Jakob Poulsen

Jakob Bendix Uhd Poulsen (born 7 July 1983) is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and current assistant coach of Viborg FF.

Poulsen started his senior career with Esbjerg fB, before moving to Dutch side SC Heerenveen in 2006. He joined AGF Aarhus in the summer of 2008. His last club was Australian A-League club Melbourne Victory FC. Between 2009 and 2015 he played 35 games and scored two goals for the Denmark national team.

Club career

Youth career and Esbjerg fB

As a schoolboy, Poulsen played alongside Anders Egholm and Nicolai Høgh in the Danish school tournament for Næsbjerg. When he was fourteen, Poulsen joined Esbjerg fB, and went on to progress through the youth system. He got his senior debut under coach Viggo Jensen on 9 September 2001 against Midtjylland, coming on as a 64th-minute substitute, in a 2–0 win. This turns out to be his only appearance for the club in the 2001–02 season.

At the start of the 2002–03 season, Poulsen soon received a handful of first team under the new team of coach Ove Pedersen at Esbjerg fB. He then scored his first goal of the season, in a 4–3 loss against Køge on 11 August 2002. Poulsen later scored two more goals; the first one came against Køge on 27 October 2002 and the second one came against AGF on 6 April 2003. He later helped the club avoid relegation. Despite suffering injuries throughout the 2002–03 season, Poulsen was restricted to making 21 of 33 games in the league.

At the start of the 2003–04 season, Poulsen continued to regain his first team place, playing in the midfield position. It wasn't until on 24 August 2003 when he scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–2 win against AaB. Poulsen then scored two consecutive goals between 17 September 2003 and 20 September 2003 against Frem and Nordsjælland respectively. This led Manager Pedersen commenting about his performance, saying: "He worked really well and was lightning dangerous with his depth runs. There is no doubt that the place in the midfield in the long run is his, but he also does it excellently as a fullback." He, once again, scored two consecutive goals between 29 November 2003 and 7 December 2003 against AaB and OB respectively. It wasn't until on 21 March 2004 when Poulsen scored twice for the side, in a 3–3 draw against AGF. Two weeks later on 4 April 2004, he provided a hat–trick assists, in a 4–0 win against Nordsjælland. As the 2003–04 season progressed, Poulsen helped Esbjerg fB finish in third place, with the club being involved in a title contender spot. At the end of the season, he went on to make thirty–five appearances and scoring seven times in all competitions.

At the start of the 2004–05 season, Poulsen played in both legs of the UEFA Intertoto Cup First round against NSÍ Runavík, as Esbjerg fB won 7–1 on aggregate. He later helped the club reach the semi–finals of the tournament, only to lose 6–1 on aggregate against Schalke 04. It wasn't until on 28 August 2004 when Poulsen scored his first goal of the season, in a 7–2 win against Herfølge Boldklub. His second goal for Esbjerg fB came on 22 September 2004, in a 4–2 loss against OB. Since the start of the 2004–05 season, he continued to regain his first team place, playing in the midfield position. Poulsen later scored three more goals later in the 2004–05 season. Despite suffering injuries throughout the 2004–05 season, Poulsen went on to make forty appearances and scoring five times in all competitions.

At the start of the 2005–06 season, Poulsen started the season well for Esbjerg fB when he scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against FC Midtjylland on 24 July 2005. Since the start of the 2005–06 season, Poulsen continued to regain his first team place, playing in the midfield position. He then played in both legs of the UEFA Cup Second round against Tromsø, as the club lost 3–2 on penalties, having played 120 minutes in a 1–1 draw on aggregate. It wasn't until on 2 October 2005 when Poulsen scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against AGF. He scored two more goals for Esbjerg fB, coming against FC København and SønderjyskE. In the first half of the season, Poulsen went on to make twenty–two appearances and scoring four times in all competitions. By the time he departed from the club, Poulsen played a total 107 games and scored 19 goals in the Superliga, before leaving Esbjerg fB in January 2006.

SC Heerenveen

It was announced on 27 January 2006 that Esbjerg fB agreed to sell Poulsen to Dutch team SC Heerenveen. Later in the same day, the move was confirmed, with the player signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the club. Upon joining Heerenveen, he was joined by Danish teammates: Hjalte Bo Nørregaard, Bo Storm, Timmi Johansen, and Ken Ilsø.

However, Poulsen's career at the club suffered a setback when he suffered an ankle injury in late–February. But Poulsen recovered and made his debut for Heerenveen, starting the whole game, in a 4–1 loss against PSV Eindhoven on 4 March 2006. Since returning from injury, he returned to the side, playing seven more matches in his first half-year with the team, including scoring his first goal for Heerenveen, as the club won 1–0 against FC Twente on 30 April 2006. At the end of the 2005–06 season, Poulsen went on to make fourteen appearances in all competitions.

At the start of the 2006–07 season, Poulsen found himself as a backup to right back Gianni Zuiverloon. This was due to that he did not like coach Gertjan Verbeek's motivational skills. As a result, Poulsen found himself placed on the substitute bench. Along the way, he also find himself with injury concerns. Poulsen was used as right midfielder in the spring 2007 but he could not establish himself in the starting line-up, mostly featuring in Heerenveen games as a substitute. Poulsen played in both legs of the newly born Eredivisie play-offs against Ajax, as the club lost 4–1 on aggregate. At the end of the 2006–07 season, he went on to make twenty–seven appearances in all competitions.

