Thomas Christiansen

Thomas Christiansen Tarín (born 11 March 1973) is a retired footballer who played as a striker, and the current coach of Cypriot club APOEL FC.

Left-footed, he played for a number of clubs in Danish, Spanish and German football, being crowned the top goalscorer of the 2002–03 Bundesliga.

Christiansen also briefly represented the Spanish national team, in a 15-year professional career.

Early years

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

Christiansen trained with the youth team of Spanish giants Real Madrid, but when his mother forbade him to join the club, he moved to Boldklubben af 1893. In May 1991 he scored six goals in a youth team match against Kjøbenhavns Boldklub, and went back to Spain to train with defending La Liga champions FC 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 reserve side FC Barcelona B, where he soon was joined by compatriot Ronnie Ekelund; during this period, he was frequently called up to train with the main squad.

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 naturalized, he was called up for the under-21 national 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 Spanish 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 – against SV Werder Bremen. He appeared in his first full Barcelona match in a Copa del Rey contest 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 league side 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 CA 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 CF in November 1997, helping it promote but managing to find the net only once the following campaign, which ended in relegation.

A proposed deal with a Mexican team never materialized, 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 F.C. in Greece before returning to Denmark in August 2000, signing with defending Danish champions Herfølge BK, 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 with 17 goals the following season, to be the North Rhine-Westphalia's side top scorer as they won promotion; he added 21 in next year's top flight, being crowned joint league top scorer with Giovane Élber.

Following that achievement, Christiansen was signed by Hannover 96 to replace Fredi Bobic in June 2003. 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.

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	24 February 1993	Benito Villamarín, Seville, Spain	Lithuania	4–0	5–0	1994 World Cup qualification

Christiansen started his managerial career in the United Arab Emirates, as part of Luis Milla's coaching staff at Al Jazira Club, arriving in February 2013 and leaving in October as the head coach was fired. In late April 2014 he was appointed head coach of Cypriot First Division side AEK Larnaca FC, after having been approached for the job by former Barcelona B teammate Xavier Roca, who acted as director of football.

On 21 May 2016, after two successful seasons, Christiansen moved to reigning Cypriot champions APOEL FC, signing a one-year contract effective as of 1 June.

Player

Club

• UEFA Super Cup: 1992

International

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship: Third-place 1994

Individual

• Bundesliga: Top Scorer 2002–03 (shared with Giovane Élber)

Manager

Club

• Cypriot First Division: 2016–17