'El Capità': Carles Puyol

barcastuff ‏@barcastuff

Puyol, who's recovering from a dislocated elbow since 2 October, can already do push-ups and could be available to play soon.

Renewed until he's 36.

Anyone else think we should've waited to see what his fitness level is at the end of the season? I don't think he wants to retire, but it seems injuries will force him to.

Its a bit of a reward for the entire length of service and what he has been. Of course if Puyol wasnt out Catalan captain who has been in the team for almost 15 years then it would be a different situation.

But im fine with it, he deserves it and I think he will play as long as he physically can.

Will he miss a ton of games along the way? Yeah probably.

I think it would of been a little insulting to give him one of those contracts where he gets paid depending on how much he plays. I hope we arent doing that.

38 Actually. This is also for a part symbolic and just clear intent from Puyol's part to show he wants to keep being important to the team as long as he's physically able to do so. Three pillars have all declared this same intent. I wouldn't be surprised if he would stop playing for us after the next season, if he keeps being haunted by injuries. They will probably cancel the contract on mutual agreement at that point and give him another position at the club.

The man deserves all he gets he has put heart and soul for Barcelona

OUT FOR THE WHOLE *bleep* SEASON, PROLLY !!

http://www.sport.es/es/noticias/barca/puyol-esta-siendo-intervenido-rodilla-2341967

Very bad news to hear, hate hearing all the bad problems our captain keeps getting mainly because he is such a great guy, and I do not mean to be a douche or anything but there are some positives from this.. We might actually rotate Barta and give him much needed minutes, and buying a CB in the summer will have an even higher priority...
anyways get better soon would of liked to have our captain raising the champions cup / la liga cup

Cant rely on him, said it before. Its just common sense at this point, every 2-3 months he will get injured all the way untill he retires.

Its a shame, we will miss him defensively.

Time for Masche to shine and Bartra to get minutes. I think management already realized we need a new CB in the summer but if not I hope this does.

To be, as much as its unlikely, this spell should actually be show if Mascherano deserves to stay or should be moved on.

If he performs with minimal error (even without outstanding performances) then good, but if shows himself to be the player he has been in terms of errors, he should be shipped out.

I wouldn't mind seeing Masche sent out. He has learned as much as he can here, but he was top DM and now is neither a great DM nor a great CB. He might want out too. He's never stayed at a club for more than 3 years and with the WC in sight it's probable he might even want to go somewhere he can play as a starter.

Problem is, who's going to be Messi's new token friend? With Pinto renewed the likelihood of Ustari coming is low. Aguero is looking unlikely either. Speculate away

The man should hang his boots. He is a legend and it is tough to see him in this situation.

I'm not sure who's going to defend corner kicks now...not that you already didn't have so many problems in air.

Couldn't rely on Capità tbh. He is merely a rotation player and really soon hang the boots up. Hopefully the board will see that we actually need a new CB in the summer as well as Roura/Tito giving Barta more minutes... Shame to see the kid not get much minutes but with Puyol out for the season, opportunity for Barta to step up to the stage. Good test for Mascherano as well. He will be relied on a lot now and it's whether he can perform on a regular basis with minimal errors to prove whether he still is worthy to be part of this team.

So he was supposed to be 'our new signing' and would be fit by November IIRC, yet he's only played a handful of games and we're still dangerously lacking depth in CB. Do you guys think he has a place in the squad next season?

he does well in cup games and the few La Liga matches, luckily he hasn't gotten seriously injured.
once we buy a new cb though he should call it quits..
UNLESS we happen to sell Mascherano and only get one new CB in the summer then we will need a backup for the unimportant games.

On top of a very patchy match where he was responsible for the 1-0 he got injured once again.

Get well Puyol.

Not sure he has a place for us next season.

Its simply impossible to rely on him, that was obviously since 2 years ago...now its just silly.

Sign a guy already.

How was his injury exactly? A tackle, clash, or he made it himself?

Saddens me to say this but he should retire after the World Cup.

free_cat wrote:How was his injury exactly? A tackle, clash, or he made it himself?

Very hard to tell.

He ran across the striker to clear the ball, either the defender tripped him, caught his achilles area or when he planted his foot, something tore.

He is so fragile now in comparison to the wreckless nature of his game, who knows.

Still I find it hard to believe he was so badly hurt by a contact injury if it is that.