Ahead of the 2007–08 season, Poulsen faced uncertainties over his future at Heerenveen, due to lack of first team opportunities. He found his playing time at the club, mostly coming from the substitute bench in the first half of the season. It wasn't until on 2 December 2007 when Poulsen scored his first goal for Heerenveen, in a 1–0 win against NEC Nijmegen. Two weeks later on 15 December 2007, he set up two goals for the club, in a 5–1 win against NAC Breda. Poulsen then scored two goals in two matches between 19 January 2008 and 23 January 2008 against AZ Alkmaar and VVV-Venlo respectively. A week later on 2 February 2008, he set up two goals for Heerenveen, in a 7–0 win against Vitesse. In the second half of the season, Poulsen established himself in the team, playing in the midfield position. Despite being sidelined on two more occasions later in the 2007–08 season, he went on to make thirty–five appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.

Ahead of the 2008–09 season, under the new management of Trond Sollied, Poulsen was expected to leave Heerenveen after Sollied would not include him in more games, leading him to leave the club. It was reported on 13 August 2008 that he agreed to move back to Denmark by joining AGF.

AGF Aarhus

It was confirmed on 14 August 2008 that Poulsen joined AGF on a four-year contract, where he rejoined his former coach Ove Pedersen, and looked to restart his career by receiving more regular playing time. Upon joining the club, Poulsen was presented and couldn't wait to play for the team.

He made his debut for AGF Aarhus, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 win against Brøndby on 17 August 2008. Since joining the club, Poulsen established himself in the starting eleven, playing in the midfield position. It wasn't until on 13 September 2008 when he scored his first goal for AGF Aarhus, in a 2–0 win against AaB. His goal against AaB was later earned an award for September's of the month in a TV 2 Sport poll. It wasn't until on 1 December 2008 when Poulsen scored his second goal for the club, in a 2–1 win against Odense BK. By April, he began to play an important role for AGF by setting up two goals in two matches between 19 April 2009 and 22 April 2009 against Copenhagen and SønderjyskE. This was followed up by four goals in the next four matches, coming against Nordsjælland, Odense BK, AaB and Esbjerg. His contributions and performance in the club's first team was praised by new Manager Erik Rasmussen. At the end of the 2008–09 season, as AGF finished the 2008–09 Danish Superliga season in sixth place, Poulsen went on to make thirty–one appearances and scoring six times in all competitions. For his performance, he was included in the team of the fall season by both TV 2 Sport and TV 3. Poulsen was also named 2009 Danish Superliga ''Player of the Year''.

Ahead of the 2009–10 season, Poulsen was linked a move away from AGF, with clubs from Europe wanted to sign him. But he ended up staying at the club, having stated his intention to do so. At the start of the 2009–10 season, Poulsen continued to regain his first team place, playing in the midfield position. In early–August, he was involved in alteration with teammate Nando Rafael during training and this was quickly solved by Manager Rasmussen. Shortly after, Poulsen scored two goals in two matches between 3 August 2009 and 9 August 2009 against Odense BK and Køge respectively. This was followed up by setting up two goals in the next two matches. A month later on 28 September 2009, he scored his third goal of the season, as well as, setting up one of AGF's goals, in a 3–2 loss against Esbjerg. The first half of the season saw Poulsen being named the SAS league's Best Eleven in the first half of the season. In the January transfer window, he continued to be linked a move away from the club. A transfer offer from Serie A side Lazio was accepted by AGF in January 2010, but Poulsen rejected the offer in order not to put his 2010 FIFA World Cup participation in jeopardy. By February, however, he suffered ankle injury while on international duty and was sidelined for a month. It wasn't until on 18 April 2010 when Poulsen returned to the first team, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute, in a 1–0 loss against Brøndby. Two weeks later on 1 May 2010, he scored his fourth goal of the season, as well as, setting up the club's fourth goal of the game, in a 4–1 win against Silkeborg to the Danish 1st Division. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Poulsen went on to make twenty–five appearances and scoring four times in all competitions.

Following the conclusion of the FIFA World Cup 2010, Poulsen's performance in the tournament attracted interests, from European clubs, such, Wigan Athletic, 1. FC Köln, Brøndby, Randers side Lazio. Amid the transfer speculation, he made his only appearance for AGF of the season, coming on against Vejle on 8 August 2010 and missed the last minutes penalty, in a 0–0 draw. It was reported on 15 August 2010 that AGF accepted a bid for Poulsen from an undisclosed club.

FC Midtjylland (first stint)

It was announced on 17 August 2010 that Poulsen joined Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland. Upon joining the club, he hoped the move to FC Midtjylland would help him earn more international call–up for the national team.

However, Poulsen suffered a serious ankle injury that saw him sidelined for two months. He was then featured in the club's reserve team on 17 November 2010 against AaB, playing 70 minutes, as they lost 2–1. Five days later on 22 November 2010, Poulsen made his debut for FC Midtjylland, coming on as an 81st-minute substitute, in a 3–2 loss against OB. It wasn't until on 6 March 2011 when he scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–0 win over Copenhagen. Following this, Poulsen received a handful of first team football for the rest of the season. Poulsen helped FC Midtjylland reach the Danish Cup Final after he scored the winning penalty in the shootout against Esbjerg following a 3–3 draw on aggregate in both legs. Poulsen then started in the Danish Cup Final against FC Nordsjælland, as the club lost 3–2. It wasn't until on 25 May 2011 when he scored his second goal for FC Midtjylland, in a 2–2 draw against Randers

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