Carles Puyol is a retired Spanish football player. He is considered one of the most important defenders of his generation. He played for FC Barcelona and internationally with the Spanish national team.
Profile of Carles Puyol
Carles Puyol was born in La Pobla de Segur, in the Catalonia region, on April 13, 1978.
He started playing football from a young age in his hometown club as a goalkeeper, and after shoulder problems he turned into a striker.
Although his family was not convinced of his ability to reach the world of professionalism and encouraged him to complete his studies, his insistence led him in 2005 to enter Barcelona's academy.
He started playing in the first team in 1999 and continued with them for 14 years, during which he achieved all possible titles with the club and was captain of the team, represented the Spanish national team and achieved with him the 2010 World Cup and 2008 European Nations Cup.
The Beginnings of Carles Puyol
Carles Puyol was born in La Pobla de Segur, in the Catalonia region, on April 13, 1978.
He started playing football from a young age in his hometown club as a goalkeeper, and after shoulder problems he turned into a striker, and although his family was not convinced of his ability to reach the world of professionalism and encouraged him to complete his studies, his insistence led him in 2005 to enter Barcelona's academy, where he played there as a midfielder As a defender, and two years later, he moved to Barcelona's reserve team as a right-back.
In 1998 Barcelona accepted an offer from the Spanish club Málaga to buy the Spanish youth, but Puyol refused to move, especially after he saw his friend Xavi play his first match with the club and book a place for him in the squad.
The Accomplishments of Carles Puyol
Barcelona coach Louis Van Gaal promoted Puyol to the first team and moved his position to the center of the defense, where he played his first match on October 2, 1999 against Valladolid, in the summer of 2003 Barcelona was suffering from financial difficulties and Manchester United showed at that time an interest in joining Puyol. The young Spaniard preferred to stay with his club and renewed his contract for an additional five years.
At the end of the 2003-2004 season, with the retirement of Luis Enrique, Carles Puyol became the captain of the team due to his great importance to the squad, especially after winning the best right-back award in Europe in 2002 and helping the club win the Spanish League title twice in a row.
Puyol participated in the 2005-2006 season in 52 official matches with Barcelona, including 12 in the European Champions League, which ended that year with Barcelona winning the title after defeating Arsenal in the final.
On September 16, 2008, Puyol reached 400 matches with Barcelona in their meeting against Sporting Lisbon in the group stage of the European Champions League. Puyol reached his 500th match with the Spanish club on November 13, 2010, and despite being chased by injuries, he contributed to his club winning the League and Champions League titles that season, participating in 28 official matches.
Puyol has achieved with his club since losing to Inter Milan in the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2010 a series of 56 unbeaten official matches.
Although he extended his contract on December 18, 2012, for an additional four years, the successive injuries he sustained made early retirement an idea.
On March 2, 2014 Puyol became the second most played player in Barcelona history, after his friend Xavi.
Despite the two years remaining in his contract, Puyol announced his departure from Barcelona at the end of the season due to his decline in his level due to repeated injuries, and on May 15, 2014 he played his last match for the club after a career that spanned 15 years, 10 of which were as a captain during which he won 21 titles, and after his retirement at the age of 36 He worked in a managerial position at the club before resigning in January 2015.
His career with the national team:
Carles Puyol began his career with the Spanish national team on November 15, 2000 in a match against the Netherlands, and regularly participated with the national team in various international tournaments, where he won the European Nations title in 2008 after a distinguished tournament, and he was crowned with the 2010 World Cup title and had a decisive role. By scoring the winning goal over Germany in the final.
Puyol did not play in the European Championship in 2012 due to a knee injury, and on February 6, 2013 Puyol played his 100th match with the national team.