Background
Was born in La Pobla de Segur , Lleida, Catalonia, Spain.
Was born in La Pobla de Segur , Lleida, Catalonia, Spain.
Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Little Carles had always dreamt of becoming a footballer even though his parents wanted him to study. Puyol started playing football at the position of a goalkeeper. However he switched to a striker because of an injury. Then he entered La Maisa Academy where started to play as a defending midfielder. He has been staying at this very position till today.
In 1997 Carles joined Barcelona B-team. Two years later Louis van Gaal promoted Puyol to the first team in which he debuted on 2 October 1997. After the match he changed the position and became a central defender.
In 2000 Puyol was called up to join the Spanish National Team. He participated also the Summer Olympic Games at Sydney that same year.
In the 2003-04 season Puyol was named a captain of Barcelona.
The summer of 2008 became very important for Puyol and the Spanish National Team as they had won UEFA European Championship.
Carles celebrated his 400th appearance in a Barcelona shirt on 16 September 2008. That year he suffered from injuries but managed to appear in 28 matches to help the team to win several trophies.
At the winning World Cup in 2010 Carles played in every single match. The whole team took pains to reach the final and they managed to become Wolds Champions for the first time in the football history of Spain. After the tournament Puyol said that he would contine playing for the National Team for another two years.
Injures followed Carles Puyol in the 2010-11 season. However he helped Barcelona in 28 matches. The team won La Liga and UEFA Champions League that season.
Puyol missed the triumphal for the National Team UEFA 2012 European Championship due to a knee injury.
The next two seasons Puyol again suffered from a lot of injuries but anyway appeared in a number of most significant matches.
During Puyol’s professional career he has always been known as a workaholic. He’s committed to take pains to work on his reaction and techniques.
Carles wears number 5 on Barcelona and National Team shirts.
Quotations: ‘I don't have Romario's technique, Marc Overmars' pace or Patrick Kluivert's strength. But I work harder than the others. I'm like the student who is not as clever, but revises for his exams and does OK in the end’.
