Is Puyol good with the ball?
This whole thing with defender have to have*good passing skills to be a barca player is overrated.
We only need one on the pitch.
Pique could be the ball playing CB, while Zouma could be the Stopper, the last man, who clears the ball like Puyol.
We see these Barca players so much, it is easy to undervalue their skill levels. Puyol might not stand out as a ball handler and passer on this team, but compared to a normal CB his ball skills are excellent. Most CBs, even highly rated ones, would look like real clods playing on this team.
Let's try to be happy about this year's CB rotation: Pique, Masch, Puyol, Adriano, Bartra. We just have to hope neither Pique nor Masch have almost almost any injuries or suspensions, and that Puyol can be available for most of the season. No, this will not be the world's best defense. But it won't have to be. Barca will not run the table this year, but we will be satisfied winning 3 trophies.