Carles Puyol i Saforcada (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈkaɾɫes puˈjɔɫ i safoɾˈkaða]; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona in La Liga. Mainly a central defender, he can also play on either flank, especially as a right back.[2]
He served as a longtime team captain for his only club FC Barcelona after taking over from Luis Enrique in August 2004, going on to appear in almost 600 official games for the team and win 21 major titles, notably six La Liga and three UEFA Champions League championships.
A Spanish international on 100 occasions, Puyol was part of the squads that won the Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup tournaments. In the latter competition's semifinal, he scored the only goal of the match against Germany.
Club career
Born in La Pobla de Segur, Lleida,Catalonia, Puyol started playing football for his hometown club, as agoalkeeper. However, after injury problems with his shoulder, he switched to striker. He said that in his youth, "My parents were skeptical about me becoming a footballer and encouraged me to study."[3] In 1995, he joined FC Barcelona's youth system at La Masia, switching positions again, to play as a defensive midfielder; two years later, he started playing for the club's B-team, occupying the position of right back.
In 1999 Louis van Gaal promoted Puyol to the first team, and he made his La Ligadebut on 2 October in a 2–0 away win against Real Valladolid. After that, he successfully made another conversion, now to central defender. During the 2003 off-season, as Barcelona was immersed in a financial crisis, Manchester Unitedshowed interest in acquiring Puyol's services,[4] but no move ever materialized; two years later, the player extended his contract for a further five seasons.[5]
Puyol was named club captain at the end of the 2003–04 season, after the retirement of Luis Enrique. He continued to be a defensive cornerstone for Barça, being awarded the "Best European right back" award by UEFA in 2002 (amongst other individual accolades), and helping the Catalans win two consecutive league titles. In 2005–06, he appeared in a total of 52 official games, including 12 in the season's UEFA Champions League, which ended in conquest against Arsenal, the club's second.
On 16 September 2008, Puyol made his 400th appearance in all competitions for Barcelona's first team in a Champions League group stage match against Sporting Clube de Portugal.[6] In the league season, he dealt with injury problems, but still contributed to the team by appearing in 28 matches and helped to win another league title, his only goal coming in El Clásico at Real Madrid on 2 May 2009, which finished with a resounding 6–2 away win;[7] from 2008–10 combined, other than the two league titles, he was essential in conquering the 2009 UEFA Super Cup, the 2009 Champions League and the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup, appearing in nearly 100 official matches, and describing the club as "the team who every Catalan child wants to play for... I am living the dream playing football for Barça and it is my dream to retire playing here."[3]
On 13 November 2010, Puyol made his 500th appearance in all competitions for Barcelona's first team in a La Liga game against Villarreal CF.[8] Puyol struggled again with injury in the2010–11 season,[9][10][11] but still appeared in 28 official games for Barcelona, which again won the league and the Champions League. He played six minutes in the final of the latter competition, a 3–1 win against Manchester United.
Since the defeat to Inter Milan in the 2009–10 Champions League semi-final, Puyol went on to play 56 official games for Barcelona without losing, a run that only ended on 11 January 2012 at CA Osasuna (2–3 loss).[12] Additionally, he scored two goals in the season's Copa del Rey, against Real Madrid (2–1 away win, 4–3 on aggregate) and Valencia CF (1–1 away, 3–1 aggregate).[13][14]
On 2 October 2012, in the late stages of a Champions League group stage encounter at S.L. Benfica, his first game upon recovering from a knee ligament ailment contracted against Getafe CF, Puyol dislocated his elbow after landing awkwardly in a corner kick challenge, initially being sidelined for a further two months[15] but fully recovering in one. On 18 December Barcelona renewed his contract, extending it until 30 June 2016;[16] in June of the following year he again underwent surgery to his right knee, in what was his sixth operation as a professional,[17] which led to thoughts of early retirement.[18]
On 2 March 2014, Puyol surpassed Migueli to go second in Barça's all-time league appearances table, behind only Xavi, and scored the third goal in a 4–1 home win against UD Almería.[19] Two days after, even though he still had two more years in his contract, he announced that he would leave Barcelona at the end of the season and declare the remainder of his contract void.[20][21] He said, "After my last two major operations, I find it is taking me a lot of effort to reach the level required here, even more than myself and the surgeons thought necessary. That's the reason I have reached this decision".[22]
International career
Puyol won his first cap for Spain on 15 November 2000 against the Netherlands, and remained a regular fixture in the following years. He played for the nation at the 2000 Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2004, 2006 World Cup, Euro 2008, 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup.
At Euro 2008 Puyol started throughout the vast majority of the competition, as the defensive backline only conceded two goals in five games in an eventual final win against Germany. He was named in the Team of the Tournament alongside defensive partner Carlos Marchena, of Valencia CF. He started in three out of five at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and captained the team when Iker Casillas was rested for the last group stage match; as Spain finished third, he and four other teammates were named in the Team of the Tournament.
At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Puyol started every match and played almost every minute (he was substituted by Marchena in the 84th minute of the quarter-final against Paraguay[24]). He scored the only goal in the semifinal against Germany with a powerful header from a corner taken by Barcelona teammate Xavi, sending the national team through to their first World Cup final,[25] and scoring his third international goal in 89 matches; in the decisive match, he played the full 120 minutes as Spain defeated the Netherlands 1–0.
On 1 August 2010, 32-year Puyol announced that he would continue to play for the national team for at least another two years.[26] He missed the Euro 2012 tournament due to a knee injury contracted in a league game against RCD Espanyol in early May, which required surgery and five to six weeks recuperation.[27]
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