Emerson Thome
Encyclopedia
Emerson Augusto Thome is a Brazilian former football player who last played for Vissel Kobe
.
He first came to England towards the end of the 1997-1998 season when moving to Sheffield Wednesday
from Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, who signed him from Tirsense
in 94/95, when the "jesuítas" stood one win away from a UEFA Cup position. Whilst at Hillsborough
he became a huge favourite with the Wednesday supporters who nicknamed him "The Wall" due to his physical presence and powerful style - which was recovered from his stint at Tirsense. Thome scored twice for Wednesday, once against Stockport County in the FA Cup and once against Wimbledon in the league.
In late 1999, with The Owls staring at the prospect of possible relegation in the face, he made the move to Chelsea
for a fee of £2.7 million. He was to remain at Stamford Bridge
for just nine months, as he found it hard to break up the tried and tested central defensive partnership of Marcel Desailly
and Frank Leboeuf
. Just one game into the 2000-2001 season Thome was sold to Premiership rivals Sunderland A.F.C.
for a fee of around £4 million, quite a considerable profit for the Londoners. He was replaced by Winston Bogarde
, a move widely regarded as one of the most disastrous transfers of all time. The sale of Thome was reputedly not sanctioned by Chelsea
manager Gianluca Vialli
who left the club a short time later.
During his time at the Stadium of Light
, Thome struggled with injuries and Sunderland were reluctant to extend his contract. A clause in his contract with Sunderland meant that a considerable sum had to be paid to Chelsea after he played 50 matches. Sunderland were not willing to pay the extra appearance based fee, hence their reasons for not playing Thome towards the end of the 2002-2003 season, a campaign which ended in relegation heartbreak. Thome scored twice for Sunderland, netting in league games against Coventry City and Aston Villa.
In August 2003 he joined ambitious Bolton Wanderers
on a free transfer, and became a regular campaigner for The Trotters as they finished in a healthy position in the Premier League, also reaching the final of the Carling Cup where they eventually lost to Middlesbrough
at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium
. He was offered fresh terms to extend his stay with Bolton, but instead chose to move down a division to their near neighbours Wigan Athletic
along with former team mate Per Frandsen
.
This proved a good move for Thome as The Latics where promoted to the Premiership for the first time in their history in 2005. However, Thome was loaned out to Derby County
in November 2005 and was released from his contract at Wigan on 7 February 2006.
Thome then decided to go to Japan to join Vissel Kobe
, who were relegated to second division J2 as it finished at the bottom of the table in 2005 season.
Thome retired after the end of the 2007 season.
|1992/93||Académica Coimbra
||||3||0
|-
|1993/94||rowspan="2"|Tirsense||||25||2
|-
|1994/95||Portuguese Liga
||30||3
|-
|1995/96||rowspan="2"|Benfica
||rowspan="2"|Portuguese Liga
||0||0
|-
|1996/97||0||0
|-
|1997/98||Alverca||||0||0
|-
|1997/98||Benfica
||Portuguese Liga
||16||1
|-
|1997/98||rowspan="3"|Sheffield Wednesday
||rowspan="3"|Premier League||6||0
|-
|1998/99||38||1
|-
|1999/00||17||0
|-
|1999/00||rowspan="2"|Chelsea
||rowspan="2"|Premier League||20||0
|-
|2000/01||1||0
|-
|2000/01||rowspan="3"|Sunderland
||rowspan="3"|Premier League||31||1
|-
|2001/02||12||1
|-
|2002/03||1||0
|-
|2003/04||Bolton Wanderers
||Premier League||26||0
|-
|2004/05||rowspan="2"|Wigan Athletic
||League Championship
||15||0
|-
|2005/06||Premier League||0||0
|-
|2005/06||Derby County
||League Championship
||4||0
|-
|2006||rowspan="2"|Vissel Kobe
||J. League 2
||31||0
|-
|2007||J. League 1||9||0
74||5
171||3
40||0
285||8
|}
Vissel Kobe
is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 1. The team is located in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The home stadium is Kobe Wing Stadium, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home matches are played at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium in Suma-ku.-History:The club was...
