CARLES PUYOL-CAPTION
Born in La Pobla de Segur, Lleida, Catalonia, Puyol started playing football for his hometown club, as a goalkeeper. 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."[2] In 1995, he joined FC Barcelona's youth system at La Masia, switching positions again, to play as adefensive midfielder; two years later, he started playing for the club's B-team, occupying the position of right back.
In 1999, then-coach Louis van Gaal promoted Puyol to the first team. He made his La Liga debut on 2 October at Real Valladolid, in a 2–0 win. After that, he successfully made another conversion, now tocentral defender. During the 2003 off-season, as Barcelona was immersed in a financial crisis,Manchester United showed interest in acquiring Puyol's services,[3] but no move ever materialized; two years later, the player extended his contract for a further five seasons.[4]
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 match against Sporting Clube de Portugal.[5] 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;[6] 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."[2]
Puyol struggled again with injury in the 2010–11 season,[7][8][9] but still appeared in 28 official games for Barcelona, which again won the league and the Champions League. He played five minutes in the final of the latter competition, a 3–1 win against Manchester United.
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