Pablo Thiam to be new head of sport for the academy
There will be a new face in Berlin next season: Pablo Thiam will join the club as head of sport of the Hertha BSC football academy on July 1st. Fredi Bobic, managing director for sport, agreed upon the deal, which will see Thiam arrive from Bundesliga rivals VfL Wolfsburg to dovetail with Benjamin Weber at the head of the academy setup. Weber, in charge of the Hertha youth since 2014, will take up a role as head of organisation for the academy. “In Pablo Thiam, we have secured a real specialist for our youth department, someone who has worked successfully in this field in recent years. Pablo will enrich our academy with his experience, as well as his ideas and fresh input. He will lead us into the future,” said Bobic of the appointment of the Guinean-born former player.
Hertha will be Thiam’s second executive role after calling time on his career as a midfielder. “After many years in Wolfsburg, I’m looking forward to the job at Hertha BSC. It's an exciting challenge that I want to attack with enthusiasm and conquer with this great team. I can hardly wait to get going in July,” said the man with 31 Guinea caps. Thiam will be returning to the hometown of his wife, former Germany international basketball player Christina Hahn.
[>]Pablo will enrich our academy with his experience, as well as his ideas and fresh input. He will lead us into the future.[<]
Over 300 Bundesliga matches and many years experience working with youth
After spending his childhood in Bonn, Thiam joined the 1. FC Köln academy at the age of 15. After numerous successes at youth level, he made his Bundesliga debut in 1994. After moving on to VfB Stuttgart and FC Bayern Munich, Thiam headed to Wolfsburg where he became not only a key player, but also captain for the Wolves. After playing a total of 311 Bundesliga matches (23 goals), Thiam hung up his boots in 2008. He soon took up a new role with Wolfsburg, serving as assistant to the club’s management as they lifted the Meisterschale in 2009. He then spent nine years as sporting director of Wolfsburg U23s. In July 2018, he took over full responsibility as head of the VfL academy, his final role before moving to the capital.