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Carles Puyol

Personal information
Full name
Carles Puyol i Saforcada
Date of birth
13 April 1978 (1978-04-13) (age 31)
Place of birth
La Pobla de Segur, Spain
Height
1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position
Defender
Club information
Current club
FC Barcelona
Number
5
Youth career
1993–1995
C. Pobla de Segur
1995–1997
FC Barcelona
Senior career*
Years
Club
Apps (Gls)†
1997–1999
FC Barcelona B
0083 0(4)
1999–
FC Barcelona
0299 0(5)
National team‡
1995
Spain U18
0003 0(0)
2000
Spain U21
0004 0(0)
2000
Spain U23
0005 0(0)
2000–
Spain
0077 0(2)
2001–
Catalonia
0003 0(0)
Honours[show]
Competitor for Spain
Men's Football
Silver
2000 Sydney
Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 27 May 2009.
† Appearances (Goals).‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 June 2009
Carles Puyol i Saforcada (born 13 April 1978 in La Pobla de Segur, Lleida, Catalonia) is a Spanish footballer who plays with FC Barcelona and the Spanish national team.
Mainly a central defender, he can also appear on either flanks, especially as a right back. He also served as a longtime team captain, after taking over from Luis Enrique on August 2004.
Contents[hide]
1 Club career
2 International career
3 Club statistics
3.1 International goals
4 Honours
4.1 FC Barcelona
4.2 International
4.3 Individual
5 References
6 External links
//

[edit] Club career
Puyol started playing football for his hometown club, La Pobla de Segur, as a goalkeeper. However, after injury problems with his shoulder, he switched to striker. In 1995, he moved to join FC Barcelona's youth team, 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 October 2, 1999, at Real Valladolid, in a 2-0 win. After that, he successfully made another reconversion, now to central defender; he was awarded "Best European right back" award by UEFA in 2002 and "Best European centre back" in 2005, 2006 and 2008. Puyol also won the trophy "UEFA Club Best Defender" in 2006.
Puyol was first chosen as the captain of Barcelona at the end of the 2003-04 season, after the retirement of Luis Enrique. On September 16, 2008, he made his 400th appearance in all competitions for the Barça first team in a Champions League match against Sporting Clube de Portugal.[1]

[edit] International career
Puyol won his first Spanish cap on November 15, 2000 against the Netherlands, and remained a regular fixture ever since. He played for the nation at the 2000 Olympics, 2002 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2004, 2006 FIFA World Cup, Euro 2008 and the Confederations Cup 2009.
At Euro 2008, Puyol started thoughout the vast majority of the competition, as the defensive backline only conceded two goals in five games, in an eventual final win against Germany. He was named in the Team of the Tournament with defensive partner Carlos Marchena of Valencia CF.
Puyol started three out of five games at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and captained the team when Iker Casillas was rested for the last group stage match. As Spain finished third, he and three other teammates were named in the Team of the Tournament.
Additionally, Puyol also appeared regularly for the Catalonian national team.

[edit] Club statistics
As of 24 August 2009
Club
Season
League
Cup[2]
Europe[3]
Club World Cup
Total
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
Apps
Goals
FC Barcelona B
1996–97
1
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
1
1
1997–98
36
1
-
-
-
-
-
-
36
1
1998–99
38
2
-
-
-
-
-
-
38
2
1999–00
8
0
-
-
-
-
-
-
8
0
Total
83
4
-
-
-
-
-
-
83
4
FC Barcelona
1999–00
24
0
5
0
8
0
-
-
37
0
2000–01
17
0
2
0
5
0
-
-
24
0
2001–02
35
2
1
0
15
0
-
-
51
2
2002–03
32
0
0
0
14
0
-
-
46
0
2003–04
27
0
4
0
7
0
-
-
38
0
2004–05
36
0
1
0
8
0
-
-
45
0
2005–06
35
1
5
0
12
0
-
-
52
1
2006–07
35
1
9
0
9
1
2
0
55
2
2007–08
30
0
7
0
10
1
-
-
47
1
2008–09
28
1
6
0
11
0
-
-
45
1
2009–10
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
Total
299
5
42
0
99
2
2
0
442
7
Career totals
382
9
42
0
99
2
2
0
525
11

[edit] International goals
International Goals[4]
#
Date
Venue
Opponent
Score
Result
Competition
1.
April 17, 2002
Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
0–4
0–5
International Friendly
2.
October 11, 2008
A. Le Coq Arena, Tallinn, Estonia
Estonia
0–3
0–3
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification

[edit] Honours

[edit] FC Barcelona
La Liga (3): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09
Copa del Rey (1): 2008–09
UEFA Champions League (2): 2005–06, 2008–09
Supercopa de España (3): 2005, 2006, 2009
UEFA Super Cup (1): 2009

[edit] International
Sydney Olympic Games Silver Medal : 2000
UEFA European Football Championship: 2008

[edit] Individual
UEFA Team of the Year: 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008
UEFA Club Best Defender: 2006
FIFPro World XI: 2007, 2008
UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament[5]
FIFA Team of the Year: 2008
2009 FIFA Confederations Cup Team of the Tournament