Carlos Puyol: The Catalan Leader

By Dylan Lebecki

Since 1999 Carles Puyol has been a key player in the Barcelona side and rapidly grew into the leader of the Catalan club. He will certainly be in South Africa this summer, and has been instrumental in Spain’s success.

In Barcelona’s game much of the focus is on the attack where players such as Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic get most of the credit. Their philosophy is very attacking, however, defensively, it demands a lot from the players. The attacking trio are often seen chasing the ball all the way to the opposite end of the field, forcing the opponent to blast the ball forward as a last resort hoping to meet the head of a teammate. Although much of Barcelona’s play revolves around controlling the ball and subsequently the pace of the game, all the players must always be focused on their defensive duties at all times, especially since in most circumstances, Barcelona’s opponents try to take advantage of every time they gain possession by attempting a fast counterattack where they outnumber the defenders. This is why the defensive units of the team must ensure solidity and operate together in order to thwart their opponent’s attacks.

Although many believe Carles Puyol is passed his prime and he no longer possesses the pace to keep up with fast forwards, last season’s Champions League Final saw Barcelona pitted against Manchester United who possessed both Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, two of the world’s most feared and respected forwards. With Dani Alves injured, Puyol was forced to deviate from his customary center back position to right back, which consequently put him primarily against Cristiano Ronaldo. Although Ronaldo was by far United’s most dangerous player, he was unable to produce any real threats as Puyol’s defending was exquisite. Time and time again we saw Ronaldo unable to produce the same exploits that won him the crown of FIFA World Player of the Year the previous season when faced with Puyol.