Midfielder Simon at AZ is a 1984 with an American father and a Danish mother (he's from Denmark). It looks like his first club was HFK Sonderjylland (renamed SønderjyskE), then he moved to FC Midtjylland for a few seasons. He's been in several Danish youth and senior camps and has a few appearances; in fact, he started against the U.S. in January 2007, and had the assist on Denmark's goal in the 3-1 loss: DEN: 16-Jesper Christiansen; 6-Michael Gravgaard (capt.), 7-Lars Jacobsen, 10-Anders Moller Christensen, 17-Chris Sorensen (14-Christopher Poulsen, 68); 9-William Kvist Jorgensen, 12-Peter Nymann (19-Christian Keller, 46), 20-Rasmus Wurtz (2-Kristian Bak Nielsen, 81), 21-Niki Zimlig (13-Hjalte Do Norregaard, 58); 5-Simon Busk Poulsen (11-Morten Nordstrand Nielsen, 68), 18-Dennis Sorensen (3-Jesper Bech, 46) Link: http://ussoccer.com/articles/viewArticle.jsp_281632.html Match highlights: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKM1bS5ZXP4 His cross from the left is at around 2:00 in.
It's pretty obvious that his Dad was black and his mother a white Danish woman. It would be safe to assume that his father doesn't have a Danish surname. He probably has his mother's surname. An interesting note about Danish people: Since so many have the same last name (Jensen, Sorensen, Larsen, etc.) there is usually a family middle name. I have a Danish friend who uses his family middle name as a surname, since his last name Jensen is so common. Damn with that useless piece of info not germane to the topic I sound like SFS.
Simon Poulsen has won 3 caps for the Danish NT and 3 unofficial caps for the Danish League NT (including the one vs. the USMNT last year). He btw transferred from the Danish Superliga to AZ Alkmaar in this past winter transfer window for a US$4.7 million (DKK 24 million) transfer fee. https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=13857212&postcount=93 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Poulsen Yes, I guess not all that many ppl know that Viggo Mortensen is a Danish citizen, but just about all ppl with a 'sen' last name somehow originate from Denmark... You could also mention: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000558/ or http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001567/ ...or the (Mary-Kate and Ashley) Olsen twins for that matter... .
You really need to work in a couple names of Danish players, preferably from the mid-70s or early-90s, and throw in a foreign term or two. But nice work nonetheless.
I did not realize he was a Yank. He has been back with AZ since 2014 and has 3 goals in 36 league appearances.
Not going to make a habit of this, but figured I'd throw up Simon in the starting lineup today (along with Aron) against Vitesse:
Gets the chance to face his father's country: Denmark has released their roster for the upcoming match with the USA. #USMNT pic.twitter.com/qRYSCi3Eo1— Joe Gould (@twelfthyank) March 17, 2015
Previous action against the USA (EDIT: which I just realized I put in the OP years ago): CARSON, Calif. (January 20, 2007) — The U.S. Men’s National Team returned to the field in style under new head coach Bob Bradley on Saturday with an efficient 3-1 victory against Denmark at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. DEN: 16-Jesper Christiansen; 6-Michael Gravgaard (capt.), 7-Lars Jacobsen, 10-Anders Moller Christensen, 17-Chris Sorensen (14-Christopher Poulsen, 68); 9-William Kvist Jorgensen, 12-Peter Nymann (19-Christian Keller, 46), 20-Rasmus Wurtz (2-Kristian Bak Nielsen, 81), 21-Niki Zimlig (13-Hjalte Do Norregaard, 58); 5-Simon Busk Poulsen (11-Morten Nordstrand Nielsen, 68), 18-Dennis Sorensen (3-Jesper Bech, 46) http://www.ussoccer.com/stories/201...eturns-to-action-with-3-1-win-against-denmark
He's now moved to PSV: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/sport/poulsen-signs-as/1851496.html Danish defender Simon Poulsen has signed for PSV Eindhoven as the newly crowned Dutch champions made their first move in the transfer market to strengthen their side for next season's UEFA Champions League. @bungadiri @Friedel'sAccent -- New title "Simon Poulsen Lights it up at PSV"
Certainly a "might have been" guy for us -- he was on Denmark's 2010 roster, but they didn't go to Brazil, and he's 30 now. (They didn't make Euro 2008, and he didn't make the 2012 roster.) He hasn't been what I'd call a mainstay for Denmark, but he's had a number of chances with the program over the years. Thirty caps for Denmark is a pretty good career.
He has retired as of January 2019 and is now coaching at SønderjyskE Fodbold in the Danish top tier: https://soenderjyske.dk/fodbold/simon-poulsen-stiller-stoevlerne-og-bliver-traener-i-soenderjyske/ Simon Poulsen stops as a player in SønderjyskE and continues in the club as assistant coach for the super league team and coaches for the club's talents. He has just signed a two-year coach contract. A club icon and a true SønderjyskE-legend are now stopping their active career. 34-year-old Simon Poulsen puts the football boots on the shelf, but the shattering will continue to play a major role in SønderjyskE. In the future he will become part of the coaching team around the super league team, and when the players meet after the Christmas holidays on January 7, Simon Poulsen will be in the role of assistant coach. @bungadiri -- Let's move to YAA and rename the thread: Simon Poulsen Coaching at SønderjyskE Fodbold (Denmark)
Still there: Simon Poulsen er på plads i Den Lyseblå Sofa, hvor han svarer på spørgsmål fra fansene 🛋️Sæt dig godt til rette og nyd et kvarter i fremragende selskab med Simon Poulsen 📺https://t.co/S6gBKO7zNc pic.twitter.com/2ATAKOIp3G— Sønderjyske Fodbold (@SJFodbold) September 12, 2023
Simon Poulsen fortæller om det første træningspas i Spanien og forventningerne til træningslejren og mandagens testkamp mod GAIS 📺 pic.twitter.com/x8oahk7igP— Sønderjyske Fodbold (@SJFodbold) February 4, 2024