Juve holding midfielder Christian Poulsen’s new home will be Anfield as Roy Hodgson adds insurance against a Javier Mascherano departure. He comes on a £4.5m transfer which could increase by another £1m if certain performance benchmarks are met.
Poulsen is an aggressive enforcer known for his retaliatory tactics. It won’t be a picnic meeting him. Javier Mascherano maybe a player known for his nippy tackles but there is nothing nippy or subtle about Poulsen.
During a Schalke vs AC MIlan Champions League match, Carlo Ancelotti called him a “coward” after he was spotted kicking Kaka when the officials had their backs turned.
The most infamous incident took place in the 2008 Euro qualifying match between Sweden and Denmark when Poulsen in the 88th minute with the match tied 3-3 punched Markus Rosenberg in the stomach. The Swedish striker went down in agony. The referee, Herbert Fandel after consulting with the linesman gave Poulsen a red card.
A Danish hooligan immediately invaded the field to go after the referee and had to be restrained by Danish players. The upshot: Denmark had to in effect forfeit the match with the final score reading, 3-0 in favour of Sweden. A stirring comeback was negated by Poulsen’s insanity. (The drama unfolds in the 7+ minutes video above).