Andreas Thom, the first German to play for the hoops and the first East German to score for the unified Germany…
Andreas Thom became the first German to play for Celtic when Tommy Burns splashed out a then club record of £2.3 million to bring the Bayer Leverkusen man to Glasgow.
Andy was a terrific talent and his signing was a statement by Tommy Burns that we meant business and the club would be making a major challenge to Rangers.
Andy not only holds the distinction of being the first German to play for Celtic, five years earlier he had the honour of being the first East German player to score for the reunified German international side.
The destruction of the Berlin Wall in 1989 inevitability led to the reunification of Germany. East became absorbed into the German republic and the nation was United again for the first time since 1949.
Andreas Thom Co Trainer Hertha BSC a Juniors Bundesliga North North East Season 2022 23 on 08 10 2022 in Magdeburg
That of course meant a unified football side and East Germans were integrated into a full German side with their fellow pros from the former West Germany.
The West had undeniably the much better players, winning the 1990 World Cup in Italy proved just that. With players like Jurgen Klinsmann, Rudi Voller and Lothar Matthaus it was going to be hard for the former East Germans to break into the squad.
Andreas Thom Glasgow Celtic FC 11 March 1996 Photo Mary Evans Allstar
As it happened two of them were judged to be worthy of a place alongside the world champions. Andy Thom along with Matthias Sammer were both named in the squad to play Switzerland in a friendly on 19 December 1990, the first match for the reunified German national team.
Sammer of Stuttgart was a talented midfielder who won 23 caps for the East. Thom who also holds the distinction of being the first East German to play in the Bundesliga when he signed for Bayer Leverkusen in 1989, was an experienced talented attacker who won 51 caps for East Germany scoring 16 goals.
Andreas Thom Glasgow Celtic FC 19 August 1997. Photo Mary Evans Allstar
Sammer started the game with Thom having to make do with a place on the bench. On the 74th minute Sammer gave way for his former East team mate and within 30 seconds of being on the field Andy had the ball in the back of the net, and in doing so became the first East German to score for the new Unified German side. A proud bit of history for Andy.
Andy played a few more games for Germany, 10 in total and added another goal to his tally. He also played in the 1992 euro final defeat to Denmark. Andy certainly has achieved a lot in his career, being the first East German to score for the German national team will be one of his most memorable.
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Here are some of Andreas Thom’s goals for Celtic…some player he was!
And as you would probably expect the Scottish media were trying their best to get rid of another top Celtic player…
26 Aug 1997: Andreas Thom (centre) and Morten Wieghost of Celtic celebrate a goal during the UEFA Cup Preliminary round second leg match against against Tirol Insbruck at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland. Celtic won 6-3 on the night and 7-5 on aggregate. Photo: Stu Forster /Allsport
28 SEP 1995: ANDREAS THOM OF CELTIC IS BROUGHT DOWN BY BADRI PHUTKARSDZE OF BATUMI DURING THE CELTIC V DINAMO BATUMI MATCH IN GLASGOW, SCOTLAND. Photo: Ross Kinnaird/ALLSPORT
July 1996: A portrait of Andreas Thom of Celtic football club taken during the team photo-call.. Photo: Allsport UK
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