matters as pertains to the Kiezkicker. There’s simply too much football-related to get to here. Many are tipping St. Pauli for automatic relegation this season; something that may well happen after they very narrowly avoided their third consecutive one-year Bundesliga stint last season. Remaining in the German top flight on a 32-point-haul counts as a very lucky escape indeed. Neither St. Pauli nor the antithesis of his club, TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, met the 35-point standard. We’ll do our best to cover how things might go this year.

FC St. Pauli

When writing on a club such as this one, the “major” personnel shifts portion of the next section isn’t really accurate. We’ll go into greater depth below. Why? Because how such a small club like this one manages it proves far too interesting. St. Pauli currently maintain by the lowest-value roster in the league. Fellow relegation candidates 1. FC Heidenheim are even nearly €10m ahead of them in total value. This offseason has ended up being a weird one, even by the standards of this weird club.

Managing director Andreas Bornemann and staff usually relied upon Bundesliga clubs to park their developmental talents on loan with them. This continued to be the case last year, though the front office’s “taste for the Isle” had long been apparent with the recruitment of such players as Fin Stevens, Scott Banks, and (technically) Jackson Irvine. Last season, it appears the scouting department spent a great deal of time researching U.K. clubs in search of quirky players. Plenty of outcasts and misfits from other places arrived to.

Let’s delve in.

Major personnel shifts, St. Pauli

Estimated Summer Transfer Balance = +€2.55 million

Desperately seeking to shore up the fledgling attack, St. Pauli began by attempting to follow through with plans to purchase their leading goal-scorer from last year (Morgan Guilavogui). Bornemann and the administrative team executed the pull of a €3m purchase option for the younger Guilavogui brother, but found themselves countermanded by the pull of a €4.5m buyback option from Guilavogui’s parent club of RC Lens. This constituted a big setback for plans to rebuild the attack as Guilavogui was obviously the only offensive player the front office hoped to retain.

The Hamburgers weren’t interested in retaining the services of Freiburg loanees Noah Weißhaupt and Robert Wagner. Attackers Carlo Boukhalfa and Johannes Eggestein were also permitted to leave on free transfers. Strikers Andreas Albers and Simon Zoller, as expected, didn’t see their expiring contracts renewed. In a development probably interesting to no one outside of German footballing circles, Zoller returned to VfL Bochum in order to launch his coaching career. All the best to the former Köln, KSC, and FCK man!

Late May saw St. Pauli secure a fresh loan deal for American midfielder James Sands. In early June, Polish right-back Arkadiusz Pyrka arrived on a free. The return of Bundesliga cult legend Martin Hinteregger to professional football, funnily enough, enabled the Kiezkiecker to snatch up Klagenfurt defender Jannik Robatsch for almost nothing. Things then got moving rather quickly with the signing of English striker Ricky-Jade Jones from Peterborough United and Portuguese attacking midfielder Mathias Pereira Lage from Stade Brest.

In late June, the sales of Philipp Treu to Freiburg and Elias Saad to Augsburg generated a combined €8m in revenue inlays. These were quickly reinvested in Japanese midfielder Joel Chima Fujita and German fullback Louis Oppie. Andreas Hountondji arrived on loan from Burnley with a small loan fee attached. Somehow, it’s reported at least, this club managed to secure a little cash for total transfer flop Maurides in mid July.

Notes from camp, St. Pauli

The fact that virtually all professionals got off to a cracking start in the squad’s first tune-up match of the offseason engendered plenty of excitement. Unfortunately, matters immediately went to pot in just the second exhibition of the summer. Blessin’s charges couldn’t find their way past fourth-tier opponents SV Drochtersen/Assel. This humiliation was the compounded by the loss of Jones. The Englishman underwent shoulder surgery shortly after the defeat. Jones’ fellow new additions Hountondji and Pereira Lage thankfully stepped into the breach to help St. Pauli defeat Denmark’s Silkeborg IF in the third friendly.

