FC St. Pauli has appointed a new coach: Marcel Rapp will take over the Hamburg-based second-division club with immediate effect. The 47-year-old was most recently coach of Holstein Kiel. With the decision to appoint Rapp, FC St. Pauli has now created facts in the coaching question, just under three weeks after the Bundesliga relegation and a long period of uncertainty about the future of Alexander Blessin. Rapp emphasized: 'At FC St. Pauli, a very exciting task awaits and I have a great desire to start preparing for the new season immediately.' The club is ambitious and has continuously developed over the past few years. Andreas Bornemann, FC St. Pauli's sports director, said: 'We are pleased to have won Marcel Rapp as a coach, who brings experience in German professional football and has already proven that he can shape teams and develop players.' Rapp was coach at Holstein Kiel from October 2021 to February this year. In 2024, he achieved the first Bundesliga promotion in the club's history with KSV Holstein - as runner-up behind FC St. Pauli. However, the Kiel team was relegated directly and did not play the expected role in the second league afterwards. After a defeat in Karlsruhe, Rapp was released after the 23rd matchday and replaced by Tim Walter. FC St. Pauli will officially introduce the new coach on Monday.