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Thomas Christiansen

Christiansen with Panama in 2024
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Christiansen Tarín
Date of birth	(1973-03-11) 11 March 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth	Hadsund, Denmark
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Panama (manager)
Youth career
1982–1988	Avedøre
1988	Brøndby
1989–1991	Hvidovre
1991	B.93
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–1996	Barcelona B	60	(28)
1993–1996	Barcelona	0	(0)
1993	→ Sporting Gijón (loan)	10	(4)
1993–1994	→ Osasuna (loan)	14	(1)
1994–1995	→ Racing Santander (loan)	15	(1)
1996–1997	Oviedo	50	(5)
1997–1999	Villarreal	41	(6)
1999	Terrassa	17	(5)
2000	Panionios	12	(3)
2000	Herfølge	4	(2)
2001–2003	VfL Bochum	76	(38)
2003–2006	Hannover 96	55	(12)
Total		354	(105)
International career
1992–1995	Spain U21	11	(3)
1993	Spain	2	(1)
Managerial career
2013	Al Jazira (assistant)
2014–2016	AEK Larnaca
2016–2017	APOEL
2017–2018	Leeds United
2019–2020	Union SG
2020–	Panama
Medal record Men's football Representing  Spain UEFA European Under-21 Championship 1994 France
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Thomas Christiansen Tarín (born 11 March 1973) is a football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of the Panama national team.

Left-footed, he played for a number of clubs in Danish, Spanish and German football over a 15-year professional career, being crowned the top goalscorer of the 2002–03 Bundesliga whilst with Bochum. Born in Denmark, he represented the Spain national team.

In 2013, Christiansen started working as a manager. He led Panama at two CONCACAF Gold Cups, finishing as runners-up in 2023.

Playing career

Early years

Born in Hadsund in Denmark to a Spanish mother, Christiansen was raised in Copenhagen. He started playing football aged nine in Avedøre, then spent one year at Brøndby before moving on to Hvidovre.

Christiansen trained with the youth team of Real Madrid, but when his mother forbade him to join the club, he moved to B.93. In May 1991, he scored six goals in a youth team match against KB, and went back to Spain to train with defending La Liga champions Barcelona.

Barcelona

Christiansen signed a four-year contract with Barcelona in July 1991, when Johan Cruyff was team manager, with a dream of playing alongside their Danish playmaker Michael Laudrup. He started competing as a senior with the reserves, where he soon was joined by compatriot Ronnie Ekelund; during this period, he was frequently called up to train with the main squad, but received almost no playing time due to stiff competition.

When he joined Barcelona, Christiansen agreed to a clause in his contract that stated he would be a Spanish citizen, and thereby not count towards the foreigner quota in the league. After becoming naturalised, he was called up for the under-21 team in December 1992, and scored a goal to help defeat Germany 2–1.

Still playing for Barcelona's B team, Christiansen was called up for the Spain senior squad by manager Javier Clemente, in January 1993, making his debut against Mexico on the 27th and impressing in a game which featured few regulars for the European nation. He prolonged his link with the Catalans until 1997, and made his official debut for the club when he played the last seven minutes of the UEFA Super Cup final – first leg – away to Werder Bremen. He appeared in his first competitive match in a Copa del Rey tie against Atlético Madrid, and was once more selected to the national team, appearing as a substitute in a 1994 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Lithuania and scoring with a flick of the heel in an eventual 5–0 home win.

Without having played any league games for Barcelona, Christiansen was put on loan at fellow top-division club Sporting de Gijón, in February 1993. He was mostly injured during that stint, but managed four league goals, subsequently returning to the Camp Nou where he suffered another injury during pre-season; other loans followed, first at Osasuna then at Racing de Santander in the 1994–95 season, starting well enough at the latter to earn another call-up by Spain, only to pull out due to injury.

