Simon Busk Poulsen (born 7 October 1984) is a Danish retired professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

. He has played 31 games for the Denmark national team. Following his retirement from professional football, Poulsen moved to coaching and is currently the assistant coach of

SønderjyskE SønderjyskE is a Danish sport corporation. They have a football team (SønderjyskE Fodbold, based in Haderslev), two handball teams (SønderjyskE Håndbold, one male based in Sønderborg, one female based in Aabenraa) and an ice hockey team (S ...

Club career

SønderjyskE

Born and raised in

Sønderborg (; german: Sonderburg ) is a Danish town in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the main town and the administrative seat of Sønderborg Municipality (Kommune). The town has a population of 27,766 (1 January 2022), He then joined Haderslev Fodboldklub before the name was changed to HFK Sønderjylland and

and signed his first professional contract with the club, keeping him until 2003. Poulsen was also named the club's junior player of the year. While progressing at HFK Sønderjylland, he balanced his life in football and school and was banned from drinking alcohol. In 2001, Poulsen was quickly promoted to the club's first team and scored on his debut, in a 4–2 win against FC Aarhus in the third round of the Danish Cup. After the match, he reflected about scoring his debut, saying: "It was one of the best days of my life back then. I scored on my first ball touch, and actually became the youngest goal scorer in the Danish cup tournament." Poulsen then started out on the substitute bench. Once again, he was promoted to HFK Sønderjylland's first team ahead of the 2002–03 season. Poulsen then received a handful of first team football since the start of the 2002–03 season. On 30 September 2002, he scored his first goal for HFK Sønderjylland, in a 3–2 loss against B1909. Poulsen later scored three more goals for the club, as he went on to make fifteen appearances and scoring four times at the end of the 2002–03 season. For his performance, Poulsen signed a contract extension with HFK Sønderjylland, keeping him until 2006. The next two seasons saw Poulsen continued to regain his first team place for

, which has changed its name ahead of the new season. He started the season well by scoring his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and the R ...

on 31 July 2003. His performance attracted interest from

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

side

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...

, who offered him a trial, but Poulsen ended up staying at the club. His goal scoring eventually improved for the next two seasons, scoring the total of eighteen times. His two goals for the club beating

Fredericia Fredericia () is a town located in Fredericia Municipality in the southeastern part of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark. The city is part of the Triangle Region, which includes the neighbouring cities of Kolding and Vejle. It was founded in 16 ...

4–1 saw SønderjyskE

promoted Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

to the

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...

. Despite being plagued with injuries during the two seasons, Poulsen combined the appearances of fifty–one played and scoring eighteen six times in all competitions. Amid to his departure, Poulsen made five times for SønderjyskE at the start of the 2005–06 season, including scoring his first Danish Superliga goal, in a 3–1 loss against Viborg on 7 August 2005. After his departure from the club, he was honoured with Wall of Fame at Sydbank Park.

FC Midtjylland

It was announced on 24 June 2005 that Poulsen agreed to move to

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

rivals

Midtjylland The Central Denmark Region ( da, Region Midtjylland), or more directly translated as the Central Jutland Region and sometimes simply Mid Jutland, is an administrative region of Denmark established on 1 January 2007 as part of the 2007 Danish muni ...

on a three–year contract. However, SønderjyskE complained about the

tapping-up In professional team sports, tapping up (British English) or tampering (American English) is an attempt to persuade a player contracted to one team to transfer to another team, without the knowledge or permission of the player's current team. This k ...

of Poulsen to the

Danish Football Association The Danish Football Union ( da, Dansk Boldspil-Union; DBU) is the governing body of football in Denmark. It is the organization of the Danish football clubs and runs the professional Danish football leagues and the men's and women's national t ...

, which delayed the move. Eventually, the move was agreed officially on 15 August 2005, with

Thomas Rathe Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

joining SønderjyskE as his replacement. Poulsen made his debut for the club against AGF on 21 August 2005, starting the whole game, and scored his first goal, in a 3–3 draw. Since making his debut for FC Midtjylland, he quickly established himself in the starting eleven for the side. Poulsen then played in both legs in the first round of the UEFA Cup, as FC Midtjylland lost 6–2 against

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...

on aggregate and was eliminated from the tournament. However, he suffered a knee injury while on international duty and was sidelined for a month. On 4 May 2006, Poulsen returned to the first team, starting a match and played 77 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–0 win against

Odense BK Odense Boldklub (; also known as Odense BK or the more commonly used OB) is a Danish professional football club based in the city Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga ...

