Stories of the faithful: Carles Puyol has been a mainstay of Barcelona’s defence his entire career

Carles Puyol is one of Barcelona’s greatest legends. The man who captained the team in its glory days was the mainstay of the defensive line-up. Puyol was truly a heartthrob, never knowing the atmosphere of any other club than Barcelona.

Tales of the Loyalists is a series by Ruik that follows players who have dedicated all, or the vast majority, of their careers to one club. In today’s edition, we take a look at Barcelona defender, Carles Puyol.

A lifetime in Catalonia

An interesting fact about Carles Puyol is that he started as a youngster as a goalkeeper. In his youth, he played for Catalan club Pobla de Segur, however, due to a shoulder injury, he had to switch to the field. At first he played in attack, shortly afterwards the coaches moved him to defence. At the age of seventeen, he then made the big move to Barcelona.

Carles Puyol was a B-team player for a long time, but after four years he already made his debut in an A-team match against Real Valladolid. His performance was not bad, but he was close to a transfer to Málaga or Real Madrid due to the high competition. But the transfers fell through for Puyol himself, who wanted to fight for a place in the starting line-up.

A turning point under the new coach

Puyol was given more space under new coach Carles Rexacha from the 2001/02 season. Under him, the Spanish stopper played 35 games and scored his debut goal for Real Valladolid. Puyol remembers the matches with Valladolid only in a good way.

With every game, Puyol’s performance went up and at the same time he gained a bigger say in the cabinet. For this reason, he became Barcelona’s captain in 2003, at the same time he was also vice-captain in the national team.

Years of success

Carles Puyol can boast three titles from Europe’s most prestigious competition, the Champions League, and once he managed to win the European Super Cup with the team. In domestic competition, he has dominated the league six times. As far as national team success is concerned, he has won the World and European Championships.

Puyol’s last season was in 2014, retiring after the end of his career due to knee problems. To this day, he remains one of the best defenders in history, standing out on the pitch for his toughness, organisation of play, as well as his versatility.

Source: FC Barcelona, Transfermarkt