Complete Name: Carles Puyol Saforcada

Birthplace: La Pobla de Segur -Lleida- (Catalonia)
Birthday: April 13 1978

Height: 178 cm
Weight: 80 Kg

Nickname: PUYOL

Biography

FC Barcelona captain Carles Puyol started his footballing career at a small local team, La Pobla de Segur, in the North of Catalonia. His talent soon attracted the wider attention of many clubs and also the scouts of Barcelona had him on their talent list. At the age of 17 he was signed up for the Barça Academy at La Masía.
He soon started to play for the Barca B Team and then progressed to make his debut with the first team under coach Louis van Gaal on 2nd October 1999. Thanks to his determination to improve and a tremendous work rate he appeared more and more as a regular player in the starting line up until until he made the right back position his own. Due to his determination and fighting spirit he became a favourite for the Nou Camp crowd. In the meantime Carles Puyol developed his skills as an outstanding central defender.

In the 2004-05 season Carles Puyol won his first Spanish Championship medal with Barça. By then he was already the captain of the team and an essential part of Frank Rijkaard's La Liga championship winning side.
At the end of the season he finally saw his dream come true, lifting the league trophy in the Nou Camp.

Carles Puyol is a regular in the Spanish national team and took part in the 2002 World Cup and the 2004 European Championship.


Puyol came from the Barça youth ranks. Carle Puyol has contract with FC Barcelona until 30th June 2010.

Profile & Position

Although Carles Puyol started off in the first team as a right back, he can also adapt to the left back position but has since developed into an outstanding central defender. He stands out for his tremendous fitness levels, fighting spirit and his discipline on the pitch. He's a real team player and he never over-complicates the job when he has to cut off an opposing attacking move. For a central defender he is not particularly tall (178 cm) but his physical strength makes him very strong in the air. He also likes to get up in attack, especially for standard situations like corners and free kicks. Carles Puyol is a true leader and an important reference point for the rest of the squad. As a catalan homegrown talent he is more than any proud to wear the Barça colours and shows total identification with the Club.