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Former FC Barcelona captain, Carles Puyol, turned 40 a few days ago. Playing with his heart on his sleeve, always willing to commit to a challenge and never, ever, giving up, Puyol was passion personified.
Puyol won a colossal 25 trophies for both club and country and here are the 5 most memorable moments of an extraordinary career that saw him win everything in world football.
#5 THAT extraordinary chest save
With the goal gaping, Puyol pulls off a brilliant block
23 October 2002, Barca faced Lokomotiv Moscow in a Champions League match. In the 65th minute, with Barca pushing for a goal, Lokomotiv put together a slick counter-attack and Victor Valdes was caught in no man's land.
The Russian outfit looked all but certain to take the lead, only to be denied by a quite remarkable piece of defending by Carles Puyol.
The young Carles Puyol went on to expertly marshall the Barca defence through the course of the game, showing a calmness and judgement much beyond his years. In the end, the Blaugrana only went on to win the game by a slender margin of 1-0, which even further amplifies the importance of Puyol's heroic block.
#4 Allowing Abidal to lift the 2011 Champions League trophy
28th May 2011, a date Barcelona fans will never forget. Sir Alex Ferguson himself had admitted that his side had been taught a footballing lesson after their 3-1 defeat to Barcelona at Wembley. Barcelona's performance was a brilliant orchestra of attacking football from start to finish, and one of their best performances during Pep Guardiola's illustrious tenure at Camp Nou.
The performance itself was overshadowed, however, by the celebrations that ensued. On the way up to collect the trophy, Puyol showcased his flawless character, giving his captain's armband to Eric Abidal. This allowed the Frenchman, who had just recovered from a liver transplant, following a battle with cancer, to be the first one to lift the club's fourth European title.
"It was a massive gesture. It felt like time stood still and [that] I was alone in a packed out stadium. Now I'm very thankful that he did it."
After the game, the Frenchman only had good things to say about the Barcelona captain and was quoted saying: "It was a massive gesture. It felt like time stood still and I was alone in a packed out stadium. Now I'm very thankful that he did it." Acts like these show us how popular a leader Puyol was within the Los Azulgrana camp.
#3 FC Barcelona 6-2 Real Madrid CF
On 2nd May 2009, the stage was set for a league classic. The league title was supposedly at stake, and the pressure was supposed to be immense. The game that ensued, though, was nothing like what anyone had expected. It was a classic all right, but it can be safe to assume we won't be hearing too much about it at the Bernabeu for a pretty long time.
The game started off with the Merengues on top during the opening exchanges, leading to them grabbing the first goal courtesy of a Gonzalo Higuain header. What followed, however, was a comprehensive humbling of the Real Madrid outfit, with Guardiola's Barcelona teaching their eternal rivals a footballing lesson.
As always, Puyol was never one to be too far away from the action. He put in an immense performance for the Blaugrana, helping tip the scales in their favour after conceding an early goal.
Puyol marked the performance by scoring a crucial goal to give Barca a 2-1 lead in the 20th minute of the tie, and from then on, Barcelona never looked back. Kissing the armband during his celebration, it showcased his undying passion and love for the club, and the image will be frozen in the minds of Culés forever.
#2 2010 World Cup
Spain ran out deserved winners at the 2010 World Cup, playing attractive, possession-based football throughout the length of the competition, under the tutelage of Vincente Del Bosque.
La Roja were simply brilliant, with every player from defence to attack doing his job perfectly, and effectively doing his part to bring the trophy home.
Continuing their good form during the knockout stages, the Spaniards put in a brilliant performance against the Germans in the semi-finals. Puyol too had his moment in the limelight, settling the crucial tie with a thunderbolt header from Xavi's corner and booking a spot for his side in the final against the Netherlands.
Never one to shy away from the big occasion, Puyol put in yet another solid performance at the back for La Roja in perhaps their biggest game ever. Against a Netherlands side with a formidable attack, Puyol managed the situation with expertise and his vast experience paid dividends.
Another one of Spain's Barcelona contingent, Andres Iniesta ultimately sealed the tie for the Spanish in extra time, ensuring that the names of Puyol and all his Spanish teammates would be immortalised in golden letters on the pages of football history.
#1 2009/10 Season
Guardiola's Barcelona in 2009 were quite honestly ridiculous. The team was performing at unprecedented levels of sporting prowess, and no team stood a chance against Pep's juego de posicion.
Keeping the dressing room grounded despite their amazing success, Puyol acted as Guardiola's general in the dressing room, winning games and titles without leaving any room for complacency. He is currently the only captain in football history to win a Sextuple- consisting of La Liga, Champions League, Copa del Rey, UEFA Super Cup, Supercopa de Espana, and Club World Cup in a single season.
A truly perfect season all round, Guardiola and his Barcelona squad truly set new limits in the 2009 season, winning the first sextuple in football history and hitting almost impossible heights of sporting excellence, an achievement which is unlikely to be eclipsed any time soon.
