Olaf Thon facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Olaf Thon

Thon in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth	(1966-05-01) 1 May 1966 (age 59)
Place of birth	Gelsenkirchen, West Germany
Height	1.70 m
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	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
Honours Men's football Representing  Germany FIFA World Cup Winner 1990 Italy Runner-up 1986 Mexico
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

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

He mostly played as a central midfielder. Thon spent his 19-year career playing only for Schalke 04 and Bayern Munich. He played over 500 official games and scored more than 100 goals for these two clubs. Later in his career, Thon also played as a sweeper. People called him The Professor. He also played more than 50 games for the German national team.

Playing for Clubs

Thon playing in 1987

Thon with Bayern Munich in 1990

Starting at Schalke 04

Olaf Thon started his professional football career very young, at just 17 years old. He joined his local team, FC Schalke 04. He made a big impact right away! He scored 14 goals in 38 games. This helped his team from Gelsenkirchen get promoted back to the Bundesliga in 1984.

In the same season, he scored three goals in one game (a hat-trick) against Bayern Munich. This exciting match in the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) ended 6–6! Bayern Munich won the replay game and later won the tournament. Thon played his first game in Germany's top league on 24 August 1984.

Moving to Bayern Munich

In 1988, Thon joined one of Germany's biggest clubs, FC Bayern Munich. He took the place of Lothar Matthäus, who moved to another team. In his first season, Thon scored eight goals in 32 games. He helped Bayern Munich win the league title that year. They also won the league the next year, with Thon scoring eight goals again.

Back to Schalke and European Glory

Thon returned to his first club, Schalke, in 1994. He was 28 years old. He had just won another league title with Bayern Munich, but he was injured for most of that season. In his second time at Schalke, he mostly played as a sweeper.

In 1997, he played in 46 official games. He helped Schalke win the UEFA Cup! In the final against Inter Milan, the game ended 1–1. Thon scored his penalty kick in the penalty shootout, and Schalke won.

In his last few years, Thon had many injuries. He only played in nine games in his final two seasons. He stopped playing football in June 2002 when he was 36. He played a total of 443 Bundesliga games and scored 82 goals. After retiring, he worked for Schalke as a marketing manager until 2009.

Playing for Germany

World Cup Winner!

Olaf Thon played his first game for Germany (then West Germany) on 16 December 1984. It was a World Cup qualifying game against Malta. Germany won 3–2.

He was chosen to play in three FIFA World Cup tournaments. He helped Germany win the World Cup in 1990 in Italy! He played for six minutes against Colombia in the group stage. He also played the whole semi-final game against England. The game was 1–1 after extra time, and Thon scored his penalty kick in the shootout to help Germany win.

European Championships

Thon also played for Germany in the UEFA Euro 1988 tournament, which was held in Germany. He scored a rare header goal against Denmark in a 2–0 win. He played every minute of every game in that tournament. Germany reached the semi-finals.

Because of injuries and disagreements with the national team manager, Thon missed the 1994 World Cup and the Euro 1992 and 1996 tournaments. He played 52 games for Germany and scored three goals in his 14-year international career. His last game for Germany was against Iran in the 1998 FIFA World Cup.

After Playing Football

On 1 February 2010, Olaf Thon became the head coach of VfB Hüls. He started working there on 3 April. He coached the team until September 2011.

Trophies and Awards

Schalke 04

• UEFA Cup: 1996–97
• DFB-Pokal: 2000–01, 2001–02

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga: 1988–89, 1989–90, 1993–94
• DFB-Supercup: 1990

Germany

• FIFA World Cup: 1990; runner-up: 1986
• U.S. Cup: 1993

See also

In Spanish: Olaf Thon para niños