Another dominant performance in the Fächerstadt then saw the team trounce the Karlsruher SC 6-1. After an exhibition against SC Liefering couldn’t go through, the Hanseaten really looked impressive in a 2-0 defeat of OGC Nice. Hountondji looked especially impressive as the focus point of the 3-4-3, which absolutely pressed its heart out with defensive leader Eric Smith and Hountondji running a full vertical pivot. Hountondji did everything right finish enough chances to earn a well-deserved hat trick. Encouragingly, Stevens and Banks found the back of the net.

Hountandji and Sinani scored in a 2-2 draw with Coventry City, in which the 3-4-3 with its Hountandji/Smith backbone again looked stellar. It was none other than Hountandji providing the winner again in the final slender 1-0 victory over Hellas Verona. This time, Blessin’s alternate 3-4-1-2 constellation got the job done. The St. Pauli trainer’s “fallback” approach carries with it its own potential, provided wingbacks Pyrka and Oppie do the brave work advancing forward on the flanks.

Winners from camp, St. Pauli

Andreas Hountondji, CF

With the soft performance in the Pokal duly noted, one must still declare oneself impressed with the 23-year-old. Hountondji does a great job of breaking through the lines and getting himself in to solid half-spaces. His confidence seems to ebb-and-flow a bit, but that can be sorted out. Jones was famously supposed to be the summer signing with the most pace. Watching Hountondji rattle off quality sprints nevertheless leaves one wondering if it’s the Benin international who will be dazzling with sharp runs this season.

Something potentially special brewing here. He reminds one a little bit of Omar Marmoush during the now famous Manchester City man’s time with the Kiezkicker, particularly when it comes to the rough edges that still require some work. This African international finds himself in good hands with this club. They know how to groom attackers. Hountondji does look significantly more effective in the 3-4-3. Hopefully, we’ll see Blessin deploy that formation more this season as it works to this player’s advantage.

Arkadiusz Pyrka, RWB

Er….who? Few will have heard of the team’s new starting right-back. The club’s official first summer signing didn’t even provide pundits with much recent scouting material as he sat out the entire second half of the season with his Polish club due to a contract dispute. The 22-year-old did assemble plenty of experience with the Ektraklasa club in four previous seasons spent as a regular starter for Piast Gliwice. He’s also a heavily-capped Polish U21 international who featured in this summer’s championship. Blessin has used him as a wingback on both sides of the 3-4-3 in the test fixtures.

A few glaring marking and positional errors from this youngster were to be expected as there’s rust to shake off. Otherwise, largely encouraging stuff. Pyrka scored in the KSC test fixture, registered an assist in the Silkeborg win, and turned in solid performances against Nice and Coventry. The experiment of using him on the left against Verona didn’t quite work out, but that’s nothing to be overtly concerned about. Looks to be a memorable season for this kid. Nice little short and stocky ankle-biter.

Joel Chima Fujita, CM

This hard-working Japanese international fits style of football St. Pauli prefer to play perfectly. The 23-year-old drops deep to engage in the hard work of winning balls ahead of the charge. One can even envision him filling in along the back-line in the event that, like last year, injury issues begin piling up. Fujita started alongside USMNT international James Sands in nearly all of the pre-season friendlies. One honestly didn’t notice captain Jackson Irvine’s absence whenever scouting this team. It shall prove interesting to see where Fujita lands once Irvine comes back.

James Sands, CM

It’s a new season for the NYCFC man. Nice to witness him back in action after seeing his promising start last spring de-railed by injury. Sands slotted into Blessin’s system almost perfectly during his five starting deployments last January and February. He seems to have a good symmetrical rapport with Fujima and St. Pauli definitely want to use him in order to activate the automatic purchase clause they couldn’t trigger last season. The 25-year-old brings a balanced game to the midfield. He’s worked both the left and right six slants and even scored a goal in the pre-season.

Eric Smith, CB

The Swede always maintained a solid fan-base among German football watchers. Admittedly, that in part had something to do with the fact that we liked reminding ourselves that his last name is properly pronounced “[SMI-the]”. Cool. Forced into the back-line last season due to injuries, the natural defensive midfielder now remains in the back-three due to the personnel logjam in midfield. By all accounts, the 28-year-old has acclimated well. One can easily confuse him for someone who has been playing as a center back his entire career. Blessin has a great anchor for his defensive line.

