Olaf Thon

Olaf Thon (born 1 May 1966) is a German former professional football player and coach.

For the Norwegian real estate developer, see Olav Thon.

Olaf Thon
Thon in 2016
Personal information
Full name Olaf Thon
Date of birth (1966-05-01) 1 May 1966
Place of birth Gelsenkirchen, West Germany
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Midfielder, defender
Youth career
1972–1980 STV Horst-Emscher
1980–1983 Schalke 04
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1988 Schalke 04 167 (56)
1988–1994 Bayern Munich 148 (30)
1994–2002 Schalke 04 166 (10)
Total 481 (96)
National team
1983–1984 West Germany U18 10 (4)
1984–1985 West Germany U21 3 (2)
1984–1998 Germany 52 (3)
Teams managed
2010–2011 VfB Hüls
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Mainly a central midfielder, Thon's 19-year professional career was solely associated to Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich, having amassed more than 500 official games and 100 goals for both combined. Later in his career, Thon played as a sweeper. Nicknamed The Professor,[1] he also collected more than 50 caps for the Germany national team.

Club career
Thon in 1987
Thon with Bayern Munich in 1990

Thon made his professional debuts at the age of only 17, with local powerhouse FC Schalke 04.[2] His impact was immediate, as he scored 14 goals in 38 games to help the Gelsenkirchen side return to the Bundesliga in 1984, as runners-up. Also during that season, he scored a hat-trick against Bayern Munich in the DFB-Pokal, in a 6–6 home thriller in the semi-final stage; the Bavarians eventually won the replay and the tournament.[1]

On 24 August 1984, Thon made his first appearance in the German top level, a 1–3 loss at Borussia Mönchengladbach. During that and the following three seasons, he only scored once in single digits, rarely missing a match for the team.

In the summer of 1988, Thon signed with national giants FC Bayern Munich, as a replacement for F.C. Internazionale Milano-bound Lothar Matthäus. He scored eight in 32 games in his first season, helping the side to the league conquest, which also befell the following year, with the player posting an equal scoring record.

Thon returned to his first club Schalke in 1994, at the age of 28, after winning another league title, although he spent most of the season injured and Matthäus had already returned to Bayern. During his second spell, he played almost exclusively as a sweeper and, in his third year, played in a total of 46 official games, helping his club to the season's UEFA Cup final, where he scored his attempt in the penalty shootout win against Inter (1–1 on aggregate); Schalke could only finish 12th in the domestic league, however.

In his later years, Thon suffered extensively with injuries, only appearing in nine matches in his last two seasons combined. He retired in June 2002 at the age of 36, with Bundesliga totals of 443 games and 82 goals. Subsequently, he worked as marketing manager for the club, until August 2009.[3]

On 1 February 2010, Thon was appointed head coach of VfB Hüls,[4] beginning to work on 3 April.[5]

International career

Thon made his debut for Germany (then West Germany) on 16 December 1984, playing the second half of a 3–2 win in Malta for the 1986 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Subsequently, he was selected for the squads at three FIFA World Cups, helping the nation win the tournament in the 1990 edition in Italy: after only six minutes against Colombia in the group stage (1–1), he played the entire semifinal against England, also scoring in his penalty shootout attempt (1–1 after 120 minutes).

Thon also represented Germany at the UEFA Euro 1988 played on home soil, scoring through a rare header against Denmark (2–0 group stage win), and playing all the matches and minutes for the eventual semifinalists. Due to either injuries or run-ins with national team manager Berti Vogts, the player missed the 1994 World Cup and the Euro 1992 and 1996 tournaments, ending his 14-year international career with 52 caps (three goals). His last international match came against Iran in Germany's last group stage game during the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

Career statistics

Ref.[6]

Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Schalke 04 1983–842. Bundesliga 381474——4518
1984–85Bundesliga 341042——3812
1985–86Bundesliga 341040——3810
1986–87Bundesliga 33810——348
1987–88Bundesliga 281412——2916
Total 16756178——18464
Bayern Munich 1988–89Bundesliga 3282585—4218
1989–90Bundesliga 20820411[lower-alpha 1]0279
1990–91Bundesliga 2560060—316
1991–92Bundesliga 2420020—262
1992–93Bundesliga 32521——346
1993–94Bundesliga 1512000—171
Total 14830862061017742
Schalke 04 1994–95Bundesliga 26130——291
1995–96Bundesliga 30330——333
1996–97Bundesliga 33210120—462
1997–98Bundesliga 2910061—352
1998–99Bundesliga 1622010—192
1999–2000Bundesliga 23120——251
2000–01Bundesliga 4010——50
2001–02Bundesliga 500030—80
Total 16610120221—20011
Career total 48196371442710561117
  1. Appearance in DFB Supercup

Honours

Club

Schalke 04

Bayern Munich

International
Germany

References
  1. Thon, a German great; FIFA.com
  2. "Nachgefragt bei Olaf Thon" (in German). Reviersport. 17 December 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  3. "Thon wird Trainer in Hüls" [Thon to become Hüls manager] (in German). Kicker. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  4. "Thon übernimmt in Hüls – Weltmeister von 1990 folgt auf "Boxer" Täuber" [Thon takes over at Hüls – 1990 World Champion succeeds "Boxer" Täuber] (in German). Reviersport. 1 February 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
  5. "Thon trainiert Fünftligisten" [Thon coaches fifth-tier club] (in German). Die Welt. 3 April 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  6. "Olaf Thon » Club matches". worldfootball.net.
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