Simon Poulsen

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

Born and raised in Sønderborg, Denmark, Poulsen began his football career at early age and started out at Ulkebøl and SUB Sønderborg.

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.

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.

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.

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.

At the end of the 2005–06 Superliga season, he went on to make seventeen appearances and scoring once in all competitions.

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.

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 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.