. At the end of the 2005–06 Superliga season, he went on to make seventeen appearances and scoring once in all competitions. At the start of the 2006–07 season, Poulsen continued to establish himself in the starting eleven for FC Midtjylland, playing in the midfield position. On 20 August 2006, he scored his first goal of the season, in a 4–2 loss against

Esbjerg fB Esbjerg forenede Boldklubber (; commonly known as Esbjerg fB or EfB in short) is a Danish professional football club based in Esbjerg, West Jutland, that plays in the 2nd division, the third-tier of the Danish football league system. Foun ...

. Poulsen later helped the club finish second place in the league. Despite being sidelined with injuries throughout the 2006–07 season, he went on to make twenty–eight appearances and scoring once in all competitions. At the start of the 2007–08 season, Poulsen continued to establish himself in the starting eleven for FC Midtjylland, playing in the midfield position. On 29 July 2007, he scored his first goal of the season, in a 5–0 win against Brøndby. This was followed up by scoring second goal of the season, in a 2–1 win against

Keflavík Keflavík (pronounced , meaning ''Driftwood Bay'') is a town in the Reykjanes region in southwest Iceland. It is included in the municipality of Reykjanesbær whose population as of 2016 is 15,129. In 1995, Keflavik merged with nearby Njarðv ...

in the second leg of the UEFA Cup First Rouynd to help the club reach the next round following FC Midtjylland win on away goals, with the results was 4–4 on aggregate. Three weeks later on 26 August 2007, Poulsen scored his third goal of the season, in a 3–2 win against

Randers Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Daniel Agger Daniel Munthe Agger (; born 12 December 1984) is a Danish professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Danish 1st Division club HB Køge. As an active player, he played as a central defender for Brøndby and Liverpool a ...

. In the first half of the 2007–08 season, Poulsen went on to make thirty appearances and scoring four times in all competitions. Despite signing a contract with FC Midtjylland, his performance attracted interests from European clubs, with the likes from Germany and Netherlands, and was expected to leave the club.

AZ Alkmaar

On 23 December 2007, Poulsen transferred to Dutch side

AZ Alkmaar Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and ho ...

for a reported

transfer fee Transfer may refer to: Arts and media * ''Transfer'' (2010 film), a German science-fiction movie directed by Damir Lukacevic and starring Zana Marjanović * ''Transfer'' (1966 film), a short film * ''Transfer'' (journal), in management studies ...

of €3 million, as the most expensive player sold by FC Midtjylland at the time. He made his debut for the club, coming on as a 74th-minute substitute, in a 6–1 loss against

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

on 13 January 2008. Six days later on 19 January 2008, Poulsen made his first start for AZ Alkmaar, starting a match and played 65 minutes before being substituted, in a 4–0 loss against

SC Heerenveen Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands. History Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...

. However, he suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for two matches. On 30 January 2008, Poulsen returned from injury, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute, in a 2–2 draw against

Feyenoord Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...

. Once again, he was plagued with injuries that saw him sidelined for the rest of the 2007–08 season. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Poulsen made eight appearances in all competitions. At the start of the 2008–09 season, Poulsen could not break into coach

Louis van Gaal Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former football player and manager. At club level, he served as manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as well as having three spel ...

's starting line-up as a winger, and was placed on the substitute bench. As a result, he was demoted to Jong AZ Alkmaar and featured in a match regularly. On 31 August 2008, he made his first appearance of the season for AZ Alkmaar, starting a match and played 60 minutes before being substituted, in a 2–1 loss against

NAC Breda NAC Breda (), often simply known as NAC, is a Dutch professional football club, based in Breda, Netherlands. NAC Breda play in the Rat Verlegh Stadium, named after their most important player, Antoon 'Rat' Verlegh. They play in the Eerste Divi ...

