carles puyol champion players biography

Carles Puyol i Saforcada (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈkarɫəs puˈjɔɫ]; born 13 April 1978) is a World cup winning Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team.
Mainly a central defender, he can also play on either flank, especially as a right back.He also serves as a longtime team captain for his only club FC Barcelona after taking over from Luis Enrique in August 2004.
Club career Early years
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. Puyol has 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 a defensive midfielder. In 1997, Puyol stepped up to play 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 first division debut on 2 October 1999, at Real Valladolid, in a 2–0 win. After that, he successfully made another conversion, now to central 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 and "Best European centre back" in 2005, 2006 and 2008, as well as receiving the "UEFA Club Best Defender" trophy in 2006. Puyol helped the Catalans win an impressive two consecutive league titles in the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons. In 2005-2006, Puyol helped Barça win its second Champions League title, 14 years after the first.

On 16 September 2008, Puyol made his 400th appearance in 2008-presentall competitions for Barça's first team in the Champions League match against Sporting Clube de Portugal.[5] In the league season, the Barça captain 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 2-6 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. Puyol describes Barça 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 hereAt Euro 2008, Puyol started throughout the vast majority of the competition, as the defensive backline only conceded two goals in five games, with an eventual final win against Germany. He was named in the Team of the Tournament alongside defensive partner Carlos Marchena, of Villareal CF.

Puyol started three out of five games at the 2009 Confederations Cup, and captained the team when Iker Casillas was rested for the last group stage match. As Spain finished third, he and four other teammates were named in the Team of the Tournament.

At the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Puyol started every match and played almost every minute (he was substituted by Carlos Marchena in the 84th minute in the quarter final against Paraguay[8]). He scored the only goal in the semifinal against Germany with a powerful header from a corner taken by Barcelona teammate Xavi, sending the national team through to their first World Cup final,[9] and scoring his third international goal in 89 matches. In the final, he played the full 120 minutes, as Spain defeated the Netherlands 1–0 .

On 1 August 2010, Puyol announced that he would continue to play for the national team for at least another two years.