Mixed success

Spanish league regulations stated that following three years of loan contracts, Barcelona had to compensate Christiansen financially, if they declined any proposed transfer deal. He was first sold to English club Manchester City in October 1995, but wanted to stay in Spain, being instead transferred to Real Oviedo the next January for DKK 4.6 million. Following a good start, he failed to score any goals in his second year even though he appeared in 31 matches, and was sold to Segunda División's Villarreal in November 1997, helping them promote but managing to find the net only once the following campaign, which ended in relegation.

A proposed deal with a Mexican team never materialised, and Christiansen was without a club in 1999. He went on to play for Terrassa FC in the Spanish lower leagues, finishing that season at Panionios in Greece before returning to Denmark in August 2000, signing with defending Danish champions Herfølge, and showing good form when he scored two goals in a win over eventual runners-up Brøndby.

Breakthrough in Germany

In January 2001, Christiansen moved to Germany to play for VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga, being relegated to the second division (as with Herfølge) but contributing 17 goals the following season to be the North Rhine-Westphalia's team top scorer as they won promotion; he added 21 in next year's top flight, being crowned joint league top scorer with Giovane Élber of Bayern Munich.

Following that achievement, Christiansen was signed by Hannover 96 in June 2003 to replace Fredi Bobic. He scored nine times in his first year, but failed to reproduce his previous form mainly due to several injuries, including a knee operation and two shinbone ailments; in the summer of 2006, the club chose not to prolong his contract and he left, retiring shortly after at the age of 33.

Coaching career

Early spells and AEK

Christiansen started his managerial career in the United Arab Emirates, as part of Luis Milla's coaching staff at Al Jazira, arriving in February 2013 and leaving in October as the latter was fired. In late April 2014 he was appointed head coach of AEK Larnaca in the Cypriot First Division, after having been approached for the job by former Barcelona B teammate Xavier Roca, who acted as director of football; in his first two seasons, he led them to consecutive best-ever runner-up league finishes.

Also during the 2015–16 campaign, Christiansen coached his team to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League, losing 4–0 on aggregate to Bordeaux.

APOEL

On 21 May 2016, after two successful seasons, Christiansen moved to reigning Cypriot champions APOEL, signing a one-year contract effective as of 1 June. On 2 August, they knocked out Rosenborg 4–1 on aggregate in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League, being ousted the following round by Copenhagen and eventually reaching the last-16 stage in the Europa League for the first time in their history.

Christiansen won his first managerial title in 2017 after conquering the Cypriot League, losing only two games during the season and having the best defensive record with 27 clean sheets. He also reached the final of the domestic cup, lost 1–0 to Apollon Limassol; on 25 May a meeting between club and coach was held, and subsequently both decided to part ways.

Leeds United

On 15 June 2017, Christiansen was announced as the new head coach of Championship club Leeds United, after being appointed by new owner Andrea Radrizzani to replace Garry Monk, with the club announcing that they wanted "to appoint someone who can help us create a winning culture at the club and unite everyone connected with Leeds United, from the players to the supporters". Four days later, it was revealed that he would be joined by assistant Julio Bañuelos, fitness coach Iván Torres and goalkeeper coach Marcos Abad.

Christiansen was dismissed on 4 February 2018, after a poor run of results and with the team tenth in the table.

Union SG

On 1 July 2019, Christiansen was appointed at Belgian First Division B's Union SG. He was released in May 2020.

Panama

Christiansen was named new manager of the Panama national team on 23 July 2020, replacing Américo Gallego who was released amid a restructuring of the Panamanian Football Federation. His first games were friendlies away to neighbours Costa Rica on 10 and 13 October, both won by a single Abdiel Ayarza goal.

At the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup, Christiansen's team were eliminated from the group stage after failing to beat Qatar and Honduras. The 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign was ended by a 5–1 defeat to the United States in Orlando in the penultimate fixture.

Christiansen's Panama came fourth at the CONCACAF Nations League finals in 2023. Later in June and July at the Gold Cup, they won on penalties against hosts the United States in the semi-finals in San Diego, but lost the final to Mexico by a single goal.