. Poulsen made a total of two more appearances for the club between August and January. By February, he began moving to the position of

, appearing in a number of matches for AZ Alkmaar. Between 21 February 2009 and 15 March 2009, Poulsen helped the club keep four consecutive clean sheets for the club. He played a number of games in the position, as AZ won the

2008–09 Eredivisie The Eredivisie 2008–09 is the 53rd season of Eredivisie since its establishment in 1955. PSV were the reigning champions. The season began on 29 August 2008 with a game between Vitesse Arnhem and FC Groningen and ended on 10 May 2009. A tota ...

championship, the first club championship since 1981. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Poulsen went on to make thirteen appearances in all competitions. Ahead of the 2009–10 season, it was expected that Poulsen would leave AZ Alkmaar, due to lack of first team opportunities, but ended up staying at the club. After not being featured in the first two matches of the 2009–10 season, he made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a 42nd-minute substitute, in a 6–0 win against

RKC Waalwijk RKC Waalwijk () is a Dutch professional football club based in Waalwijk, that is currently competing in the Eredivisie. Its name is derived from 'Rooms Katholieke Combinatie' ('Roman Catholic Combination' in Dutch) and was established as a merger ...

on 15 August 2009. After the match, Poulsen said he was happy to get minutes of playing time. Poulsen continued to compete with

Sébastien Pocognoli Sébastien Pocognoli (born 1 August 1987) is a Belgian football manager and former player who played as a left-back. He is the head coach of the Under-21 squad of Union SG. Between 2008 and 2014, he made 13 appearances for the Belgium national ...

over the left–back position, which saw him rotated in and out of the starting eleven. However, in a match against

FC Utrecht Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard. The club was formed in 1970 as a merge ...

on 26 September 2009, he was sent–off for a second bookable offence, in a 1–0 loss. Three days later on 29 September 2009, Poulsen made his UEFA Champions League debut, coming on as a 71st-minute substitute, in a 1–1 draw against

Standard Liège Royal Standard de Liège, commonly referred to as Standard Liège (; nl, Standard Luik ; german: Standard Lüttich ) or simply Standard in Belgium, is a Belgian professional football club based in the city of Liège. They are one of the most ...

. He then made his first UEFA Champions League start and started the whole game, as AZ Alkmaar drew 1–1 against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

on 20 October 2009. Following Pocognoli's departure, Poulsen, once again, established himself in the starting eleven, playing in the left–back position. On 20 February 2010, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–3 draw against

VVV-Venlo VVV-Venlo (, ''VVV'' stands for ''Venlose Voetbal Vereniging'' meaning "Venlo Football Club") is a Dutch football club from Venlo, a city on the border with Germany. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following ...

. Between 3 April 2010 and 18 April 2010, Poulsen, once again, helped AZ Alkmaar keep four consecutive clean sheets. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Poulsen went on to make thirty appearances and scoring once in all competitions. At the start of the 2010–11 season, Poulsen made his first appearance of the season, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against NAC Breda in the opening game of the season. However, he suffered a groin injury while on international duty, with Manager

Gertjan Verbeek Gertjan Verbeek (; born 1 August 1962) is a Dutch former professional footballer who last managed Eerste Divisie side Almere City. Coaching career Netherlands After retiring from his playing career in 1994, Verbeek stayed with SC Heerenveen as ...

was disappointed, saying: "It is ridiculous to call up internationals so soon after the World Cup. Most people who know about that do not think that is smart. However, the national associations do not care." As a result, Poulsen was sidelined for a month following a scan. But he made his return to the starting line–up in a UEFA Europa League match against

Sheriff Tiraspol Fotbal Club Sheriff (russian: ФК Шериф Тирасполь), commonly known as Sheriff Tiraspol or simply Sheriff, is a Moldovan professional football club based in Tiraspol, a city located in the unrecognised breakaway state of Transnist ...

on 16 September 2010, coming on as a second-half substitute, in a 2–1 win. However, Poulsen's return was short–lived when he twisted his knee injury while training and was sidelined for the next two months. By November, Poulsen made a recovery from his knee injury but did not due to not being match fit for the remainder of the month. On 12 December 2010, he returned to the first team, coming on as an 84th-minute substitute, in a 2–0 loss against

FC Groningen Football Club Groningen () is a Dutch professional association football club based in Groningen, province of Groningen. Founded on 16 June 1971 as the successor of GVAV, the team compete in the Eredivisie, the highest tier of Dutch football. G ...

