Full name Thomas Boyd Playing position Team Apps Position Defender | Place of birth Glasgow, Scotland Years Team Height 1.81 m | |
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Date of birth (1965-11-24) 24 November 1965 (age 51) | ||
Thomas "Tom" Boyd MBE (born 24 November 1965 in Glasgow) is a retired footballer. He played for Motherwell, Chelsea and Celtic, and played 72 times for Scotland, which means he is a member of the Scotland national football team roll of honour. Tom now works in the hospitality area of Celtic Park.
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Motherwell
Boyd's distinguished professional career began at Motherwell, where he made a total of 252 appearances. The most notable of his achievements in his time at Fir Park was skippering the Motherwell side that defeated Dundee United 4–3 in the 1991 Scottish Cup Final, considered one of the most exciting in the competition's history.
Chelsea
Boyd's form as an attacking full back saw him win a move to Chelsea that year. However, Boyd struggled to settle and spent only one year at Stamford Bridge.
Celtic
Boyd was transferred to boyhood heroes Celtic in an exchange deal which saw Tony Cascarino going to Chelsea. He played for Celtic for the remainder of his career, serving as club captain from 1997 to 2002. He holds the distinction of having been the captain who lifted Celtic's first league title in 10 years in 1998, preventing bitter rivals Rangers from securing a record-breaking ten titles in a row.
As Boyd's career moved on he began playing more in the centre of defence, whilst continuing to operate at full back on either side of the pitch when required, making him an exceptionally versatile defender. Boyd continued to captain the club after the arrival of Martin O'Neill at Celtic Park in 2000. In O'Neill's first season in charge Boyd played a significant part in the securing of a domestic treble, only the third in the club's history. Boyd became only the second Celtic captain (after Billy McNeill) to captain Celtic in a treble winning season. He also helped them win another Scottish Premier League title in 2001–02.
International career
Tom is the sixth most capped player for Scotland with 72 caps meaning that he is a member of the Scotland national football team roll of honour and can be found in the Scottish Football Museum in Hampden Park. His international career saw him garner 72 Scotland caps, playing at the UEFA Euro 1992 and UEFA Euro 1996 and also 1998 World Cup. In the latter tournament, he scored an own goal in a match against Brazil when the ball deflected off him as he ran back facing his goalkeeper, which gave the Brazilians a 2–1 win in the tournament's opening match.
Managerial career
He retired in 2003, but has remained with Celtic. In 2016, he was named along with Davie Hay as new Ambassadors of the Club. Davie and Tom joined the great Billy McNeill (who was named an Ambassador in 2009) in this role. He has also participated in several charity events such as the Tommy Burns Tribute match and climbing Ben Nevis.