From Wikipedia: Alan Thompson is a retired footballer. He made 550 appearances for six different clubs. He played as a midfielder and was capped by England, against Sweden in 2004.
Thompson moved to Celtic in 2000 for £2.75 million during manager Martin O’Neill’s first season at the club. He was an integral part of the Celtic team that reached the 2003 UEFA Cup Final where Celtic lost 3–2 in extra time to José Mourinho’s F.C. Porto.
Thompson scored the only goal in the 2005 Scottish Cup Final for Celtic against Dundee United to give the outgoing O’Neill his seventh trophy whilst in charge of the club. He also scored the winning goal against Rangers in two separate Old Firm derby matches and seven against Rangers in all. He had mixed fortunes in Old Firm games, however, being sent off three times – all at Ibrox Stadium. Thompson scored a spectacular goal in the dying minutes as Celtic beat Rangers in the first Old Firm match of the 2004–05 season, in turn securing Celtic’s seventh consecutive win over their Glasgow rivals. Thompson scored several important goals in European competition for Celtic as well; including the opening goal in Celtic’s 2–0 win over Liverpool at Anfield in March 2003 during Celtic’s run to the UEFA Cup Final, and he scored against Barcelona at Parkhead in a 1–0 win a year later to help Celtic reach the quarter-finals of the same tournament.
Under Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, Thompson found first team opportunities limited, and he left Celtic for Leeds in January 2007.
