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Fullname: Andreas Thom
aka: Andy Thom
Born: 7 Sep 1965
Birthplace: Ruedersdorf, Germany
Signed: 28 July 1995
Left: 14 Jan 1998
Position: Midfielder/Forward
Debut: […]
Internationals: East Germany/Germany (after unification)
International Caps: 51 for East Germany, 10 for re-unified Germany
International Goals: 16 for East Germany, 2 for re-unified Germany
Biog
“The Celtic supporters sometimes forget Andy Thom. He was a quality player and just a really good footballer. He brought creativity but he also brought brains. He was the brains behind the operation and he made Celtic tick and not in an ordinary way. That was something that Celtic needed.”
Pierre van Hooijdonk
German striker Andreas Thom arrived at Celtic from German side Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 1995 for around £2.2million. He was a tremendous capture for Tommy Burns and went on to be a huge fan favourite over his three seasons with the club.
Thom was born and brought up in what was East Germany and spent much of his early career playing for Dynamo Berlin winning numerous championships with them and becoming a regular member of the East German national team. He made a big money transfer to Bayer Leverkusen in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin wall and remained with the club until June 1995. He was wanted by Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund but he chose to sign for Celtic.
Burns hoped that he would be a partner for Celtic’s main striker Pierre van Hooijdonk and from his first game, Andreas showed the class that had made him a regular contender for East German Player of the Season. He scored goals and he created a lot of goals for others, his experience and ability were invaluable. One of the great points was his goal against Rangers in a 3-3 draw, a fabulous goal from a few yards outside the RHS corner of the penalty box, thundering it in and leaving the Ranger’s keeper flabbergasted.
Towards the end of his first season he was used in a more withdrawn role behind the front two of van Hooijdonk and Cadete and it was hoped that he would fit better in this position in the following season. The end of his first season saw him as easily the Celtic Player of the Season and won the most Man of the Match awards and was regarded as the factor that got the team ahead as far as it did. His guile and craft added enormously to the team.
Pierre van Hooijdonk summarised his importance in the team well:
“Everybody always talks about Tommy Burns side and the Three Amigos. The Celtic supporters sometimes forget Andy Thom. He was a quality player and just a really good footballer. He brought creativity but he also brought brains. He was the brains behind the operation and he made Celtic tick and not in an ordinary way. That was something that Celtic needed.”
He started 1996/97 in his more withdrawn midfield role. He provided the maturity up front and in the midfield along with Paul McStay but was not an automatic choice on the team sheet. The club had bought heavily in investing in Di Canio, Cadete & Van Hooijdonk in recent seasons and the first team was to top heavy for quality. Something had to give. In fact by January 1997 there were rumours that Burns was looking to sell him. A possible move to Karlsruhe fell through and he was allegedly told he could move at the end of the season if he found a club. Hertha Berlin then made a sustained bid for the player which came to nothing but he was thought to be leaving anyway.
He saw out half of the next season with Celtic being under-utilised by new manager Wim Jansen before going back to Germany and Hertha Berlin, he transferred to Dynamo for £275k in January 1998.
A popular player, a book was written about season 1997/98 mainly focussing on Andy Thom with the author using a pseudonym of “The Andy Thom Experience“. A cult player for some.
He continued to play for Hertha till the end of the 2000/01 season. In July 2002 he became Assistant Manager of the Hertha ‘B’ team moving on to become Assistant Manager of the senior team under Falko Gotz. He resigned when Gotz was sacked in April 2007. He remained in football with various stints as a youth coach in German football mostly with Hertha BSC back in Berlin.
Playing Career
| Club | From | To | Fee | League | Scottish Cup | League cup | Other | ||||
| Hertha Berlin | 14/01/1998 | 2001 |
£275,000 | No appearance data available | |||||||
| Celtic | 04/08/1995 | 14/01/1998 | £2,200,000 | 58 (13) | 14 | 6 (2) | 2 | 10 (3) | 4 | 4 (0) | 4 |
| B Leverkusen | 01/08/1995 | 04/08/1995 | No appearance data available | ||||||||
| Totals | £2,475,000 | 58 (13) | 14 | 6 (2) | 2 | 10 (3) | 4 | 4 (0) | 4 | ||
| goals / game | 0.19 | 0.25 | 0.3 | 1 | |||||||
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||||
Fees
1983-1990 BFC Dynamo. Sold to Bayer for 2.2M DM
1990-1995 TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
1995-1998 Celtic. Arrived for club record of 2.2m from Bayer Leverkusen. Sold on to Hertha Berlin for 275k.
1998-2001 Hertha BSC
Honours (Germany)
East German Player of the Year
- 1988
East German Champion:
- 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988
East German Cup:
- 1988, 1989
German Cup:
- 1993
Honours with Celtic
Scottish League
Internationals
UEFA European Championship
- Runner-up 1992
Pictures
Books
Articles
Thom: ‘You couldn’t hear yourself think at Celtic Park’
https://www.bayer04.de/en-us/news/europa-league/thom-you-couldnt-hear-yourself-think-at-celtic-park
09/30/2021
Bayer 04 are away to Celtic on Europa League matchday two on Thursday, 30 September (kick-off: 21.00 CEST).
Andreas Thom is somebody who played for both clubs. In an interview with bayer04.de, today’s youth coach at Hertha Berlin talks about his time in the Scottish capital and the special atmosphere at Celtic Park.
Andy, Bayer 04 face a 1,200-kilometre trip to the Scottish capital for the first away game in the Europa League this season. What can the Werkself expect at Celtic Park?
Thom: There will definitely be a passionate atmosphere – but I don’t think I’m giving anything away there. The atmosphere is always fantastic. It will be difficult for Leverkusen to come out on top.
Celtic are the only club you played for abroad. Do you still have special memories of your time there?
Thom: Yes, definitely. I learned an awful lot and had a great time there. When I was at the club, Rangers (Celtic’s biggest rivals in Scotland, ed.) were stronger than us individually. But we somehow managed to launch a new era. When you look at how many times Celtic were champions – regardless of the rivals’ problems- then that’s alright. (He laughs)
What was your perception of the Scottish way of life and the people when you were there?
Thom: They gave me a really warm reception. I quickly tried to learn the language – even though it was very difficult to understand the Scottish accent. That enabled me to communicate relatively quickly and I felt at home. In retrospect, I can definitely say the move was a good decision back then.
Celtic Park is famous for its unique atmosphere. Why do you have to have been there as a football fan?
Thom: I don’t know if you really have to have been there. But given my experience, I can say that it is simply exceptional there. The fans are absolutely fantastic and really very loud. It’s a pure football stadium where there’s an absolute brilliant atmosphere. Back then, when we were playing against Barcelona, you couldn’t hear yourself think. It was crazy.
Apart from the fans, what else is special about the club?
Thom: It’s a working class club that has stayed loyal to its traditions over the years. The team always give 100 per cent for 90 minutes on the pitch. And even if they don’t always win the fans are grateful for what they see.