.
He first came to England towards the end of the 1997-1998 season when moving to Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
from Portuguese club S.L. Benfica, who signed him from Tirsense
Tirsense
Futebol Clube Tirsense, commonly known as just Tirsense, is a Portuguese football club from Santo Tirso, founded in 1938. They currently play in the Portuguese Second Division Serie A and finished last season in 2nd place, but lost in the playoffs in the 2007-08 season. They currently play their...
in 94/95, when the "jesuítas" stood one win away from a UEFA Cup position. Whilst at Hillsborough
Hillsborough Stadium
Hillsborough Stadium is the home of Sheffield Wednesday football club, Sheffield, England. Football has been played at the ground since it was opened on 2 September 1899, when Wednesday moved from their original ground at Olive Grove. Today it is a 39,812 capacity all-seater stadium, making it the...
he became a huge favourite with the Wednesday supporters who nicknamed him "The Wall" due to his physical presence and powerful style - which was recovered from his stint at Tirsense. Thome scored twice for Wednesday, once against Stockport County in the FA Cup and once against Wimbledon in the league.
In late 1999, with The Owls staring at the prospect of possible relegation in the face, he made the move to Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
for a fee of £2.7 million. He was to remain at Stamford Bridge
Stamford Bridge (stadium)
Stamford Bridge is a football stadium in Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, West London, and is the home of Chelsea Football Club. The stadium is located within the Moore Park Estate also known as Walham Green and is often referred to as simply The Bridge...
for just nine months, as he found it hard to break up the tried and tested central defensive partnership of Marcel Desailly
Marcel Desailly
Marcel Desailly is a retired Ghanaian born French footballer and star of the France national football team squad, with whom he won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000...
and Frank Leboeuf
Frank Leboeuf
Franck Alain James Leboeuf or Lebœuf is a former French international footballer who played as a defender...
. Just one game into the 2000-2001 season Thome was sold to Premiership rivals Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
for a fee of around £4 million, quite a considerable profit for the Londoners. He was replaced by Winston Bogarde
Winston Bogarde
Winston Bogarde is a retired Dutch professional footballer.A player of immense physical strength, he played mostly as a central defender, although he could occasionally appear on the left, and was best known for his spells at Ajax, FC Barcelona and Chelsea.With the latter side, he garnered...
, a move widely regarded as one of the most disastrous transfers of all time. The sale of Thome was reputedly not sanctioned by Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
manager Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli
Gianluca Vialli is an Italian football manager and former player. Since retiring, he has gone into management and punditry and is a commentator for Sky Sport Italia....
who left the club a short time later.
During his time at the Stadium of Light
Stadium of Light
The Stadium of Light is an all-seater football stadium in Sunderland, England. With space for 49,000 spectators, the Stadium of Light has the fifth-largest capacity of any English football stadium. The stadium primarily hosts Sunderland A.F.C. matches...
, Thome struggled with injuries and Sunderland were reluctant to extend his contract. A clause in his contract with Sunderland meant that a considerable sum had to be paid to Chelsea after he played 50 matches. Sunderland were not willing to pay the extra appearance based fee, hence their reasons for not playing Thome towards the end of the 2002-2003 season, a campaign which ended in relegation heartbreak. Thome scored twice for Sunderland, netting in league games against Coventry City and Aston Villa.
In August 2003 he joined ambitious Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
on a free transfer, and became a regular campaigner for The Trotters as they finished in a healthy position in the Premier League, also reaching the final of the Carling Cup where they eventually lost to Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough F.C.
Middlesbrough Football Club , also known as Boro, are an English football club based in Middlesbrough, who play in the Football League Championship. Formed in 1876, they have played at the Riverside Stadium since August 1995, their third ground since turning professional in 1889...
at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
. He was offered fresh terms to extend his stay with Bolton, but instead chose to move down a division to their near neighbours Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
along with former team mate Per Frandsen
Per Frandsen
Per Frandsen is a Danish former professional football player, who won the 1995 Danish Cup with F.C. Copenhagen, and played 265 league games as a midfielder for Bolton Wanderers in England...
