FCBARCELONA.CAT

16.05.2009 12:01

Puyol one away from 300 League appearances

Roger Bogunyà

This Sunday Carles Puyol may play his 300th League game for Barça at the Ono Estadio in Mallorca. The club captain is in his tenth season with the Catalan outfit.

Since 2 October 1999 when Louis van Gaal brought him on for his debut at Valladolid (0-2), Carles Puyol has been a fixture in the Barcelona side. He has been a key player in the team for many years and is a symbol of the club’s history. He is also one of the two club captains to have lifted the European Cup, in his case in Paris in 2006.

From Van Gaal to Guardiola

Puyol has played under a number of managers - Van Gaal, Serra Ferrer, Rexach, Antic, Rijkaard and now Guardiola – who have always had complete confidence in a player who has been a captain both on and off the pitch. He’s also become an all-round defender, happy to play at right-back where he started out, as a central defender during much of his career, and even this season at left-back.

Sixth in all-time appearances list

His 300th match which he may play at Mallorca would also put him sixth in the all-time list of players with most League appearances, only behind Migueli (391), Rexach (328), Xavi (317), Amor (311) and Zubizarreta (301). In his first 299 outings, Puyol has scored five times, most recently a few weeks ago at Santiago Bernabéu.