Thomas Christiansen’s timing in Panama could not have been worse. As Covid-19 consumed the country in August 2020, an unknown Spaniard of Danish origin made headlines when he took charge of the national team amid deaths and infections. That bold decision marked the fate of Panama’s ‘Red Tide’.
These were not times to talk about football. The pandemic was ravaging Panama, but the president of the Panamanian Football Federation, Manuel Arias, executed a plan in the middle of the quarantine to succeed the dismissed Américo Gallego, as the Concacaf qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup approached.
That’s how Christiansen landed in Panama City that August and, forced by the health crisis, met the players through video calls while they were in isolation and they, in turn, made contact with the new coach after almost five months locked up without training.
“The country was completely paralyzed,” the coach recently told the online platform The Coaches’ Voice, in a text entitled “My biggest challenge.”
WE CONTINUE 💪🏾!
Recovery and activation day for the national team #GreaterPanama 🇵🇦 who sets his sights on the next phase of the @CopaAmerica 🏆.
In just hours, the team will be traveling ✈️from Orlando to Arizona, via charter, for their game on Saturday.#WeAreAllPanama 🙌🏽 pic.twitter.com/DjbB0pmKFO
— FEPAFUT (@fepafut) July 2, 2024
“I dedicated myself to analyzing the level of the players. I also had to make decisions about a generational change based on what was best for the team. However, it was very positive because I was able to relate to the players,” recalls the 51-year-old coach.
Coming home
Christiensen’s CV didn’t mean much to Panamanians. His first experience as a coach was at AEK Larnaca in Cyprus in 2014. In 2016, he moved to Nicosia to take charge of APOEL, where he stayed for one season. The following year, he joined Leeds United in England for an eight-month stint, which ended with his dismissal due to poor results.
His last club was Union Saint-Gilloise, from Belgium, in the 2019/2020 season. A cycle that ended with the termination of his contract during the pandemic.
“Ever since I left Leeds United I have had the desire to manage a national team. As soon as I heard about the opportunity to coach Panama I didn’t hesitate,” said Christiansen.
Good morning ☀️ Panama 🇵🇦 !!
What better than waking up knowing that we are in the quarter-finals 😁!!
Here are more memories 📸 of a historic night in Orlando.#WeAreAllPanama🙌🏻 pic.twitter.com/GprJILoLST
— FEPAFUT (@fepafut) July 2, 2024
“I wanted to try something different from club work. Coaching a club is more concrete, with a defined group of players. It’s a day-to-day job where you prepare to play at the weekend. Coaching a national team is different. There’s a wider range of players.”
Said and done. Arias had a plan. It was Christiansen. “It was curious that fate took me back to the country, more than 40 years later,” he said, remembering that he lived in Panama as a child. “That motivated me because it wasn’t an unknown place or without strong emotional ties.”
A pleasant surprise in America
Christiansen performed the miracle of putting Panama back on the footballing radar after Colombian Hernán Gómez led the country to the World Cup for the first time in history in 2018.
“Leading Panama is the biggest challenge of my coaching career. After fulfilling my dream of coaching a national team, my dream has always been to reach the World Cup”
And they almost didn’t make it, because Panama finished in fifth place, with 21 points, in the final octagonal of the Qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, four points behind the United States and Costa Rica, who went to the play-off against New Zealand.
Last year, Christiansen led Panama to the Gold Cup final, which ended in a 1-0 victory for Mexico. Months later, they qualified for the Copa América by reaching the semifinals of the CONCACAF Nations League. And in Panama’s second appearance in the CONMEBOL national team tournament, they reached the quarterfinals for the first time.
“In Panama I said I wanted to be the surprise, just like Morocco (fourth place) in the World Cup. Thanks to the whole team we achieved something historic,” highlighted the coach after the 3-1 victory over Bolivia in Orlando, in the third round of Group C.
Thomas Christiansen’s dream is taking shape. Perhaps he can make it come true by qualifying his team for the 2026 World Cup.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
Kingston is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
