Thomas Christiansen

International goal

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

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 stage by Copenhagen and eventually reaching the last-16 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…

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…

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 CONCACAF Nations League runner-up: 2024–25