. Following this, Poulsen continued to rotate in and out of the starting line–up, as he competed with

Ragnar Klavan Ragnar Klavan (born 30 October 1985) is an Estonian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Estonian club Paide Linnameeskond and the Estonia national team. A left-footed centre back, he has also played as a left back during his car ...

over the left–back position for the rest of the 2010–11 season. On 18 March 2011, Poulsen scored his first goal of the season, as well as, setting up one of AZ's goals, in a 3–1 win against Vitesse. He later helped the club finish fourth place to qualify for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

next season. At the end of the 2010–11 season, he went on to make sixteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions. In the 2011–12 season, Poulsen regained his first team place in the starting eleven, playing in the left–back position. He started the season well for AZ Alkmaar by helping the club qualify for the Group Stage of the UEFA Europa League after beating the likes of Jablonec and Aalesunds. Poulsen then helped AZ Alkmaar keep three consecutive clean sheets in three league matches between 21 August 2011 and 10 September 2011. On 2 October 2011, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 3–1 win against VVV-Venlo. Between 23 October 2011 and 25 November 2011, Poulsen, once again, helped AZ Alkmaar keep four consecutive clean sheets in four league matches. Two weeks later on 10 December 2011, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 4–0 win against

De Graafschap VBV De Graafschap () is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands, playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football. It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium. ...

. Five days later on 15 December 2011, Poulsen helped the club qualify for the knockout stage of the UEFA Europa League after drawing 1–1 against

Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб Металі́ст Ха́рків ) is a Ukrainian football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2021–22 season. It was revived 5 years ...

. After helping AZ Alkmaar beat Ajax 3–2 in the fourth round of KNVB Cup, he scored an own goal to give the opposition team an equalising goal, resulting a 1–1 draw three days later on 22 January 2012. Between 8 February 2012 and 16 February 2012, Poulsen helped the club keep three consecutive clean sheets in three matches. On 3 March 2012, he scored his third goal of the season, in a 3–1 win against

Heracles Almelo Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to th ...

. This was followed by helping the club keep three consecutive clean sheets in the next three league matches before scoring his fourth league of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Vitesse. Despite suffering injuries during the 2011–12 season, Poulsen went on to make fifty–four appearances and scoring four times in all competitions. With his contract expiring at the end of the 2011–12 season, Poulsen's future at the club was in doubt and could be leaving after AZ Alkmaar has not begun negotiations over a new contract. As a result, he was linked with a move to clubs, such as,

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

side

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

side

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. They currently p ...

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

side

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

and

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...

side

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...

and

Napoli Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. The club, on the other hand, were not determined to let Poulsen go and wanted him to stay until next summer, as well as, possibilities of new contract. It was later confirmed on 30 November 2011 that both

Brett Holman Brett Trevor Holman (born 27 March 1984) is a former Australian professional footballer who last played for Brisbane Roar in the A-League as an attacking midfielder. Born in Sydney, Holman played youth football for Northern Spirit before maki ...

and Poulsen will leave AZ Alkmaar until the end of the 2011–12 season.

Sampdoria

On 25 August 2012, Poulsen joined the Italian

side

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...

on a three-year contract. He was previously linked with a move to

, who offered him a two–year contract, but rejected the offer. Poulsen made his debut for the club, coming on as an 87th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss against

on 30 September 2012. In a follow–up match against

Chievo Chievo (4,500 inhabitants) is a frazione of Verona located to the west of the city, around from the historic city centre, on the shores of the river Adige. It is best known for its football team, A.C. ChievoVerona, which competes in the second ...

, he made his first start for Sampdoria, playing 66 minutes before being substituted, in a 2–1 loss. Since joining the club, however, Poulsen found his first team opportunities limited at Sampdoria, due to strong competitions in the defence. He also faced his own injury concerns throughout the 2012–13 season. In his first season at the club, Poulsen made eight appearances in all competitions. Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Poulsen was linked a move away from Sampdoria, with several clubs from Europe wanted to sign him, but he ended up staying at the club. His only appearance for Sampdoria came on 5 December 2013 against

Hellas Verona Hellas Verona Football Club, commonly referred to as Hellas Verona or simply Verona, is a professional Italian football club based in Verona, Italy, that currently plays in Serie A. The team won the Serie A Championship in 1984–85. His ...

in the fourth round of the Italian Cup, as the club won 4–1. It was announced on 16 January 2014 that Poulsen left Sampdoria by mutual consent.

