Christian Poulsen

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Personal information
Christian Poulsen
Poulsen at Schalke 04.
Full name	Christian Bager Poulsen
Date of birth	February 28, 1980
Place of birth	Asnæs, Denmark
Height	182 cm
Position	Central midfielder
Club information
Current club	Sevilla FC
Youth clubs
1985-1995 1995-2000	Asnæs BK Holbæk B&IF
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
2000-2002 2002-2006 2006-	FC København FC Schalke 04 Sevilla FC	56 (11) 111 (3)
National team**
2001-	Denmark	44 (2)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. ** National team caps and goals correct as of November 15, 2006.

Christian Bager Poulsen (born February 28, 1980) is a Danish professional football (soccer) player who currently plays for Sevilla FC. He has been a regular member of the Denmark national football team since his debut in 2001, and has currently played more than 40 matches, scoring 2 goals.

1 Biography
- 1.1 Moving abroad
2 Honours
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Biography

Poulsen got his breakthrough in Denmark when he took a commanding role in the attacking midfield of FC København, following the heart problems of Ståle Solbakken in March 2001. He had then only played in the club for 3 months after his move from Holbæk B&IF. Poulsen quickly made his mark on the league and helped his club win the 2000-01 Danish Superliga championship when he scored to 1-0 in the 3-1 win that secured the league title against second-placed Brøndby IF. Following another good campaign in 2001-02, Poulsen was called up for the Danish national team and got his debut when he started the 1-1 draw with the Netherlands on November 10, 2001. FCK ended runners-up in the Superliga, and Poulsen was named FCK Player of the Year 2002, before he was called up for the Danish squad for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Christian Poulsen played the three group matches, but following two yellow cards, he was suspended when Denmark were knocked out.

[edit] Moving abroad

After the 2002 World Cup, Poulsen made a €7M move, the then most expensive sale by a Danish club,^[1] to German club FC Schalke 04, where he looked to take over the position as holding midfielder left by retired Czech player Jiri Nemec. His start in Schalke was made easier by the fact that his team mate in the Danish national team, Ebbe Sand, also played for the club. Through his time at Schalke, Poulsen played a number of matches at right back, but eventually secured himself a spot in the central midfield for both club and country.

Poulsen was selected for the Euro 2004 tournament, where he would play a controversial role. Following the 0-0 draw with Italy, Danish television showed Poulsen being spat on by Italian Francesco Totti, who received a three-match ban and gave a "full public apology", though still claiming he was provoked by Poulsen.^[2]

In the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League tournament, Poulsen and Schalke were in the same preliminary group as Italian team A.C. Milan. Following their first match, a 2-2 draw, Poulsen was described as "a coward" by A.C. Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti,^[3] this time for Poulsen's marking of A.C. Milan's Brazilian playmaker Kaka. Schalke were eliminated from the Champions League tournament as A.C. Milan won their second match 3-2, despite a goal by Christian Poulsen. Following the final whistle, Italian player Gennaro Gattuso steered towards Poulsen and confronted him.^[4] Gattuso made gloating taunts, while Poulsen gave him an ironic thumbs up, afterwards declaring he found Gattuso childish and hoped he felt embarrassed for himself.^[5] His displays for Schalke and the Danish national team earned him the 2005 Danish Player of the Year award.

In June 2006, Christian Poulsen's contract with Schalke ran out and he signed a contract with Spanish club Sevilla FC, ending long-lasting rumours which had linked him to several others teams, including A.C. Milan and Internazionale F.C. from Italy. In his debut match for the club, Poulsen helped Sevilla win the European Super Cup trophy in a 3-0 victory against FC Barcelona on August 25, and following his first month at the club, he was named the best new signing in Spain by Spanish sports daily Marca.^[6]

[edit] Honours

Danish Superliga: 2000-01, with FC København
Danish Player of the Year : 2005
European Super Cup: 2006, with Sevilla FC

[edit] References

^ (Danish) Daniel Agger skifter til Liverpool, Danmarks Radio, January 11, 2006
^ Totti ban confirmed, BBC Sport, June 18, 2004
^ ANCELOTTI FURIOUS AT POULSEN, Sporting Life, September 13, 2005
^ AC Milan 3-2 Schalke: Giants stutter through, Soccernet, December 6, 2005
^ (Danish) Poulsen: Gattuso opførte sig som et barn, Danmarks Radio, December 6, 2005
^ (Danish) Anders B. Rasmussen, Marca: Poulsens bedste indkøb, TV 2 (Denmark), September 21, 2006

[edit] External links

	Denmark squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup
1 Sørensen \| 2 Tøfting \| 3 Henriksen \| 4 Laursen \| 5 Heintze \| 6 Helveg \| 7 Gravesen \| 8 Grønkjær \| 9 Tomasson \| 10 Jørgensen \| 11 Sand \| 12 N. Jensen \| 13 Lustü \| 14 C. Jensen \| 15 Michaelsen \| 16 Kjær \| 17 Poulsen \| 18 Løvenkrands \| 19 Rommedahl \| 20 Bøgelund \| 21 Madsen \| 22 Christiansen \| 23 Nielsen \| Coach: Olsen