Career statistics

International goal

Score and result list Spain's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Christiansen goal.

International goal scored by Thomas Christiansen

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	24 February 1993	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Lithuania	4–0	5–0	1994 World Cup qualification

Managerial statistics

As of 18 November 2024

Honours

Player

Barcelona

• UEFA Super Cup: 1992

Spain U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship third place: 1994

Individual

• Bundesliga top scorer: 2002–03 (shared with Giovane Élber)

Manager

APOEL

• Cypriot First Division: 2016–17
• Cypriot Cup runner-up: 2016–17

Panama

• CONCACAF Gold Cup runner-up: 2023

See also

• List of Spain international footballers born outside Spain

References

1. ^ Thomas Christiansen at WorldFootball.net
2. Danish pronunciation: [ˈtsʰʌmæs kʰʁeˈstjænˀsn̩ taˈʁin], Spanish: [ˈtomas kɾisˈtjansen taˈɾin]
3. ^ Uno, Steen (4 July 1991). "Cruyffs nye stjerneskud Thomas fra Hvidovre" [Cruyff's newest star from Hvidovre]. BT (in Danish).
4. "Football: Top to Bochum; Dane from Spain Thomas gives new boys dream start". The Free Library. 26 August 2002. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
5. "AEK Larnaca make sixth signing". Parikiaki. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
6. Kristensen, Jens-Carl (30 June 1991). "Pingel bliver den næste" [Pingel will be the next]. Berlingske (in Danish).
7. "Drømmen er at spille med Laudrup" [Dream of playing with Laudrup]. Ekstra Bladet (in Danish). 31 July 1991.
8. "Jonathan Soriano se convierte en el máximo goleador de la historia del filial" [Jonathan Soriano becomes the highest goalscorer in the history of the reserves]. La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 2 March 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
9. ^ Perera, Juanma (25 October 2016). "Thomas Christiansen, entre contrastes y azares" [Thomas Christiansen, between contrasts and jinxes] (in Spanish). Sphera Sports. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
10. Madsen, Peter Juul (14 December 1992). "Thomas på spansk landshold" [Thomas with Spanish national team]. BT (in Danish).
11. "Los sub-21 de Goikoetxea ganan a Alemania por 1–2" [Goikoetxea's under-21 defeat Germany 1–2]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 16 December 1992. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
12. Román, Rogelio (28 January 1993). "Más joven, pero igual de gris" [Younger, but just as grey]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 December 2014.
13. ^ Galindo, Jesús (11 February 1993). "El Barça encarrila otro euro-título" [Barça all but win another euro-title]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 December 2014.
14. Galindo, Jesús (11 February 1993). "Christiansen: "Al fin he cumplido mi gran sueño"" [Christiansen: "Finally my big dream has come true"]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 December 2014.
15. ^ Sanchis, Alberto (25 February 1993). "La selección repite otro 5–0 en Sevilla" [The national team repeat another 5–0 in Seville]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 December 2014.
16. Ahlstrøm, Frits (30 October 1994). "Jeg vil spille for Cruyff" [I want to play for Cruyff]. Ekstra Bladet (in Danish).
17. Casado, Edu (2 January 2008). "Qué fue de… Christiansen" [What happened to… Christiansen]. 20 minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 June 2024.
18. Pihl, Jørgen (7 January 1996). "Oviedo scorer mål- sluger". BT (in Danish).
19. "20 años después: el reencuentro de la plantilla del primer ascenso del Villarreal CF a Primera División" [20 years later: the Villarreal CF squad of the first promotion to Primera División meet again] (in Spanish). Revista Poble. 12 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
20. "100 anys en 24 imatges en groc" [100 years in 24 pictures in yellow] (in Spanish). Revista Poble. 2023. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
21. "En stjerne i mørket" [A star in the dark] (in Danish). Aktuelt. 30 October 1999.
22. ^ "Aubameyang ist Torschützenkönig 2017" [Aubameyang is 2017 top scorer] (in German). Spox. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
23. Arnhold, Matthias. "Thomas CHRISTIANSEN Tarín – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 May 2011.
24. "Hannover 96: Christiansen ersetzt Bobic" [Hannover 96: Christiansen replaces Bobic]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 6 June 2003. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
25. Jäger, Kristina (10 November 2012). ""Bochum war wie eine Familie"" ["Bochum were like a family"] (in German). Revier Sport. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
