My favorite player.

Today I have the pleasure to talk about a particular player, is not a gold ball winner, but if you have many titles, is not considered the best player in history but one of the best defenders according to FIFA.

In soccer there were players like Pele, Maradona, Cruyff but I never saw them play because I'm not that old, there are also new legends, Messi, Cristiano, Neymar, Zlatan, Mbappe, these are great players but they are not so to my liking, and there are the not so old big players like, Zidane, Makelele, Figo, Ronaldo Nazario, Kaka, but none of them is my favorite player.

Carles Puyol the eternal captain of Barcelona FC. He is my favorite player, he defended the team as if his life depended on it, each game played as if it were the last, he delivered everything on the court. In his generation there were defenders of great stature as, Nesta, Maldini, Cannavaro, Terry, but it was his actions inside and outside the court that led me to choose him as my idol.

A great example of his great courage was seeing how he once blocked Lokomotiv's archery with his chest and standing up to continue defending as if nothing was happening. He taught his teammates that the opponent deserves respect, as when they beat Rayo Vallecano 4-0, scored another goal to extend the difference and celebrated it by dancing, Puyol went to claim his teammates to return to their positions that he was already good of celebrations. He always had his feet firmly planted on the ground.

He never let himself fall in the provocations of the rivals, in the entrance tunnel he was forming waiting for his teammates when Mourinho passed by and this one slapped him, that Puyol only looked at him and ignored him, any other player left heated instantly and lose the head. Other players did the same with him but he never lost his composure.

The player with the biggest heart, loves his club so much that once in a UEFA award he was dressed in shorts, a yellow shirt with the emblem of his club, astonishing everyone and he answered

"I've been looking at all the suits I have ... with the one I feel better about, it's with the Barça shield in my heart."

He also showed his heart to his teammates like when he handed the captain's armband to Eric Abidal so that he would have the privilege of lifting the Champions League after having fought against cancer, on another occasion Barcelona played the Gamper trophy with Milan, the culé team was victorious but the same captain called Ronaldinho who was playing with the Italian squad at that time, and I gave him the trophy, an unforgettable gesture from Puyol.

The professionalism could not miss, despite being a rival of Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos among other rivals of Real Madrid, when he put on his shirt of the selection of Spain, forgot their rivalry and played as the best teammates, a moment emblematic was that goal of head that scored against the Germans to give the pass to the final of the 2010 World Cup where they were champions in the next game defeating Holland with Iniesta goal.

He always chose to stay playing in his club, today there are very few players who stay in the club of their loves, many prefer the money and go with the highest bidder. He wanted to play until he was 40 but his knees were the ones who took the red card out of the court before his time.

I will not talk about his won titles but I will say the words that define him as a player. Captaincy, dedication, passion, humility, warrior, solid, respectful, among others that escape me at this moment. All these things that I have spoken to you about is the reason why I chose him as my favorite player.

Carles Puyol Worthy example to follow.