AZ Alkmaar

On the same day when his contract with Sampdoria had been dissolved on 16 January 2014, Poulsen rejoined his former team

, keeping him until 2015. Upon joining the club, he was given a number fifteen shirt. Poulsen made his AZ Alkmaar debut on 8 February 2014, coming on as a 73rd-minute substitute, in a 2–1 loss against

Go Ahead Eagles Go Ahead Eagles () are a Dutch professional football club from the city of Deventer. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, having achieved promotion from the second tier Eerste Divisie in the 2020-21 season. The club's h ...

. He soon regained his first team place for the rest of the 2013–14 season. Poulsen then kept four of the five clean sheets in the club's matches between 2 March 2014 and 20 March 2014, especially against

Anzhi Makhachkala Football Club Anzhi Makhachkala (russian: link=no, Футбо́льный клуб «Анжи́» Махачкала́, ), known simply as FC Anji, was a Russian professional football club based in the Dagestani capital of Makhachkala. Founded ...

. This was followed by making his 100th league appearance for AZ Alkmaar, in a 2–1 win against

PEC Zwolle PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...

. He was featured in the league's play–offs for the UEFA Europa League spot, as the club were unsuccessful to qualify after losing 3–0 against FC Groningen. Despite suffering a groin injury later in the 2013–14 season, Poulsen went on to make eighteen appearances in all competitions. At the start of the 2014–15 season, Poulsen continued to establish himself in the first team, playing in the left–back position. On 27 September 2014, he scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–2 win against

ADO Den Haag Alles Door Oefening Den Haag (), commonly known by the abbreviated name ADO Den Haag (), is a Dutch association football club from the city of The Hague. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation f ...

. Between 8 November 2014 and 29 November 2014, Poulsen kept three consecutive clean sheets in three league matches for AZ Alkmaar. During a match against

Cambuur SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch Association football, football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league sy ...

on 29 November 2014, he suffered a calf injury and was substituted at half time; resulting in him missing one match. But Poulsen returned to the starting line–up against

on 14 December 2014 and helped the club draw 2–2. A month later on 17 January 2015, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against

Dordrecht Dordrecht (), historically known in English as Dordt (still colloquially used in Dutch, ) or Dort, is a city and municipality in the Western Netherlands, located in the province of South Holland. It is the province's fifth-largest city after R ...

. After the match, Poulsen was named Man of the Match. However, he suffered a leg injury that saw him miss one match. Poulsen returned to the starting line–up against Ajax and set up the only goal of the game to help AZ Alkmaar win 1–0 on 5 February 2015. Two weeks later on 21 February 2015, he scored his third goal of the season, in a 2–0 win against Go Ahead Eagles. At the end of the 2014–15 season, Poulsen went on to make thirty–five appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.

PSV Eindhoven

On 15 May 2015, Poulsen signed for PSV on a free transfer, signing a two–year contract. AZ Alkmaar offered him a contract to stay at the club, ended up joining PSV Eindhoven instead. Upon joining the club, he was given a number fourteen shirt. Poulsen made his debut for PSV Eindhoven where he started throughout the match and kept a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win over FC Groningen to win the

Johan Cruijff Schaal The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national football ...

. A month later on 19 September 2015, Poulsen made his league debut for the club, coming on as an 80th-minute substitute, in a 2–1 loss against

. He then played three more times, including two

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

matches against

and

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's hea ...

. However, throughout the 2015–16 season, Poulsen found himself placed on the substitute bench, as he was as cover for incumbent PSV left-back

Jetro Willems Jetro Danovich Sexer Willems (born 30 March 1994) is a Dutch professional footballer who plays as a left wing-back or left-back. Willems represented the Netherlands national team at UEFA Euro 2012; he played in the Netherlands' opening match o ...

. Poulsen also faced his own injury concerns along the way. At the end of the 2015–16 season, he went on to make five appearances in all competitions. Poulsen was further demoted to

Jong PSV Jong PSV is a Dutch football team based in Eindhoven. It is the reserve team of PSV Eindhoven and plays in the Eerste Divisie since the 2013–14 season. History Until 2013, Jong PSV played in the Beloften Eredivisie, a league exclusively for ...

