Carles Puyol Saforcada (, ; born 13 April 1978) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played his entire career for Barcelona. He mainly played as a central defender, but he could also play in either full-back position, mostly as a right-back. Praised for his defensive qualities and leadership, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders and captains of all time. Puyol's abilities and prowess on the field earned him the nickname of "" ('The Shark') by teammates and fans. He was Barcelona's captain from August 2004 until his retirement in 2014, and appeared in 593 competitive matches for the club. He won 18 major club titles, including six La Liga trophies and three Champions Leagues. Puyol won 100 caps for Spain, and was part of the squads that won Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup. In the 2010 World Cup semi-final, he scored the only goal of the game against Germany. Club career Born in La Pobla de Segur, Lleida, Catalonia, Puyol started playing football for his hometown club as a goalkeeper, but after injury problems with his shoulder, he became a forward. He said that in his youth, "My parents were skeptical about me becoming a footballer and encouraged me to study". In 1995, he joined FC Barcelona's youth system at La Masia, switching positions again to play as a defensive midfielder. Two years later, he started playing for the club's B-team, occupying the position of right-back. In 1998, Barcelona accepted an offer from Málaga to sell Puyol, who was behind Frank de Boer and Michael Reiziger in the pecking order. However, he refused to leave after seeing his best friend Xavi make his first-team debut. Louis van Gaal promoted Puyol to the first team the following year, and he made his La Liga debut on 2 October 1999 in a 2–0 away win against Real Valladolid. After that he successfully made another conversion, to central defender. During the 2003 off-season, as Barcelona was immersed in a financial crisis, Manchester United showed interest in signing Puyol, but no move ever materialised. Two years later, he extended his contract for a further five seasons. Puyol was named club captain at the end of 2003–04, after the retirement of Luis Enrique. He continued to be a defensive cornerstone for Barça, being awarded the "Best European right-back" award by UEFA in 2002 (amongst other individual accolades), and