Losers from camp, St. Pauli

Manolis Saliakas, RWB

Injury has likely led to the Greek international losing his starting place permanently. That’s rather significant considering the fact that, with two league goals and two assists, this 28-year-old was one of the better performers in the top flight last year. Saliakas has actually had a dust up with Blessin over playing time and work load management during camp. The former Olympiakos man wants to play and fight his way back into the XI. Problematically, Saliakas happens to be struggling with those wretched public bone problems. Ouch. Think Leroy Sané and Mark Uth. That injury sometimes never fully heals.

Karol Mets, CB

The Estonian might also never re-claim his starting slot from the very impressive Hauke Wahl. Mets didn’t even feature for the team beyond the 10th match-day last season. The 32-year-old probably needs to think about obtaining his coaching license at this point. International retirement at the nice round figure of 100 caps also sounds like a good idea. In the event that this club gets relegated, he could once again prove to be a crucial actor in the 2. Bundesliga for St. Pauli. For the time being, he’ll probably remain in the dugout even when fit.

Oladapo Afolayan, LW

To his credit, the Brit has demonstrated some great drive whenever used in the preseason. He started and scored against Silkeborg and Karlsruhe on the left wing. Used more as a service striker against Coventry, it was more of a mixed bag. On a general level, stamina and consistency still seems to be an issue for the 27-year-old. Afolayan experienced similar problems during his late-season tank last year. Based on what one observed in the Pokal, it looks like he’s burned himself out again.

Tactical Scout, St. Pauli

The 0-0 scoreline at the Millerntor Saturday afternoon deceives. Blessin’s St. Pauli outshot visiting Norderstedt 41-9 and racked up 3.7 xG to their guest’s 0.7. What feels like a lucky escape for the hosts via a penalty-shoot was actually a fairly dominant performance from the hosting Hamburger. One expected a tense affair as St. Pauli-Eintracht Norderstedt counted as a derby of sorts. Norderstedt actually lies just outside the city limits of the Hanseatic city-state. Hamburg public transit and even the airport runway extend into the Schleswig-Holstein village.

Both clubs were adamant that the match should be played at the Millerntor. Norderstedt waived hosting rights to give their fans a chance to experience the world-class atmosphere just a single U-Bahn trip away. Norderstedt keeper Lars Huxsohl clearly got the memo and drew from the traveling support to deliver the game of his life. Huxsohl initially brought it in the shootout as well, before an early stutter step against Fujita in the second round caused him to rattle. No shortage of pop from Blessin’s initial selection.

Lineup—St. Pauli (DFB Pokal)

Huxsohl saved strong efforts from Wahl, Pereira Lage, and Sinani in the opening 20 minutes. Fujita also hit the post, as he did in the shootout. More massive parries against Sinani, Hountondji, and Pereira Lage followed. Saliakas, Afolayan, and Abdoulie Ceesay got their looks in off the bench. Ceesay played like something of a madman. The Gambian clearly wants more minutes this season, but also clearly needs to work on his finishing. Pereira Lage also hit the crossbar.

Blessin stuck with the 3-4-1-2 throughout, but it’s foreseeable that we’ll behold the return of the 3-4-3 against Borussia Dortmund next week. Everything just works better with Smith and Hountondji on a vertical chain. Afolayan might get another crack at the XI on the left-hand-side, but for the time being it makes more sense to move Sinani up to the top axis on the right. The Luxembourg international can easily slide back in behind on the forward press. With plenty of rotations, this works:

Lineup—St. Pauli (Projected)

An unchanged XI from the Pokal fixture sees Hountondji work as a false-nine, Smith reverse pivot, and the midfield cluster more tightly together. Blessin has likely been preparing for Dortmund for quite some time. This arrangement breaks up play (at least to the extent that BVB doesn’t already do it themselves) well enough. A point gained in the opener can serve as a huge boost for this team.

GGFN | Peter Weis