, playing nine times for the second team. In the 2016–17 season, Poulsen's first team opportunities at PSV Eindhoven continued to be limited, covering for Willems and made no appearances for the club. As a result, he wanted to leave PSV Eindhoven to get first team football.

SønderjyskE (second spell)

On 31 January 2017, Poulsen returned to former club SønderjyskE, signing a two and a half year contract. PSV Eindhoven mentioned that they "receives a small transfer fee". Upon joining the club for the second time, he said his return was to end his career there. Poulsen re–debuted for SønderjyskE, starting the whole game in the left–back position, in a 3–0 loss against Esbjerg fB on 17 February 2017. Since joining the club, he started in the next six matches for SønderjyskE, starting in the left–back position to help the side qualify for the league's Championship Round. After being placed on the substitute bench for two matches, Poulsen returned to the starting line–up against Brøndby on 30 April 2017 and played 65 minutes before being substituted, in a 1–1 draw. After missing the next three matches due to quarantine, he returned to the starting line–up against Brøndby on 21 May 2017 and helped the club keep a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Poulsen went on to make ten appearances in all competitions. Ahead of the 2017–18 season, it was announced Poulsen was appointed as SønderjyskE's vice captain, with

Marc Pedersen Marc Pedersen (born 31 July 1989) is a Danish retired professional football player. Club career Early years In 2007, he went from the youth team in FC Midtjylland, where he was captain, to Vejle Boldklub. Here he was part of the successful t ...

appointed as the main captain. He started in the next the first four league matches before suffering a calf injury that saw him miss one match. But Poulsen returned to the starting line–up against

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

on 19 August 2017, as the club lost 3–2. In the absence of Pedersen, he captained SønderjyskE for the first time against AC Horsens on 16 September 2017 and scored his first goal since returning to the club for the first time in twelve years, in a 2–2 draw. This was followed up by captaining SønderjyskE in the next two matches. However, he suffered an injury while training that saw him miss two matches. On 29 October 2017, Poulsen returned to the first team, coming on as a 59th-minute substitute, in a 1–1 draw against

Hobro Hobro () is an old market and railway town in Region Nordjylland on the Jutland peninsula in northern Denmark. It has a population of 12,071 (1 January 2022). The town is situated in a hilly terrain at the head of Mariager Fjord, close to the for ...

. After appearing two more times, his return was short–lived when he suffered another injury that kept him out for months. By February, Poulsen made a quick recovery and returned to the starting line–up against

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; sv, Helsingör), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a city in eastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 62,686 on 1 January 2018. Helsingør and Helsingborg in Sweden together form the northern ...

on 4 March 2018 and set up the club's second goal of the game, which turns out to be a winning goal, in a 2–0 win. Two weeks later on 18 March 2018, he, once again, captained SønderjyskE in the absence of Pedersen, as the club lost 2–1. In the league's relegation round, Poulsen appeared twice, as the club qualify for the league's European play–offs. However, SønderjyskE were unsuccessful to qualify for the

next season after losing 4–2 on aggregate against AGF. At the end of the 2017–18 season, he went on to make nineteen appearances and scoring once in all competitions. After missing the first four league matches due to being on the substitute bench, Poulsen made his first appearance for SønderjyskE of the 2018–19 season, coming on as a second-half substitute, in a 1–0 loss against Esbjerg fB on 13 August 2018. Two weeks later on 26 August 2018, he set up the club's first goal of the game, in a 3–2 loss against Copenhagen. In a follow–up match, Poulsen captained SønderjyskE for the first time this season in the absence of Pedersen and helped the club draw 1–1 against Hobro. In another follow–up match, he set up two goals for SønderjyskE, as the club won 4–2 against Brøndby. Following this, Poulsen continued to establish himself in the left–back position for the rest of the first of the season. By the time he announced his retirement from professional football, Poulsen made sixteen appearances in all competitions.

Post-playing career

On 4 January 2019, Poulsen announced his retirement from professional football, but would continue at the club, becoming the new assistant coach of the first team and a youth coach. It was announced on 27 November 2018 that he signed a contract extension with SønderjyskE, keeping him until 2023.

