Former Brighton and West Brom defender takes over as head coach of Union St Gilloise | OneFootball

Union St Gilloise have announced the successor to Alexander Blessin as head coach. In a surprising move, the Brussels club have appointed former Belgian defender Sébastien Pocognoli, who was most recently in charge of the Belgian U18 squad, having also had spells with the Union U21 and Genk U18 sides since he retired from football. Pocognoli had retired from the game as a player back in 2021, after helping Union win promotion to the Pro League.

Pocognoli had a very successful playing career. During his playing days the defender spent time with Genk, Standard Liege, AZ Alkmaar and Hannover 96. He also had spells in England, moving to join West Brom from Germany back in 2014 for around €1.5m. The left-back only made 21 appearances for West Brom, spending some of his time with the midlands club on loan at Brighton. Pocognoli made 21 appearances for Brighton, who have since become the sister club of Union.

The defender was also capped 13 times as a Belgian national player. He now takes over from Blessin after the club won their first trophy at the top level for over 100 years. His job is to continue the success that has seen the past three managers in three years challenge for the Pro League title.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson