Olaf Thon
 |
|||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Olaf Thon | ||
| Date of birth | 1 May 1966 | ||
| Place of birth | Gelsenkirchen, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder / Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1972–1980 | STV Horst-Emscher | ||
| 1980–1983 | Schalke 04 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1983–1988 | Schalke 04 | 157 | (56) |
| 1988–1994 | Bayern Munich | 148 | (30) |
| 1994–2002 | Schalke 04 | 166 | (10) |
| Total | 471 | (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. |
|||
Olaf Thon (born 1 May 1966 in Gelsenkirchen) is a German retired footballer, and a current coach.
Mainly a central midfielder, his 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. Nicknamed The Professor, he also collected more than 50 caps for the German national team.
Thon made his professional debuts at the age of only 17, with local powerhouse FC Schalke 04. 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 FC Bayern Munich in the domestic cup, in a 6–6 home thriller in the semifinal stage; the Bavarians eventually won the replay and the tournament.
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.
...
Wikipedia