International career

Poulsen is eligible to play for

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

(through his mother) and

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(through his father), but opted to play for Denmark.

Youth team

Having represented Denmark under-19 national team and Denmark U20 (making a total of 25 games and score one goal for various Danish youth selections), Poulsen was selected for the Denmark under-21 national team squad for the first time in April 2004. It wasn't until on 16 August 2005 when he made his U21 debut, in a 1–0 loss against

England U21 The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team. This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...

. In May 2006, Poulsen was selected for the Denmark U21 squad for the 2006 European Under-21 Championship. However, he appeared once in the tournament, as the U21 side were eliminated in the group stage. Three months later on 16 August 2006, Poulsen scored his first Denmark U21 goal, in a 3–2 loss against the Switzerland under-21 national team. In all, he played 11 games and scored one goal for the Danish under-21 national team. Poulsen was called up for the

Denmark League XI national football team The Denmark League XI national football team is an unofficial national football team run by the Danish Football Association. The team generally consists of Danish players playing in the Danish Superliga, or other leagues if their clubs agree to r ...

, and played unofficial national team games against the

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

and

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

in January 2007.

Senior team

Poulsen was called up for the Denmark national team in March 2007, by national team manager

Morten Olsen Morten Per Olsen (born 14 August 1949) is a Danish football manager and former player. He was the head coach of the Denmark national team for 15 years from 2000 until 2015, guiding Denmark to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, 2004 European Championshi ...

. Initially not getting playing time against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, he made his national team debut in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

on 28 March 2007, coming on as a substitute for

Dennis Rommedahl Dennis Rommedahl (; born 22 July 1978) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a right winger. The second-most capped national player for Denmark, he appeared in 126 matches and scored 21 goals for his country, and was a member ...

, in a 1–0 win. Poulsen took part in two UEFA Euro 2008 qualification in November 2007, coming against

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. Following this, his international career went on a hiatus and it wasn't until on 10 May 2010 when Poulsen was recalled to the team, ahead of the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

, as Olsen thought he had improved in the back position. For the first time in almost three years, Poulsen made his first appearances for Denmark in the

against

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

on 27 May 2010, starting a match and played 45 minutes before being substituted at half time, in a 2–0 win. Shortly after, he was included in Olsen's final World Cup squad. On 14 June in their first

group match against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, Poulsen had a crucial part in

Daniel Agger Daniel Munthe Agger (; born 12 December 1984) is a Danish professional football coach and former player who is the head coach of Danish 1st Division club HB Køge. As an active player, he played as a central defender for Brøndby and Liverpool a ...

own goal An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...

by heading the ball against his back inside the first minute of the second half which deflected past the Danish

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

, thus giving the Dutch the lead, and the national side went on to lose 2–0. He started two more matches against

Cameroon Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, as Denmark were eliminated in the group stage. NED-DEN Euro 2012 (21)

Following the World Cup tournament, Poulsen was called up to the national team two months later and started against Germany on 11 August 2010, only to suffer an injury and was substituted in the 28th minute, as the national team drew 2–2. It wasn't until on 1 February 2011 when he was called up to the national team once again. Poulsen was featured against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 9 February 2011 and was at fault for conceding an equalising, leading him to be substituted at half time, as Denmark lost 2–1. Despite this, he was later featured three more matches in the

UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 was a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, held in Poland and Ukraine. The draw for the qualifying rounds was held ...

, helping Denmark qualify for the

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

after coming on as a 76th-minute substitute to help the national side beat 2–1

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

on 11 October 2011. In May 2012, Poulsen was inducted in the final squad for

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

. He started in the tournament against

on 9 June 2012 and set up a goal for

Michael Krohn-Dehli Michael Krohn-Dehli (; born 6 June 1983) is a Danish former professional footballer. He played mostly as an attacking midfielder, but was also deployed as a winger. A technically gifted player, Krohn-Dehli started his professional career in the ...

