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After masterminding Barcelona’s recent Champions League Triumph over Manchester United at Wembley, Lionel Messi left his spectators in awe once more. The little Argentine ran the show and was rightly voted man of the match in recognition of his spectacular performance.
Messi’s worth to Barcelona is undoubted as he can often be seen to win a game on his own with frequent moments of individual brilliance. But as we all know, football is a team game. The Argentine relies on ten other team-mates on the field of play to conquer his opponents – one of which tends to be Carles Puyol, when fit.
Puyol made his debut for his home-town club in La Liga on October 2 1999 against Real Valladolid. Since this debut, aged 21, the Catalan has gone on to become a stalwart for the club at the heart of their defence. This position did alternate to full-back in his early years under then first-team coach, Louis van Gaal. However this only aided in identifying Puyol’s defensive prowess and competence to perform consistently in a variety of positions.
After the retirement of Luis Enrique at the end of the 2003/2004 season, Puyol was named club captain. He continued to deliver consistent performances for the side and was crowned ‘Best European Centre Back’ by UEFA in 2005, 2006 and 2008. This impressive form also helped crown Barcelona champions in Europe’s premier club competition - 14 years after their initial triumph.
More recently the Spaniard captained his side an unprecedented six-trophy haul in 2009 which included the Copa del Rey, La Liga, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup and Spanish Super Cup trophy. Barcelona remain the only team ever to accomplish the sextuple.
Puyol’s role as club captain is therefore clearly very significant and immediately evident, which leads me to the following intriguing question, who is more important to Barcelona – Lionel Messi or Carles Puyol?
In essence this is an unenviable comparison. They are both crucial components within a vastly efficient system. Although they couldn’t perform in more contrasting roles for the team, they both contribute massively to the side in their own unique ways.
It’s clear that Messi has featured more prominently this season than Puyol, however has been due to the constant injury problems the Spaniard has been blighted with all season. In terms of performance, Barca's other centre-backs Gerard Pique, Gabriel Milito and Eric Abidal often look shaky without Puyol in the team. His prolonged absence this season has often meant that Javier Mascherano has had to drop in to the centre of defence and has often looked shaky at best!
Whilst Messi will undoubtedly continue to take the plaudits from the media and journalists alike, Puyol's significance to the team should not be underestimated in any way shape or form as his role as club-captain and leader of the team goes a long way towards forming a rock-solid partnership with Gerard Pique in the heart of defence.
As Puyol is a no-thrills, cut-throat type player with seemingly limited technique, in comparison to Messi that is, he tends to be almost marginalised in contrast to some of his mercurial team-mates. On the other hand, you will very rarely see him awarded anything less than a 7 out of 10 for his performances in the Spanish sports-dedicated newspaper. This indicates that similarly to Lionel Messi, he is a very consistent performer who gives his all for the club he loves and duly basks accordingly. It must therefore surely remain a matter of personal opinion as to who is more important to Barcelona - Lionel Messi or Carles Puyol.
What do you think?
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