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Christian Burgess was a fan favourite at Fratton Park, with the defender giving his all for Pompey during his five years at the club

There’s a reason why Christian Burgess is still universally loved by Portsmouth fans, and that’s because he gave his all for the blue shirt in every single one of his 210 appearances for the club.

The defender’s heart on sleeve approach won him plenty of admirers during his time at Fratton Park, as he helped the south coast side on their way back up from the pits of despair.

With a League Two title in the bag and a number of promising seasons in League One, the centre-back epitomised Pompey’s rise back through the divisions while he was still with the football club, as he left them in a much better place than he found them.

The success he has gone on to have on the continent will come as no surprise to those on Frogmore Road, with Burgess establishing himself as one of a kind during his time with the club.

Christian Burgess establishes himself as Portsmouth FC great

The domineering presence of Burgess at the back would have been enough to see plenty of League Two strikers start quaking in their boots during the previous decade.

The imposing figure, draped with his trademark ponytail, would sniff out danger in an instant, and do all he could to extinguish the situation, by hook or by crook.

After spells at Middlesbrough, Hartlepool United and Peterborough United in the early stages of his career, Burgess ended up at Fratton Park in the summer of 2015, with Pompey looking to turn life around after their time in the doldrums.

From FA Cup victory in 2008 to fourth tier football just five years later, it was quite a fall from grace for the Hampshire side, who now faced the gargantuan task of trying to get back to where they felt they belonged.

After suffering three relegations in four seasons, the Blues had two years of acclimatising towards their new surroundings in the fourth tier, before Burgess’ arrival coincided with his new employers beginning to find their feet once again.

With the likes of Adam Webster and Matt Clarke alongside him, Burgess was part of a formidable backline that was as stingy as they come, with only one side in Oxford United allowing fewer goals than their 44 in this first season with the club.

After play-off defeat during his first 12 months on the south coast, Burgess and co. came back even more determined in 16/17, and won the league title on the final day of the season, putting them back in the third tier, with the opportunity to right a few wrongs from their season's of decline.

Burgess was at the front and centre of it all, as he made the step-up with his usual poise and grace; marauding the ball out from centre half whenever he fancied, and kick-starting attacks with his quick thinking and pinpoint accuracy.

At the time, a ball-playing defender of his ilk was a rare breed in the depths of the Football League, which made him such a powerful tool to have in Paul Cook’s armoury, as the club regularly battled near the top of the table as soon as they returned to League One.

Two doomed playoff campaigns later, Burgess had achieved hero-like status at Fratton Park, as he could seemingly do no wrong in the eyes of those who came to follow their side week in, week out.

Winning headers, sliding into tackles, last-ditch blocks, the defender would be everywhere when his side went to battle, and he seemed to thrive off the competition, although it was always clear that he could achieve bigger and better things than playing in the third tier.

Eventually, the day would come when he set sail from the south coast and head to Belgium with Union Saint-Gilloise in 2020, as the next exciting chapter of his career began in earnest.

Christian Burgess stars in Saint-Gilloise European journey

Having joined the Belgian side while they were in the second division, Burgess once again had an immediate impact in the new club he had joined, with promotion achieved in his first season with the club, before an unprecedented title push followed the year after.

Suddenly, the defender had gone from the trials and tribulations of a League One season to competing on the European stage, with the likes of Malmo, Union Berlin and Braga all in his sights.

2023 saw the Belgians reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League, with that all too familiar sight of the pony-tailed protagonist marshalling his backline, and sweeping up any business that may come his way.

For Pompey fans it would have been no surprise though, they had become used to the centre back’s majestic attitude during his stint in blue, with a 2-1 victory over Liverpool last year a high point for both club and player.

Looking back, Burgess underpinned a lot of what went right for Portsmouth during his years at the club, and set the standards across the board with his professionalism on the pitch, and constant drive for success.