It's been a while since I last posted here.
I'm always trying to find the time, but working full time around the clock makes it kinda hard for me. and then, came Puyol and changed everything. I knew then that I couldn't keep my thoughts inside my head.
You think you're living a decent, quiet life, and then comes a massage that changes everything in a heartbeat. this is how I felt when I heared Puyol is to hold a press conference. deep inside of me, I guess I knew what would go down, but I didn't want to believe. my heart was pounding all day long, and then, when Puyol announced it's his last season at FC Barcelona, my heart finally broke. something inside of me, and something in Barcelona Football Clud, died.
I Can't even imagine the day after Puyol. no disrespect to Abelardo, but I doubt it if anyone would even remember who wore the number 5 on his back before Puyol and it will be strange as hell to see someone else wearing it after him.
The great thing about puyi, is that as good as he was as a defender, he was even better as a man. I would explain, but I think this time, a picture (or a video in this case) is better than words:
[YOUTUBE]DcrnbHQxKiE[/YOUTUBE]
In the 2011\12 Champions League group stage draw,
Puyi came with a FC Barcelona polo shirt. when ask why he chose to wear this shirt to such an event, he said: "I Looked at all of my suits and I've decided that I would be the happiest with Barça's symbol close to my heart". I guess he was speaking about the same heart that was responsible to one of the greatest saves in the history of the game, against Lokomotiv Moscow, almost a decade before:
[YOUTUBE]_9SeI1HbwUU[/YOUTUBE]
he wasn't the fastest defender in the world, the highest or the strongest, but he always won every ball and he did it with style. he was elegant as much as he was heroic, and you should read what other players and managers said about him to really understand how respected he was. always motivating his team mates, even when in a 4-0 advantage. every time he got injures, he surprised everyone by coming back a lot faster than expected.
When Ronaldinho played, and lost to Barça at the 'Joan Gamper Trophy' at 2010/2011, he let him keep the trophy. when Miki Roqué, former Real Betis player, got diagnosed with cancer, Puyol payed for the treatments with his own money. he let Tito Vilanova lift the La Liga trophy and he let Abidal lift the Champions League trophy in Wembley while wearing the captain arm band. That's the kind of man Puyol was. the bigger he was on the field, he was twice as big out side of it.
Even when leaving, he's doing it because he knows he can't play in the level required for FC Barcelona. once again, he's putting the benefit of the club first. that's why he's our captain, our heart & soul, a true FC Barcelona legend.
I really want him to retire at the end of this season, but I won't and I can't be selfish for someone who always put his club and us first. if he wants to play in a different club, I'll wish him the best of luck with hope that some day, he'll come back home. one way or another, this should be the greatest farewell of a FC Barcelona player in the history of the club, and I hope our players will do the best they can to let him leave this club with La Lige title and/or the Champions League trophy.
Moltes gràcies, Capità.