26. "Συμβόλαιο συνεργασίας με Thomas Christiansen" [Cooperation contract with Thomas Christiansen] (in Greek). AEK Larnaca. 30 April 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2014.
27. ^ "Head coach appointed". Leeds United F.C. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
28. "ΑΠΟΕΛ – ΑΕΚ 1–1 (video)" [ΑPΟΕL – ΑΕΚ 1–1 (video)] (in Greek). Cyprus Football Association. 16 May 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
29. Η τελική κατάταξη [The final ranking] (in Greek). Cyprus Football Association. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
30. "Ligue Europa. Très efficace, Bordeaux se qualifie pour les barrages" [Europa League. Highly effective, Bordeaux qualify to playoffs]. Ouest-France (in French). 6 August 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
31. "Σύναψη συμφωνίας με τον προπονητή Thomas Christiansen" [Agreement with coach Thomas Christiansen] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 21 May 2016. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
32. "APOEL 3–0 Rosenborg". UEFA. 2 August 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
33. "Champions League play-off draw made". UEFA. 5 August 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
34. "UEFA Europa League round of 32 draw". UEFA. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
35. "Gladbach, Anderlecht, Celta and Lyon take headlines". UEFA. 23 February 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
36. ^ Constantinou, Iacovos (13 May 2017). "Apoel seal title after win over arch-rivals Omonia". Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
37. ^ "Thomas Christiansen: New Leeds United head coach's managerial career in focus". Yorkshire Evening Post. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
38. ^ Vou, Andreas (24 May 2017). "Ten-man Apollon defeat Apoel to win Cyprus Cup". Cyprus Mail. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
39. "Μη ανανέωση συνεργασίας με Thomas Christiansen" [Partnership with Thomas Christiansen not renewed] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 25 May 2016.
40. "Thomas Christiansen: Leeds United name ex-Spain international as head coach". BBC Sport. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
41. "Leeds United: Unknown Dane Christiansen get Radrizzani's blessing". Yorkshire Evening Post. 15 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
42. "Thomas Christiansen | The first press conference". Leeds United F.C. 19 June 2017. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
43. "Leeds dismiss manager Thomas Christiansen after eight months". BBC Sport. 4 February 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
44. "Thomas Christiansen is de nieuwe trainer van Union Sint-Gillis: "Blij dat we iemand met zo'n cv konden aanwerven"" [Thomas Christiansen is the new manager of Union Saint-Gilloise: "Glad we could recruit someone with such a résumé"]. Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
45. "Thomas Christiansen: Fin de la collaboration" [Thomas Christiansen: End of cooperation.] (in French). Royale Union Saint-Gilloise. May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
46. Archs, Jordi (23 July 2020). "Thomas Christiansen, nuevo seleccionador de Panamá" [Thomas Christiansen, new Panama national team manager]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 31 July 2020.
47. "Ex-Spain forward Christiansen takes charge of Panama". Qatar News. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
48. "Thomas Christiansen y su retorno a Costa Rica, donde todo comenzó" [Thomas Christiansen and his return to Costa Rica, where it all began] (in Spanish). RPC Televisión. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
49. Liljenwall, Ari (21 July 2021). "Recap: Panama 3, Grenada 1". Major League Soccer. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
50. "Las lágrimas de Thomas Christiansen tras la eliminación de Panamá del Mundial de Qatar 2022" [Thomas Christiansen's tears after Panama's elimination from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar]. La Prensa (in Spanish). 27 March 2022. Retrieved 9 June 2022.
51. "Mexico seeks a Gold Cup championship against Panama in redemption tour after disappointing World Cup". The Washington Post. 16 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
52. ^ "Gimenez the hero as Mexico down Panama 1-0 to lift 9th Gold Cup". France 24. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
53. ^ Thomas Christiansen at Soccerway
54. ^ "Managers: Thomas Christiansen". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
55. Aguilar, Francesc (16 April 1994). "España pierde la inocencia" [Spain lose innocence]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). Retrieved 22 June 2017.

