Full name	Carles Puyol i Saforcada
Date of birth	13 April 1978
Place of birth	La Pobla de Segur, Spain
Position	Defender

Like many others before him, Carlos Puyol was educated in the Masia. Without innate talents and less anticipation than the others (according to his educators), Carles Puyol distinguished himself by his determination and his zeal for victory enabling him to contain opposing forwards.

Puyol combines power and speed and his excellent heading game is precious to FC Barcelona and the Roja. With an excellent mind-set, he has proved his abilities during high-pressure matches confirming his status as one of the best defenders in the world.

Puyol appeared in 597 games with Barcelona (second in Barca’s all-time league appearances table behind Xavi) and won six Liga (2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11 and 2012–13), three Champions League (2005–06, 2008–09 and 2010–11), two Copa (2008–09 and 2011–12) and 2 UEFA Super Cup (2009 and 2011).

With Spain, Puyol won the European Championship in 2008 and then the World Cup in 2010 -thanks in no small part to his beautiful goal during the semi-final against Germany.

Puyol played 100 games for Spain and 6 games for the non-official Catalonia team.