Christian Poulsen: Top 10 things you need to know about the Danish hardman plus watch him in action

By Mirror Football in Football Spy

Published 10:56 12/08/10

• 

Christian Poulson has completed his £4.5m move to Liverpool.

Here is the lowdown on the former Juventus man who commands the midfield and isn't afraid to go in hard...

1) Christian Poulsen was born in Asnaes, Denmark, on 28 February 1980.

2) He started out at amateur side Holbaek B&I, debuting at 17. His performances in central midfield saw him earn four Denmark U19 caps.

3) Aged 20, he had a successful trial with Danish Superliga side FC Copenhagen, signing his first professional contract. Poulsen went on to help Roy Hodgson's side land the Danish title in his first season and earning himself the Danish U21 player of the year award.

4) He earned his first call-up to the senior Denmark squad the following year, making his debut in a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands in November 2001. He played from the bench in all three World Cup 2002 group games but was suspended when Denmark were knocked out by England. He now has 77 caps and six international goals.

5) FC Schalke signed him in 2002 after 10 goals and 45 appearances for Copenhagen. Schalke won the 2005 German League Cup and Poulsen was named Danish player of the year - an award he went on to retain the following year, the first player to do so.

6) He switched to Sevilla when his Schalke contract ran out in 2006, helping them beat Barcelona to the European Super Cup on his debut. Sevilla went on to defend their Uefa Cup title and also picked up the Spanish Cup. Spurs fans may remember him as the Sevilla midfielder who trod on Jermaine Jenas's head in one European clash.

7) Poulsen moved on to Juventus in 2008 on a four year deal worth €3million a year, but struggled to establish himself in Serie A.

8) The midfielder is no stranger to controversy, Francesco Totti earning a three match ban for spitting on him during a Euro 2004 game, the Italian claiming Poulsen had provoked him.

9) He had a run in with Gennaro Gattuso at the end of a Champions League clash after AC Milan accused Poulsen of kicking Kaka when the referee wasn't looking. Poulsen responded with a sarcastic thumbs up. Milan boss Carlo Ancelotti later branded him a coward and Kaka called his footballing style "not just".

10) But he hit new heights of controversy when a Euro 2008 qualifier with Sweden had to be abandoned. With the game tied in the dying moments, Poulsen punched opposition striker Markus Rosenberg, earning a red card and handing Sweden a penalty kick chance. But a Danish fan ran onto the pitch and tried to attack the referee, who called off the game - later awarded as a 3-0 win to Sweden. One fan tried to press charges against Poulsen for the attack but the case was eventually dismissed.

Poulsen will be sure to bring some bite to Liverpool's midfielder - here he is in full enforcer mode...

And talking about his footballing philosophy...

Fancy winning £3,000 for FREE this month? Play Mirror Football Streak for your chance to win cash prizes! Start predicting now!