External links

• Thomas Christiansen at BDFutbol
• Thomas Christiansen at fussballdaten.de (in German)
• Thomas Christiansen at National-Football-Teams.com

International tournaments

v t e Panama squad – 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup 1 Mejía 2 Palacios 3 Cummings (c) 4 Córdoba 5 Peralta 6 Griffith 7 Rodríguez 8 Carrasquilla 9 Torres 10 Bárcenas 11 Cooper 12 Calderón 13 Machado 14 Blackburn 15 Davis 16 Miller 17 Fajardo 18 Aguilar 19 Quintero 20 Ayarza 21 Yanis 22 Mosquera 23 Camargo Coach: Christiansen v t e Panama squad – 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup runners-up 1 Mejía 2 Blackman 3 Cummings 4 Escobar 5 Miller 6 Martínez 7 Welch 8 Carrasquilla 9 Londoño 10 Bárcenas 11 Díaz 12 Samudio 13 Góndola 14 E. Anderson 15 Davis 16 Andrade 17 Fajardo 18 Waterman 19 Quintero 20 Godoy (c) 21 Yanis 22 Mosquera 23 Murillo 24 Valencia 25 I. Anderson Coach: Christiansen v t e Panama squad – 2024 Copa América 1 Mejía 2 Blackman 3 Córdoba 4 E. Anderson 5 Ayarza 6 Martínez 7 Rodríguez 8 Carrasquilla 9 Guerrero 10 Bárcenas 11 Díaz 12 Samudio 13 Góndola 14 Welch 15 Davis (c) 16 Harvey 17 Fajardo 18 Valencia 19 I. Anderson 20 Cummings 21 Yanis 22 Mosquera 23 Murillo 24 Fariña 25 Miller 26 Lenis Coach: Christiansen

• 1973 births
• Living people
• People from Hadsund
• Danish people of Spanish descent
• Spanish people of Danish descent
• Danish men's footballers
• Spanish men's footballers
• Footballers from the North Jutland Region
• Men's association football forwards
• Danish Superliga players
• Avedøre IF players
• Hvidovre IF players
• Boldklubben af 1893 players
• Herfølge Boldklub players
• La Liga players
• Segunda División players
• Segunda División B players
• FC Barcelona Atlètic players
• FC Barcelona players
• Sporting de Gijón players
• CA Osasuna players
• Racing de Santander players
• Real Oviedo players
• Villarreal CF players
• Terrassa FC footballers
• Super League Greece players
• Panionios F.C. players
• Bundesliga players
• 2. Bundesliga players
• VfL Bochum players
• Hannover 96 players
• Spain men's under-21 international footballers
• Spain men's international footballers
• Spanish expatriate men's footballers
• Expatriate men's footballers in Greece
• Expatriate men's footballers in Germany
• Danish expatriate sportspeople in Spain
• Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Greece
• Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Germany
• Kicker-Torjägerkanone Award winners
• Danish football managers
• Spanish football managers
• Cypriot First Division managers
• AEK Larnaca FC managers
• APOEL FC managers
• English Football League managers
• Leeds United F.C. managers
• Challenger Pro League managers
• Royale Union Saint-Gilloise managers
• Panama national football team managers
• 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup managers
• 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup managers
• 2024 Copa América managers
• Spanish expatriate football managers
• Expatriate football managers in Cyprus
• Expatriate football managers in England
• Expatriate football managers in Belgium
• Expatriate football managers in Panama
• Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus
• Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England
• Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
• Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Panama