A French-born central defender of Polish ancestry, Damien Perquis will be representing Poland at UEFA EURO 2012. Fast-tracked into Franciszek Smuda's squad just days after being granted Polish citizenship, the sturdy stopper has spent the past five seasons playing Ligue 1 football for FC Sochaux-Montbéliard.

• Born in the French town of Troyes, he joined local club ES Troyes AC as a youth and graduated into their professional ranks during the 2003/04 season at Ligue 2 level.

• Won promotion to Ligue 1 in 2004/05 but left Troyes as a free agent for top-flight rivals AS Saint-Étienne and made his debut on 30 July 2005 in a 0-0 draw with AC Ajaccio; his first goal did not come until 25 February 2007, in a 2-0 win at Paris Saint-Germain FC.

• Unable to establish himself as a regular with Les Verts, he was sent on loan to Sochaux in 2007/08 and made his European debut (excluding UEFA Intertoto Cup appearances) shortly after his arrival – in a UEFA Cup first round tie against Panionios GSS.

• Fixed up a permanent move to Sochaux in summer of 2008 and went on to become a mainstay of the team's defence, making 105 Ligue 1 starts over the next three seasons and scoring ten goals.

• Although he won three caps at Under-21 level for France, he was eligible to play for Poland through a grandmother and received his citizenship on 1 September 2011; his debut came five days later in a 2-2 draw against Germany in Gdansk.