.
This proved a good move for Thome as The Latics where promoted to the Premiership for the first time in their history in 2005. However, Thome was loaned out to Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
in November 2005 and was released from his contract at Wigan on 7 February 2006.
Thome then decided to go to Japan to join Vissel Kobe
Vissel Kobe
is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 1. The team is located in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The home stadium is Kobe Wing Stadium, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home matches are played at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium in Suma-ku.-History:The club was...
, who were relegated to second division J2 as it finished at the bottom of the table in 2005 season.
Thome retired after the end of the 2007 season.
Club career statistics
|-|1992/93||Académica Coimbra
Associação Académica de Coimbra
The Coimbra Academic Association is the students' union of the University of Coimbra . Founded in Coimbra on November 3, 1887, it is the oldest students' union in Portugal...
||||3||0
|-
|1993/94||rowspan="2"|Tirsense||||25||2
|-
|1994/95||Portuguese Liga
Portuguese Liga
The Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...
||30||3
|-
|1995/96||rowspan="2"|Benfica
SL Benfica
Sport Lisboa e Benfica , commonly known as simply Benfica or occasionally as Benfica Lisbon, is a Portuguese multi-sports club based in Lisbon. Although they successfully compete in a number of different sports, Benfica is mostly known for its association football team...
||rowspan="2"|Portuguese Liga
Portuguese Liga
The Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...
||0||0
|-
|1996/97||0||0
|-
|1997/98||Alverca||||0||0
|-
|1997/98||Benfica
SL Benfica
Sport Lisboa e Benfica , commonly known as simply Benfica or occasionally as Benfica Lisbon, is a Portuguese multi-sports club based in Lisbon. Although they successfully compete in a number of different sports, Benfica is mostly known for its association football team...
||Portuguese Liga
Portuguese Liga
The Primeira Liga , formerly called Primeira Divisão, currently named Liga ZON Sagres after their main sponsors, is the top professional association football division of the Portuguese football league system...
||16||1
|-
|1997/98||rowspan="3"|Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
Sheffield Wednesday Football Club are a football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, who are currently competing in the Football League One in the 2011-12 season, in England. Sheffield Wednesday are one of the oldest professional clubs in the world and the fourth oldest in the...
||rowspan="3"|Premier League||6||0
|-
|1998/99||38||1
|-
|1999/00||17||0
|-
|1999/00||rowspan="2"|Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
||rowspan="2"|Premier League||20||0
|-
|2000/01||1||0
|-
|2000/01||rowspan="3"|Sunderland
Sunderland A.F.C.
Sunderland Association Football Club is an English association football club based in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear who currently play in the Premier League...
||rowspan="3"|Premier League||31||1
|-
|2001/02||12||1
|-
|2002/03||1||0
|-
|2003/04||Bolton Wanderers
Bolton Wanderers F.C.
Bolton Wanderers Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the area of Horwich in the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester. They began their current spell in the Premier League in 2001....
||Premier League||26||0
|-
|2004/05||rowspan="2"|Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic F.C.
Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
||League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||15||0
|-
|2005/06||Premier League||0||0
|-
|2005/06||Derby County
Derby County F.C.
Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...
||League Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...
||4||0
|-
|2006||rowspan="2"|Vissel Kobe
Vissel Kobe
is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 1. The team is located in Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture. The home stadium is Kobe Wing Stadium, in Hyōgo-ku, though some home matches are played at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium in Suma-ku.-History:The club was...
||J. League 2
J. League Division 2
The or is the second division of and is the second-tier professional association football league in Japan. Currently, J. League Division 2 is the second level of the Japanese association football league system. The first tier is represented by J...
||31||0
|-
|2007||J. League 1||9||0
74||5
171||3
40||0
285||8
|}