In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Puyol and the second or maternal family name is Saforcada.
Carles Puyol
Puyol at the 2020 Goya Awards
Personal information
Full name
Carles Puyol Saforcada[1]
Date of birth
(1978-04-13) 13 April 1978 (age 46)[2]
Place of birth
La Pobla de Segur, Spain
Height
1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[3]
Position(s)
Centre-back
Youth career
1992–1995
Pobla de Segur
1995–1997
Barcelona
Senior career*
Years
Team
Apps
(Gls)
1996
Barcelona C
1
(1)
1997–1999
Barcelona B
89
(6)
1999–2014
Barcelona
392
(12)
Total
482
(18)
International career
1995
Spain U18
3
(0)
2000
Spain U21
4
(0)
2000
Spain U23
5
(0)
2000–2013
Spain
100
(3)
2001–2013
Catalonia
6
(0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Spain
FIFA World Cup
Winner
2010 South Africa
UEFA European Championship
Winner
2008 Austria-Switzerland
Olympic Games
2000 Sydney
FIFA Confederations Cup
2009 South Africa
*Club domestic league appearances and goals
Carles Puyol Saforcada (Catalan:[ˈkaɾləspuˈjɔlsəfuɾˈkaðə], Spanish:[ˈkaɾlespuˈʝolsafoɾˈkaða]; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played his entire career for Barcelona. He mainly played as a centre-back, but he could also play in either full-back position, mostly as a right-back.
Known for his defensive qualities and leadership, Puyol is regarded as one of the greatest defenders and captains of all time.[4][5] His abilities and prowess on the field earned him the nickname of "El Tiburón" ("The Shark") by teammates and fans. He was Barcelona's captain from August 2004 until his retirement in 2014, and appeared in 593 competitive matches for the club. He won 18 major club titles, including six La Liga trophies and three Champions Leagues.
Puyol won 100 caps for Spain, and was part of the squads that won Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. In the 2010 World Cup semi-final, he scored the only goal of the game against Germany.[6]
^"FIFA World Cup South Africa 2010: List of Players: Spain" (PDF). FIFA. 4 June 2010. p. 29. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2020.
^"Carles Puyol Saforcada". El Mundo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 3 February 2022. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
^"Carles Puyol". FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 23 November 2006. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
^"Top 10 - Inspirational Captains". beIN SPORTS. Archived from the original on 7 May 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
^Hosangadi, Aditya (6 May 2020). "20 Best defenders of all time". www.sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 15 January 2021. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
^"Carles Puyol Saforcada – Century of International Appearances". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
CarlesPuyol Saforcada (Catalan: [ˈkaɾləs puˈjɔl səfuɾˈkaðə], Spanish: [ˈkaɾles puˈʝol safoɾˈkaða]; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional...
Puyol is a Catalan surname and a variant of Pujol, meaning "hill". Notable people with the surname include: CarlesPuyol (born 1978), retired Spanish footballer...
victory over Real Madrid on 2 May; he assisted four goals – once to CarlesPuyol, once to Thierry Henry and twice to Lionel Messi. Xavi helped Barcelona...
2021. "CarlesPuyol career". FC Barcelona. Archived from the original on 3 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021. "In-depth look at CarlesPuyol's career"...
Lleida. Famous people from La Pobla de Segur include FC Barcelona player CarlesPuyol and current High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and...
when Sol Campbell headed in from a Thierry Henry free-kick following CarlesPuyol's foul on Emmanuel Eboué. Some believed that Eboué was guilty of diving...
Harvey Keitel, Poppy Drayton, Liam McIntyre, Oleg Taktarov, Joe Thomas, CarlesPuyol and Larisa Malevannaya. A soccer player starts to suffer from the career-threatening...
resumed training with the main squad and remained doubts for the final. CarlesPuyol, however, was available for selection after he served a one-match suspension...
Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon Defenders Paolo Maldini Franz Beckenbauer CarlesPuyol Philipp Lahm Midfielders Andrés Iniesta Andrea Pirlo Zinedine Zidane...
Alessandro Nesta (Milan) John Terry (Chelsea) Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid) CarlesPuyol (Barcelona) Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United) Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)...
Player Team(s) Appearance Rüştü Reçber Fenerbahçe 1st CarlesPuyol Barcelona 1st Alessandro Nesta Lazio Milan 1st Cristian Chivu Ajax 1st Roberto Carlos...
Maldini has inspired many defenders like Rio Ferdinand, Rafael Márquez and CarlesPuyol. Maldini has appeared in commercials for the American sportswear company...
and Edgar Davids, combined with home grown Spanish players, such as CarlesPuyol, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi and Víctor Valdés, led to the club's return to...
Supercopas de España, 3 UEFA Super Cups and 3 FIFA Club World Cups H. ^ Puyol captained Barcelona to the first ever sextuple. I. ^ Messi is Barcelona's...
August 2014, after the retirement of long time club captain and defender CarlesPuyol and at the veteran's personal request, he was given the number 5 shirt...
pass which was retrieved by Klose, who ran towards the Spanish goal. CarlesPuyol forced Klose out wide to the left, and the ball eventually went behind...
when Spain was awarded a corner. The corner, taken by Xavi, was met by CarlesPuyol, who headed the ball into the net as Manuel Neuer didn't do much to protect...
international, 2010 World Cup winner & 2012 European Championship winner CarlesPuyol (born 1978), former Spanish international, 2010 World Cup winner & 2008...
David Alaba Austria 117 2010– Bayern Munich (91), Real Madrid (26) 25 CarlesPuyol Spain 115 1999–2014 Barcelona 26 Thierry Henry France 112 1997–2012...
the third successive game, Spain won 1–0, the winner a headed goal by CarlesPuyol. Kevin McCarra of The Guardian commented afterwards that these results...
John Terry CarlesPuyol Frank Lampard Mark van Bommel Deco Ronaldinho Arjen Robben Samuel Eto'o Andriy Shevchenko 2005–06 Petr Čech CarlesPuyol Lúcio Cris...
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