He is the German striker of the hour and “on everyone’s lips,” as St. Pauli coach Alexander Blessin said about Tim Kleindienst before Sunday’s clash. The Borussia Mönchengladbach striker has really hit the ground running at his new club this season, becoming a national player and also a snapper in the DFB uniform. Things didn’t always go so smoothly, knows Blessin, who experienced Kleindienst’s major crisis up close.
The results: more than impressive. Kleindienst, who moved from 1. FC Heidenheim to the “Fohlen” in the summer for a fee of around seven million euros, scored six goals and prepared four in ten league games. The 29-year-old made his debut for the national team in October, for which he played four games and scored two goals – in a 7-0 win against Bosnia-Herzegovina and their goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj, with whom he will now face again. Kleindienst’s market value is now estimated at eight million euros.
Blessin knows DFB starter Kleindienst from Ghent
The 1.94 meter man is currently enjoying by far the best phase of his career and hopes to take part in the 2026 World Cup. The most difficult phase was not long ago.
“He’s a late starter, which I experienced myself in Gent when things weren’t going so well,” says Blessin about Kleindienst, who moved from Heidenheim to the Belgian first division club KAA Gent in 2020 and signed a four-year contract. But after a disappointing first six months with just one goal in 15 league appearances, Kleindienst initially returned to Heidenheim on loan, but was later bought back.
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At the time, Blessin was the coach of Gent’s league rivals KV Oostende and of course had an eye on what was going on in the league. In the direct duel between the clubs, Blessin’s team won 2-1, Kleindienst was only on the bench for 90 minutes.
Kleindienst has a bad record against St. Pauli
The second division top scorer at the time tried to “jump abroad”. That didn’t work out that way, he went back and found his old strength again in his usual environment and has now proven it at the new club in Mönchengladbach,” says Blessin, summing up the new national player’s career and praising: ” He is currently the figurehead of Mönchengladbach, but you have to make it clear that he is not just one person, they also have a lot of qualities as a team.” Borussia is “not FC Kleindienst”.
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By the way: In nine second division games against St. Pauli, Tim Kleindienst scored three goals in the Heidenheim jersey, but he and his team were only able to celebrate a win against the neighborhood club once. His personal record against the brown-whites: one win, two draws, six defeats – and of all things, he scored in the lost duels. If Blessin & Co. have their way, it can stay that way.
