Ten Facts About Poulsen

Liverpoolfc.tv today broke the news that Danish international Christian Poulsen had signed for the club. Here are 10 facts you may not have known about our new boy.

1/ Christian Bager Poulsen was born in Asnaes on February 28, 1980 - the same date Public Sleeping Day is celebrated.

2/ Poulsen has 77 caps for Denmark and was a virtual ever-present in their World Cup qualifying campaign, playing 882 out of a possible 900 minutes and scoring two goals. He also figured in all three of their matches in South Africa, notching up 270 minutes and one yellow card.

3/ Christian covered a total of 34.47km on the pitch during the World Cup, reaching a top speed of 27.11km/h.

4/ He also figured for his country at the 2002 World Cup. Poulsen came off the bench in all three group games but accumulated two bookings, meaning he was suspended when England eliminated Denmark in the knockout phase.

5/ The combative midfielder was named as Denmark's Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006, becoming the first player to win the award two years in succession - but he lost the crown to a certain Daniel Agger in 2007.

6/ Poulsen is renowned for his no-nonsense approach on the field, of which he once said: "On the field, I like to win the game. You have some rules when you play and I try to play within these rules. Of course, sometimes you can perhaps step over the limit of what is allowed, but every footballer at this level hates to lose and they will fight and do almost everything they can to win the game."

7/ Christian may find himself on the receiving end of some banter inside the Melwood dressing room due to the alice band he sports in his hair - but don't expect him to be requesting a short back and sides at Herbert's anytime soon: "I've got long hair and I need to keep it out of my eyes. It's part of my image and I will keep it."

8/ Poulsen has played under Roy Hodgson before - during the title-winning 2000-01 season at Danish side Copenhagen.

9/ His form earned him the Danish U21 Player of the Year award and a call-up to the national side. He won his first cap against Holland in November 2001.

10/ Poulsen moved to La Liga in the summer of 2006 following the expiry of his contract at German side Schalke - and his first act was to help new club Seville beat Barcelona in the Super Cup final in Monaco. They also went to on retain the UEFA Cup and lift the Copa del Rey that season.