In the 2003-2004 season, having been chosen as third captain, he played a vital role in the team's sensational run of form that led to the runners-up place in the league. Puyol made 27 appearances in the league and seven in the UEFA Cup.
However, Carles Puyol had to wait until the 2004-05 season to win his first medal with Barca. He was, by then, captain of the first team and an essential part of Frank Rijkaard's league championship winning side. At the end of the season, he finally saw his dream come true of lifting the league trophy in the Nou Camp.
During the 2005-06 season, he played as well as he had the previous year. The Barça captain had the honour of being presented with the league title trophy before the game against Espanyol, before lifting the UEFA Champions League in Paris after the monumental victory against Arsenal in the Saint-Denis Stadium. Puyol only missed five matches all season and none through injury. On three occasions he was rested by coach Frank Rijkaard and was then suspended for the other two games which he did not play in. He also scored one goal as he headed home during the 5-0 victory against Real Sociedad on October 30, 2005.
At the end of the following season in 2006/07 (in which he played in 35 of 38 League games), Carles Puyol suffered the worst injury of his career when the League was already over. He damaged ligaments in his knee in a friendly played in Pretoria on 20 June 2007 and this kept him out until 29 September. Despite missing the first months of the competition, the club captain finally played in 30 League games in the 2007/08 campaign.
Carles Puyol is also a fixture in the Spanish national side, with which he played in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and in the European Championships in 2004 and 2008. In the latter he was key figure as Spain won the title in Vienna.
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