27.04.2009 11:10
Puyol to reach his international ton
Edgar Fornós
This Tuesday Carles Puyol could play his 100th international game for Barça.
If selected by coach Pep Guardiola, the first leg of the Champions League semi-final against
Chelsea will be the 31-year-old’s 100th international game for Barça.
Debut in easy win
Carles Puyol made his European debut on 27 October 1999 in
the fifth game of group B in the Champions League against Swedish outfit AIK Solna. Barça won 5-0
with Puyol in the starting XI before being replaced by another young player making his first
appearance, Nano, in the second half.
Captain in Paris
There is of course one very special game in the list for Puyol. He was
captain and lifted the trophy when Barça won its second European Cup in Paris in 2006.
Two goals
Though not tasked with scoring goals, Carles Puyol has found the back of the net twice in
Europe. Both came in the Champions League and were very similar. In 2006/07 against Levski Sofia he
slammed home the rebound after Ronaldinho’s free kick had been saved, while the following
season at Stuttgart he also put away a Ronaldinho drive that had been parried.