Carles Puyol
Carles Puyol was born in La Pobla de Segur, Catalonia, Spain on April 13th, 1978 and is the Soccer Player. At the age of 46, Carles Puyol biography, profession, age, height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, measurements, education, career, dating/affair, family, news updates, and networth are available.
At 46 years old, Carles Puyol has this physical status:
Club career
Puyol, a born in La Pobla de Segur, Catalonia, Argentina, Puyol's goalkeeper, began playing football for his hometown team, but after injury, he suffered with shoulder problems. He was born as a forward. "My parents were suspicious of me becoming a footballer, and they encouraged me to study," he said in his youth. In 1995, he joined FC Barcelona's youth team, moving to La Masia again to play as a defensive midfielder. He played for the club's B-team two years ago, playing in the middle of right-back, occupying the role of right-back.
Barcelona accepted an offer from Málaga to sell Puyol, who was behind Frank de Boer and Michael Reiziger in the pecking order in 1998. However, after seeing his best buddy Xavi make his first-team debut, he refused to leave.
Louis van Gaal relegated Puyol to the first team the following year, and he made his La Liga debut against Real Valladolid on October 2nd, 1999. He converted from central defender to central defender after that. Manchester United expressed hope in signing Puyol during the 2003 off-season, but no move was made. He has been active in the sport for a decade, and has been signed for a second five seasons.
Puyol was named club captain at the end of 2003-2004, after Luis Enrique's resignation. He continued to be a defensive pillar for Barça after being named the "Best European right-back" award by UEFA in 2002 (among other individual accolades) and helped the Catalans win two consecutive league titles. He appeared in a total of 52 games in 2005-2006, including 12 in that season's UEFA Champions League, which ended in a victory over Arsenal in the club's second European Cup.
Puyol made his 400th appearance for Barcelona in a Champions League group stage match against Sporting CP on September 16, 2008. Despite recovering from injury, he appeared in 28 matches and helped them win another league championship. His only goal came against Real Madrid in El Clásico on May 2nd, 2009, when he met his target by kissing his Catalan flag armband in front of the angry Madrid fans. He was instrumental in the team's victory in the 2009 Copa del Rey, the 2009 Champions League, and the 2009 FIFA Club World Cup to bring an unprecedented sextuple to a close, with almost 100 official matches.
Puyol played his 500th game in all Barcelona competitions against Villareal on November 13, 2010. He suffered with injuries during the 2010–11 season, but he played in 28 games, winning the league and the Champions League. In the Champions League final, he played the final six minutes, beating Manchester United 3–1 at Wembley Stadium.
Puyol won in 56 games for Barcelona, a streak that ended on January 11th, 2012 at Osasuna (2-3 loss). In the season's Copa del Rey, he scored two goals against Real Madrid and Valencia.
Puyol dislocated his elbow after landing awkwardly in a corner kick fight at Benfica on October 2nd, his first game after recovering from a knee ligament injury suffered against Getafe. He was originally expected to be hospitalized for two months but he regained them in a single month. Barcelona renewed his deal on December 18th, extending it until June 30, 2016. He underwent knee surgery in June of the following year, his sixth operation as a professional, sparking questions about early retirement.
Puyol defeated Migueli on March 2nd, finishing second in Barça's all-time league appearances table, behind only Xavi, who scored the third goal in a 4–1 home win over Almera. He revealed that he would leave Barcelona two days later, although he had two more years in his employment, but that he would not leave Barcelona at the end of the season. "I find it's taking me a lot of effort to get to the level that is expected here, even more than myself and the surgeons considered necessary." "I have come to this conclusion for the reason that I have arrived at this conclusion."
After a fifteen-year career in Puyol that earned him 21 titles, Barcelona bid farewell to him on May 15, 2014. His coworkers, ex-teammates, presidents, and coaches paid their respects to him, saying, "I've lived the dream of so many young children, doing what I love doing in life, playing football and training." He announced his retirement at the age of 36, but stayed with his only team; he was immediately named director of football Andoni Zubizarreta. In January 2015, he resigned immediately after Zubizarreta was dismissed.
Puyol refused a bid to become Barcelona's sports director in September 2019.
International career
Puyol earned his first cap against Spain against the Netherlands on November 15, 2000, and has been a fixture in the years to come. He served for his country at the 2000 Olympics, 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004, 2006 World Cup, Euro 2008, 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, and the 2010 World Cup.
Puyol won by 3-1 over Paraguay in the group stages of the 2002 World Cup, scoring an own goal. Fernando Morientes was aided by Fernando Morientes in the round of 16 draw against Ireland; after a 1–1 deadlock during extra-time, his team won by a 3–2 penalty shoot-out victory. After losing by 5–3 shots in the quarter-finals of the tournament by co-hosts South Korea, Spain was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the tournament.
Puyol started every game save one at Euro 2008, and Spain's defense only conceded two goals in his five games. They won the final against Germany, and Carlos Marchena of Valencia was drafted in the Team of the Tournament alongside his defensive partner. He appeared in three out of five games at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and served as captain until Iker Casillas was ruled out of action for the last group stage match; he finished third, and he was drafted in the Team of the Tournament with four of his teammates.
Puyol started every match and played almost every minute (he was replaced by Marchena in the 84th minute of the quarter-finals against Paraguay). He scored his only goal in the semi-finals with Germany, a good header from Barcelona teammate Xavi's corner that brought the national team to the national team's first World Cup final. He was on the full 120 minutes when the team defeated the Netherlands 1–0 in extra time in the final. Spain only conceded two goals throughout the tournament, none of which occurred in the knock-out stages, while still keeping five clean sheets, a record for a World Cup-winning team that was shared with the 2006 Italy team and 1998's France. He also earned 88% of his passes, the third-highest completion rate in the competition alongside his colleague Sergio Busquets, and was named to the tournament's team for his efforts.
Puyol, 32, declared on August 1 that he will continue to represent the national team for at least two years. Due to a knee injury sustained in a league match against Espanyol in early May, he missed Spain's triumphant Euro 2012 campaign, which required surgery and five to six weeks of recovery. He was disqualified from the Confederations Cup the following year due to physical infirmities.
Puyol played his 100th and final international over the weekend in Doha, Qatar, leading Spain to a 3–1 victory over Uruguay.