Simon Poulsen
Simon Busk Poulsen is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a left-back.
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.
Club career
SønderjyskE
Born and raised in Sønderborg, Denmark, Poulsen began his football career at early age and started out at Ulkebøl and SUB Sønderborg. He then joined Haderslev Fodboldklub before the name was changed to HFK Sønderjylland and SønderjyskE 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 SønderjyskE, 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 on 31 July 2003. His performance attracted interest from Bundesliga side Werder Bremen, 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 4–1 saw SønderjyskE promoted to the Danish Superliga. 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 rivals Midtjylland on a three–year contract. However, SønderjyskE complained about the tapping-up of Poulsen to the Danish Football Association, which delayed the move. Eventually, the move was agreed officially on 15 August 2005, with Thomas Rathe 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 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. 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. 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 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. On 10 September 2007, he signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2011. His fourth goal of the season came on 30 September 2007, in a 2–0 win against AGF. Poulsen's performances as left winger resulted in him being named for the 2007 Danish Team of the Year. He was also nominated for the 2007 Danish Player of the Year but lost out to Daniel Agger. 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 for a reported transfer fee 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 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. 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. 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'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. Poulsen made a total of two more appearances for the club between August and January. By February, he began moving to the position of left-back, 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 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 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 over the left–back position, which saw him rotated in and out of the starting eleven. However, in a match against FC Utrecht 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. He then made his first UEFA Champions League start and started the whole game, as AZ Alkmaar drew 1–1 against Arsenal 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. 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 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 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. Following this, Poulsen continued to rotate in and out of the starting line–up, as he competed with Ragnar Klavan 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 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. 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. 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. 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 side Aston Villa, La Liga side Deportivo de La Coruña, Ligue 1 side Lyon and Serie A side Juventus and Napoli. 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 and Poulsen will leave AZ Alkmaar until the end of the 2011–12 season.