His daughter was born today

Sport: Puyol will leave the club at the end of the season because he no longer feels like he is contributing to the club.

http://www.sport.es/es/noticias/barca/puyol-tiene-decidido-que-seguira-barcelona-3130933

I have recently come back to this forum after a long hiatus and some things feel strange compared to before. It seems that the number of Barca fans at the forum has diminished or at least the passion has. Else how can it be that so far today no one has posted a word about Puyol. He is not only leaving Barca but he is almost completely retiring as a football professional. Anyway let me at least share a few thoughts and post a couple of links about him.

Ever since I started watching Barcelona he has been an omnipresent. It was impossible to think of Barca without him until recently. True I fell more for the flair players, the Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, etc. but once I started watching the team regularly his supreme importance to the team and his invaluable contributions were clear as day. I have always believed that silk does not work at it's best without the support of steel alongside it and Capita or Tarzan embodied steel. Yes other players also contributed but without him it hardly ever worked particularly well. A player as passionate as him is rare. A player as brave as him is even rarer. In spite of being such a hard player he still earned the complete respect of his opponents. As for Barca he was the greatest leader we could have had and the ultimate team player. From every single Barca fan thank you Carles Puyol for everything. Without you neither those trophies nor those memories would ever be possible. There will never be another like you. Wish you all the very best.

Here is his farewell ceremony video in full.

http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/detail/article/live-farewell-event-for-carles-puyol-as-an-fc-barcelona-player

Here is an extract from the above video with messages from various club personnel. I have pasted it separately because it is really great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dusb74d1GUU

messixaviesta wrote:I have recently come back to this forum after a long hiatus and some things feel strange compared to before. It seems that the number of Barca fans at the forum has diminished or at least the passion has. Else how can it be that so far today no one has posted a word about Puyol. He is not only leaving Barca but he is almost completely retiring as a football professional. Anyway let me at least share a few thoughts and post a couple of links about him.

Ever since I started watching Barcelona he has been an omnipresent. It was impossible to think of Barca without him until recently. True I fell more for the flair players, the Messi, Xavi, Iniesta, etc. but once I started watching the team regularly his supreme importance to the team and his invaluable contributions were clear as day. I have always believed that silk does not work at it's best without the support of steel alongside it and Capita or Tarzan embodied steel. Yes other players also contributed but without him it hardly ever worked particularly well. A player as passionate as him is rare. A player as brave as him is even rarer. In spite of being such a hard player he still earned the complete respect of his opponents. As for Barca he was the greatest leader we could have had and the ultimate team player. From every single Barca fan thank you Carles Puyol for everything. Without you neither those trophies nor those memories would ever be possible. There will never be another like you. Wish you all the very best.

Here is his farewell ceremony video in full.

http://www.fcbarcelona.com/football/first-team/detail/article/live-farewell-event-for-carles-puyol-as-an-fc-barcelona-player

Here is an extract from the above video with messages from various club personnel. I have pasted it separately because it is really great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dusb74d1GUU

Agreed with JD.

Strange that arguably our greatest Captain and perhaps our greatest defender has called it a day, and there is not a single thread saluting him. Clearly, as JD said, the passion or the number of fans has diminished somewhat from the time I was a regular.

Anyways, from everything he said at the event, the one that stood out was his most memorable moment. For all the memorable on-field moments he has been central to and a part of, he chose the moment when Eric Abidal lifted the UCL Trophy of 2010-2011 aloft. Said it was an inspirational story that culminated on that night and thought the entire team a valuable life lesson. A truly touching moment I am sure.

As for his replacement, next season our 2 defensive cornerstones of the Post-Gasfart era, have left us,in  the Captain Puyol and Keeper Valdes. How we go about replacing them in the correct way is going to be absolutely KEY to our fortunes going forward.

Some may say that Puyol has been out of the team for the past 2 seasons. Indeed, injuries have slowed him down a great deal...that said, Mascherano was never going to be the Puyol successor, and as such, assuming that Mascherano will be leaving or replaced in the Main Starting Xl next season, we will get to see who replaces Puyol. Though I am sure, his fighting qualities and inspirational moments he gave us, will be very difficult if not, impossible for anyone coming in to replicate. I hope,based on what I have seen, that Marc Bartra can go from strength to strength and develop well enough to be a long term Cornerstone in our defense.

Lastly, I have to say:

lari, wonderful comments and pictures. Hoping a few more Barca fans will share their thoughts.

tbh most barca fans from what i've noticed tune up on weekends or during game days.

but ima miss Puyol and his spirit, many rumors are saying he might be given a coaching job in barca, which would be wonderful, if he can get Pique to be a better player maybe he can help our first team or b team improve in that aspect.