FAMILY COMES FIRST
FOOTBALL: Results aside, Thomas Kristensen is loving life Down Under. And, more importantly, so is his family.
The former Danish international is deep into his third season at the Brisbane Roar after signing from top Dutch side ADO Den Haag in July 2016.
The 35-year-old midfielder has enjoyed those three years in Queensland, even the past six months when the Roar has won just three games.
But he would not have lasted if his children – Oscar, nine and Alma, six – had not settled.
“Football was always No.1 when I came to Australia but I also have a family, so that’s important to me,” Kristensen said.
“If my family hadn’t enjoyed their time here, we would not have stayed.
“It’s the full package and we haven’t regretted it at all. It’s been an adventure on the pitch and off the pitch as well.”
Kristensen tweeted a picture of Oscar riding his bike through a rain-forest setting on Australia Day with the caption “He’s more Aussie than Danish. Happy Australia Day”.
Kristensen said both children were also handling the language barriers well.
“They have been full on at school for a couple of years now and I reckon my daughter is 80 per cent English (speaking) and 20 per cent Danish where my son is more 50-50,” he said.
Kristensen’s contract with the Roar finishes at the end of this season but he is keen to continue playing, before transitioning into the coaching ranks.
“Time will tell. But if you ask me now I will definitely say I will play on. Whether that’s here (Brisbane), at another club in Australia or back in Denmark,” he said. “After that I don’t know. That’s another decision that we will have to make as a family, but I definitely want to get into coaching.
“For me it would be better to get my licence in Europe because that gives me the opportunity to use it both here and over there. If I take it here I can only use it on Australia.
“I can’t see myself doing anything outside football. I would like to stay within that small world.”
The Roar have endured a torrid season, which has included the axing of coach John Aloisi and departure of star striker Adam Taggart.
Kristensen is at a loss to explain why the Roar are sitting second last on the A-League ladder.
“In the three years I have been here this pre-season was probably the best,” he said.
“We got a new training ground, we had some good players coming in. Definitely some of the other clubs have been a lot better this year.”
The Roar take on secondplaced Sydney FC at Suncorp Stadium tonight.
“All the players and coaching staff are playing for their future. There are a lot of players coming off contract,” Kristensen said.
“We can’t just say the season’s out the window because I would like to have a job next year and I reckon all the other players would like a job too. It doesn’t matter that Sydney are 27 points ahead, it’s a game you always want to win.”