18 May 2014

Carra: CL 'icon' is just as 'important' as Messi. £15m LFC star to replace him...?

Barcelona legend Carles Puyol announced his retirement this week, signalling the end of at era at the Nou Camp, and Reds legend Jamie Carragher has paid tribute to one of the most decorated players in the modern game.

In his column for the Daily Mail today, Carra hailed Puyol - who won 7 league titles, three European Cups, the World Cup, and a European Championship - as 'one of the all time great defenders', and warned that his retirement will be a 'blow to everyone at Barca'. He added:

"He [Puyol] was the man of steel who led them into battle. The club are losing an icon, his team-mates are losing a leader and the supporters are losing a player who represented their values.

"It speaks volumes for his ability that he was as important to Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering team as Xavi, Leo Messi and Andres Iniesta. As someone who played in my position, Puyol will forever have my respect".


Having spent his entire career at Barcelona, Puyol - like Steven Gerrard - is the archetypal one club man; a player who truly defines his club, and embodies - as Gerrard does at LFC - the core values of Barcelona FC.

Players like Gerrard and Puyol are a dying breed, and there are very few one-club players of that stature left in the modern game. Giggs is almost gone; Terry, Lampard and Totti will surely retire soon, as will Gerrard, probably in the next couple of years.

Puyol is 36; will Gerrard play beyond that age? I personally can't see it.

On a related note: Daniel Agger has constantly been linked with a £15m move to Barcelona, and like clockwork, the speculation has started up once again in the wake of Puyol's retirement.

Agger is well-liked by the LFC fanbase, but even his staunchest fan will probably concede that the time is right for the Dane to move on.

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10 comments:

  1. Chris Rossington11:36 pm, May 18, 2014

    Whilst I still believe he's a good player if you could get 10 mill for him, I think we will have done well. Time for a shake up at the back but who should we try and get? Nobody I know of really stands out. Heard Vertongan being mentioned but he hasnt covered himself in glory when we have played spurs and I cant say I have really seen Lovren that much. I know he was getting a lot of praise at the start of the season but i'm not sure.

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  2. If the money is right and Liverpool replace Agger with a quality defender then it shouldn't be an issue. The injuries, even if he recovers, have persisted to be an issue and it's never ideal to have to shift around your defensive combinations unexpectedly. Still, I think Agger is an above average centre back and it's quite an ask to replace him and be confident the inbound player will be a success. The club shouldn't just "cash in" because there is money on the table, they need to be making a decision like this because they have clearly identified an inbound player who fits the team.

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  3. If your definition of 'an above-average' centre back includes making schoolboy errors consistenly and being caught out-of-position repeatedly, then yeah, Daniel Agger is an above-average footballer.

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  4. Barcelona do not buy average.

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  5. Mike Aitcheson2:23 am, May 19, 2014

    Errr,,, What about Song?

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  6. Someone should give them a call and inform them of Agger's obvious shortcomings. Clearly their scouts are not good enough to spot the problems in his game that the average Liverpool fan can see. Probably a bunch of idiots.

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  7. I think the issue is not Agger's ability; the guy can never stay fit. I can't really see why Barca would want that risk.

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  8. Keep the Dane!

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  9. Was definitely not average at Arsenal surely you know that.

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  10. Adam he has still been a great servant for the club due to his injuries i think more than anything his game has suffered.
    A defender of his type would suit Barca perfectly and i doubt he would be found out in the La liga environment.

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