Carles Puyol was the dictionary definition of what it meant to be a centre-back for a generation of football fans across the world, the gold standard of defenders with Catalan blood running through his veins.
His no-nonsense approach to defending, which was coupled with elegance and grace, earmarked Puyol as one of the greatest of all time, but it was also the Spaniard's Mr. Nice Guy mentality which helped place him in the history books.
Here are a handful of birthday boy Puyol's best moments on the pitch following his 15-year career at the Camp Nou.
Carles Puyol is widely remembered as one of the best defenders of all time and for good reason, but just like every great story has to have an ending, they also have a beginning.