Linecoigne1998
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Six Spanish league titles, two Copa Del Rey, six Supercopa de España, two UEFA Super Cups, two FIFA Club World Cups, three Champions Leagues, one UEFA Euro Championship and finally one FIFA World Cup. Add six appearances in the UEFA Team of the Year, three appearances in the FIFPro World XI, one appearance in the UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament and finally the 2010 FIFA World Cup Dream Team and you've got El Capità himself, one of the biggest legends in Spanish football. The man who appeared a total of 392 times for his club FC Barcelona and 100 times for the Spanish national team retired last year in 2014, putting an end to one of the most successful careers in the history of football and putting the whole of Spain in tears. Last year he said that he joined Barcelona as a little boy and left with an entire family behind him.
Today, a month after he retired as a Director of Football in Barcelona following Zubizarreta's sack, Puyol is becoming a manager. The man who won a total of 21 titles in 19 years at Barcelona, 14 of which as a captain, steps into management in the hopes of winning even more titles. The 37 year old Catalan defender announced that he would not manage any team in La Liga apart from FC Barcelona out of respect for the club he loves so much and that's understandable. As of right now in February 2015, there are many clubs who could be looking to bring in the Spanish legend that is Puyol as a number of clubs are in crisis. The question now remains where he will end up.
In an interview with UEFA's official website, former teammate and Spanish legend Xavi Hernandez had his say about Puyol's decision to become a manager and let's just say that he was very pleasantly surprised:
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"Carles is an amazing person and was an even better captain. I was so glad to hear that he is stepping into management because he really deserves it and he deserves all the glory that comes with being a great manager, which I'm 100% sure he will be. It will be great seeing him next to a football pitch again and I'm sure that he's very excited. I haven't spoken to him about all of this yet but I know that he's very aware of the many responsibilities and challenges that come with being a manager. If I'll ever become a manager? Hahaha I don't know yet I'm not sure this is something I'd like to do in the future but who knows? For now I'm really glad that Carles has decided to take this path and I'm excited to see how he gets on. Yes I think it's great that he's willing to not manage any other Spanish team than Barcelona, it shows loyalty to the club. You need a lot of courage to just already say that you'll be refusing any offers coming from Spanish clubs as a debutant manager so it's very brave of him to already make that kind of sacrifice and it should give everyone a sense of how he will be as a manager."
Former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola also said he did not expect such an early return to football for Carles Puyol:
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"The fact that he's returning to football so early after his retirement (one year after) is very impressive and shows a lot of determination to succeed in the football world. Carles always talked about his love of the game and I remember once he went to the doctor who told him that he had a dislocated elbow, which should have kept him away from a football field for a long time, but instead Carles said: Wait, you mean I can't play on Sunday? I'm excited for him and I can't wait to see how he gets on. What I can tell for sure is that a lot of clubs would really benefit from him, his love of the game and just the way he's able to read it in general. Great players always make the best managers because they know exactly how to play, they know what to do in any situation, especially defenders."
Carles Puyol: a new chapter
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Six Spanish league titles, two Copa Del Rey, six Supercopa de España, two UEFA Super Cups, two FIFA Club World Cups, three Champions Leagues, one UEFA Euro Championship and finally one FIFA World Cup. Add six appearances in the UEFA Team of the Year, three appearances in the FIFPro World XI, one appearance in the UEFA Euro 2008 Team of the Tournament and finally the 2010 FIFA World Cup Dream Team and you've got El Capità himself, one of the biggest legends in Spanish football. The man who appeared a total of 392 times for his club FC Barcelona and 100 times for the Spanish national team retired last year in 2014, putting an end to one of the most successful careers in the history of football and putting the whole of Spain in tears. Last year he said that he joined Barcelona as a little boy and left with an entire family behind him.
Today, a month after he retired as a Director of Football in Barcelona following Zubizarreta's sack, Puyol is becoming a manager. The man who won a total of 21 titles in 19 years at Barcelona, 14 of which as a captain, steps into management in the hopes of winning even more titles. The 37 year old Catalan defender announced that he would not manage any team in La Liga apart from FC Barcelona out of respect for the club he loves so much and that's understandable. As of right now in February 2015, there are many clubs who could be looking to bring in the Spanish legend that is Puyol as a number of clubs are in crisis. The question now remains where he will end up.
In an interview with UEFA's official website, former teammate and Spanish legend Xavi Hernandez had his say about Puyol's decision to become a manager and let's just say that he was very pleasantly surprised:
View attachment 220432
"Carles is an amazing person and was an even better captain. I was so glad to hear that he is stepping into management because he really deserves it and he deserves all the glory that comes with being a great manager, which I'm 100% sure he will be. It will be great seeing him next to a football pitch again and I'm sure that he's very excited. I haven't spoken to him about all of this yet but I know that he's very aware of the many responsibilities and challenges that come with being a manager. If I'll ever become a manager? Hahaha I don't know yet I'm not sure this is something I'd like to do in the future but who knows? For now I'm really glad that Carles has decided to take this path and I'm excited to see how he gets on. Yes I think it's great that he's willing to not manage any other Spanish team than Barcelona, it shows loyalty to the club. You need a lot of courage to just already say that you'll be refusing any offers coming from Spanish clubs as a debutant manager so it's very brave of him to already make that kind of sacrifice and it should give everyone a sense of how he will be as a manager."
Former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola also said he did not expect such an early return to football for Carles Puyol:
View attachment 220431
"The fact that he's returning to football so early after his retirement (one year after) is very impressive and shows a lot of determination to succeed in the football world. Carles always talked about his love of the game and I remember once he went to the doctor who told him that he had a dislocated elbow, which should have kept him away from a football field for a long time, but instead Carles said: Wait, you mean I can't play on Sunday? I'm excited for him and I can't wait to see how he gets on. What I can tell for sure is that a lot of clubs would really benefit from him, his love of the game and just the way he's able to read it in general. Great players always make the best managers because they know exactly how to play, they know what to do in any situation, especially defenders."
it'll be a challenge but since when is puyol not up for one