Thomas Christiansen is starting work as Leeds United boss.
Leeds United surprised many by announcing Thomas Christiansen as their new manager last week, three weeks after the departure of Garry Monk.
Monk, 38, resigned after just one season in the Elland Road hot seat and has since taken the Middlesbrough job, leaving Andrea Radrizzani to appoint Christiansen as his successor.
Thomas Christiansen
A former Barcelona striker, 44-year-old Christiansen arrived as something of an unknown having only managed in Cyprus with AEK Larnaca and most recently APOEL.
The raw tale look impressive from Christiansen’s time with APOEL; not only did he win the league title in Cyprus, but he also took the club to the last 16 of the Europa League by beating Athletic Bilbao before being let go.
General view inside Elland Road
The Spaniard now arrives as Monk’s successor with the remit of pushing for a play-off place, and he will certainly want to replicate one factor of his time with APOEL – his impressive home record.
In league action last season, APOEL didn’t lose a single home game under Christiansen, winning 13 out of 18 and drawing the other five, whilst scoring 41 goals – over two goals a game – and conceding just eight.
A general view of the Billy Bremner statue outside Elland Road
APOEL are one of the major forces in Cypriot football and would therefore be expected to dominate at home, but predecessor Temuri Ketsbaia lost four of his 18 home games and conceded twice as many goals, demonstrating just how impressive Christiansen’s home record was last season.
Leeds had the seventh-best home record in the Championship last season, and whilst it seems a tough ask for Christiansen to match his unbeaten home record as Leeds, he will hope to turn Elland Road into a real fortress again, having enjoyed so much success with a strong home record last season.
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