Thomas Hitzlsperger at Celtic – If only Martin O’Neill had taken a chance

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·31 Januari 2026

Thomas Hitzlsperger at Celtic – If only Martin O’Neill had taken a chance

During the early tenure of Martin O’Neill it was a seriously busy time on the transfer front, with the Irishman busy recruiting players to mould this own squad, as he aimed to be true to his word in ‘bringing some success to the football club’.

Big names such as Chris Sutton, Joos Valgaeren, and Alan Thompson where brought in for significantly big fees, before the likes of Neil Lennon arrived a few months later for a similar hefty fee, but Martin also cast his net far and wide in looking for more talent, and one man who had on a short trial period, but unfortunately didn’t make the cut was a certain Thomas Hitzlsperger.

Thomas Hitzlsperger of Villa celebrates scoring with Nolberto Solano during the FA Barclaycard Premiership match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa at The Molineux on March 14, 2004. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

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Hitzlsperger was just a fresh faced 18 year old looking to kickstart his career after being released by Bayern Munich, and was invited by the Irishman on the club’s pre-season tour of Scandinavia and Germany, in a bid to impress.

The midfielder played a few games, and whilst not standing out, he did reasonably well, but unfortunately for the German, he failed to impress the man who really mattered, Martin O’Neill.

Thomas Hitzelsperger of Aston Villa celebrates with team mate Gareth Barry during the Carling Cup, second leg semi final match between Aston Villa and Bolton Wanderers at Villa Park on January 27, 2004. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Martin after all had the likes of Paul Lambert, Stan Petrov, Lubo Moravcik, to call upon in the middle of the park, with Jackie McNamara and Johan Mjallby also able to operate in that area, so it was hardly surprising he didn’t want to take a chance on an unproven youth player. And not forgetting that we would enjoy great success that coming season, in which our midfield played a vital role.

Thomas Hitzlsperger of Stuttgart reacts during the Bundesliga match between VfB Stuttgart and 1.FC Koeln at the Gottlieb-Daimler stadium on November 1, 2008. (Photo by Ralph Orlowski/Bongarts/Getty Images)

Young Thomas didn’t let the rejection get him down, and he immediately headed down south for a trail period with Aston Villa, having much better fortune in Birmingham than in Glasgow, as he won a contract with the Villa Park side.

The rest as they say is history, as Thomas made the grade at Villa, becoming a regular well known figure in English football, as well as making the breakthrough at international level with Germany, winning 52 caps scoring 6 goals.

(L to R) Michael Ballack, Marcell Jansen, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Lukas Podolski of Germany celebrate the 2nd goal during the FIFA 2010 World Cup Group 4 Qualifier match between Germany and Liechtenstein at the Zentralstadion on March 28, 2009 in Leipzig, Germany. (Photo by Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images)

As well as starring for Aston Villa, he excelled for VfB Stuttgart in his native Germany, where he won the Bundesliga, as well as playing in Serie A with Lazio, before returning to England for spells with West Ham and Everton.

After retirement, Thomas who is currently a board member at Serie A side Hellas Verona announced that he was gay, and regularly does splendid work for the LGBT community, encouraging current players to be open about their sexuality. Something he should be greatly proud of.

Thomas Hitzlsperger of VfB Stuttgart celebrates victory at the end of the UEFA Champions League Group G match between Rangers and VfB Stuttgart at Ibrox Stadium on November 24, 2009. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Unfortunately for the Celtic support we didn’t get to see Thomas in a Celtic shirt on a regular basis. A case of what could’ve been.

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