Euro 2008 Player Profile: Carles Puyol

Name: Carles Puyol i Saforcada (sometimes incorrectly spelled Carlos)

Team: Spain
Group: D; Sweden, Russia, Greece.
Caps (Goals): 58 (1) as of May 11, 2008
DOB: April 13, 1978 (30 years old)
Position: Central Defender
Club Team: Barcelona

Facing Carles Puyol on defense has to be a lot like facing a pitbull. An agile pitbull. It’s difficult to describe in words what the Spain and Barcelona defender has to offer, so before we go any further with this profile, let’s watch a video.

The ball starts out in the possession of players on teams opposing Puyol, and ends up…not. And the other team doesn’t even see it coming.

A lot of this is because he truly loves the game. Here’s a quote from the man himself.

For me, playing football is entertainment. It’s the best thing in the world. I am fortunate to work in a field that I love and to come here to train daily and to stay the necessary time is not a sacrifice.

And on top of that? He has amazing hair. (And you can define “amazing” however you’d like.)

When he was young he actually played in goal, but he moved to striker because of shoulder injuries. He now generally plays in central defense, but he’s also capable of playing at rightback.

Carles has played for Barcelona for his entire professional career, ever since he was seventeen. He started out on the B team, but in a few years had worked his way up to play with the big boys. And now he’s the captain. With him aboard, Barcelona has won La Liga twice (2005 and 2006), the Spanish Super Cup twice (’06 and ‘07) and the Champions League once, in 2006. He was also the 2006 Champions League Defender of the Year. (Yes, 2006 was a very good year for Puyol and Barcelona.)

Puyol officially plays for Spain, but he also unofficially plays for the Catalonian National Football Team, which is currently not recognized as a team by FIFA or UEFA. The Catalonians have applied for UEFA recognition, citing teams like Scotland and Wales in the UK, but thus far haven’t gotten anywhere. And this is good news for Spain.

Puyol will be thirty years old during these Euros. That’s not young for a footballer. What has he learned over his career?

From an interview:

“I’ve certainly improved. It is impossible not to alongside players and coaches like these. When I was young I was a lot crazier, now I play much calmer and more patiently.”

You can find another interesting Puyol interview here. But keep in mind that it took place toward the end of the 2006 season, which was arguably Puyol’s and Barcelona’s best ever. His attitude may have changed a bit since then.

You can read more about Puyol and the Spain team on our Spain page. And for more Barcelona news, please stop by our Barcelona page.

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