, who scored the only goal of the game to help Denmark win 1–0. After the match, Ekstrabladet said about his performance, saying: "If you can talk about revenge from the World Cup two years ago, he got it. He's only grown a few levels. Tactically and playfully, it's great to see how unimpressed he goes to work. The robe was most often shut down. In the first half he was the Dane with the most passes." He then featured two more matches in the tournament for the national team, playing in the left–back position against Portugal and Germany, as they were eliminated in the group stage. Following the end of the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, Poulsen didn't get a call–up from Denmark until on 12 March 2013. He made his first appearance in nine months against

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

on 22 March 2013 and started the whole game to help the national team keep a clean sheet, in a 3–0 win. After the match, Ekstrabladet said about his performance: "Hesitant and insecure in most interventions. Seemed clearly rusty and the lack of combat training could be seen in both the interventions and the duels." This led Manager Olsen to defend his performance, saying: "Simon played a really good match as a team player. Everyone makes small mistakes. So do those who played a great match, but those mistakes are sometimes not noticed. I think that many have a wrong approach to Simon Poulsen. Every time he has made just a small mistake, he has played a bad match." Poulsen went on to make three more appearances by the end of the year, two of which were qualifying matches, as Denmark failed to qualify for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

. It wasn't until on 30 September 2014 when he was called up to the national team for the first time in a year. Poulsen made his first appearance in a year, coming on as a 58th-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss against Portugal on 14 October 2014. He then followed up by making five more appearances in the next five matches. He then spent the rest of 2015 for Denmark's matches on the substitute bench, including the

UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying play-offs The play-offs of the UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament decided the final four teams which qualified for the UEFA Euro 2016 final tournament. Eight teams, each of which finished third in their qualifying group were paired and contested in four ti ...

against Sweden, as the national team failed to qualify for the

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe o ...

following a 4–3 defeat on aggragate. Following this, Poulsen was never called up to the Denmark squad again and made thirty–one appearances for the national team.

Personal life

As a result of joining Haderslev Fodboldklub, Poulsen and his family relocated to Haderslev, as his mother, Bibbi Poulsen, was supportive of his son becoming a professional footballer. He is married to his wife, Mette, and together, they have a daughter. The combination of his daughter being born and scoring against Go Ahead Eagles on 21 February 2015 led Poulsen to describe the week as "fantastic". In November 2005, while on international duty with Denmark U21, Poulsen was under investigation by Anti Doping Denmark, DBU or UEFA for alleged doping. After a month of investigation, he was cleared by the DIF's doping committee. In October 2007, Poulsen was subjected to death threats on his mobile phone after receiving a phone call from an unknown individuals. This was quickly resolved when a Viborg's supporter was caught and was banned from entering the

Viborg Stadium Energi Viborg Arena (originally Viborg Stadion) is a football stadium located in Viborg, Denmark. It is the home ground of Viborg FF and has a capacity of 9,566. The stadium is part of Viborg Stadion Center and is owned by Viborg Municipality. ...

for three years. Poulsen revealed earlier this year when he was subjected to racial abuse from the opposition team supporters.

Career statistics

Honours

SønderjyskE *

Danish 1st Division The 1st Division (''1. Division'') is the second-highest football league in Denmark, also known as NordicBet Liga for sponsorship reasons. From 1945 to 1991 the 1. Division was the name of the highest level of football in Denmark. With the forma ...

: 2004–05 AZ *

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...

: 2008–09 PSV *

Johan Cruyff Shield The Johan Cruyff Shield (, ) is a football trophy in the Netherlands named after Dutch footballer Johan Cruyff, also often referred to as the Dutch Super Cup. The winner is decided in one match only, played by the winner of the national footbal ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

* Eredivisie: 2015–16

References

External links

*
Simon Poulsen
official

statistics at danskfodbold.com * *
Simon Poulsen at Voetbal International
{{DEFAULTSORT:Poulsen, Simon 1984 births Living people Danish men's footballers Denmark men's youth international footballers Denmark men's under-21 international footballers Denmark men's international footballers Sønderjyske Fodbold players FC Midtjylland players AZ Alkmaar players UC Sampdoria players PSV Eindhoven players Danish Superliga players Eredivisie players Serie A players Danish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Danish expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Danish expatriate sportspeople in Italy People from Sønderborg Municipality 2010 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2012 players Danish people of American descent Danish people of Nigerian descent Men's association football fullbacks FC Sønderborg players Footballers from the Region of Southern Denmark