We just got ourselves some more Captain Caveman!

By: Ade C. | October 23rd, 2009

And the sole most important piece of news of the day, enough to make us forget about Rubin Kazan (Rubin Kazan who?), Pep shaving his head and global warming… Carles Puyol is ready to sign a new contract that will see him dressed in blaugrana until 2013!

Thank you, Pep, Laporta, Txiki and whoever else was responsible for this.

I could get used to seeing this for three more years...

Apparently, this morning, just before they started training, Pep and Carles made the announcement to the rest of the team, who gave our Captain a standing ovation. The contract will be hashed out during the next few days and will be ready for signing hopefully before the end of the month.

Carles Puyol, who recently passed the ten-year mark as a first team player for FC Barcelona, had been dragging out the negotiations for his new contract since this summer, giving way to headache-inducing rumours of ManCity and Arsenal offers and a debate on whether it was wise to renew the contact of a 31-year-old (honestly, people?). The problem, apparently, was not money, but that Carles wanted to make sure that he had a place in the starting XI; since we have Puyol, Piqué, Márquez, Chygrynskiy and Milito (coming soon!) vying for the same two positions, it doesn’t seem too unreasonable for Caveman Puyol to have a few doubts and insecurities.

He also mentioned the possibility of “living a foreign experience” (I could insert a joke here about how visiting other cities in Spain could count as a foreign experience for him, since “Catalonia is not Spain” and all that, but I will show remarkable self-restraint and I won’t… ooops, I guess I just did!), and this morning, Txiki Begiristan also suggested that Puyol wanted one year more in his contract than he was being offered, soemthing that Barça was quick to offer (he also said they’re working on improving the contracts of Iniesta, Márquez and Yaya Touré).

Now, this makes me very happy. Because Puyol is much more than just central defender. For a start, on a pinch, he can play on either wing (Champions League final, anyone?). And, call me sentimental if you want, but he is a also a symbol, a curly-haired, senyera-kissing, Catalonian-speaking constant in the team. I suppose it will happen some day, but right now I can’t think of Barça without Puyol wearing the armband and shouting instructions at his teammates all the time.

The more things change, the more they stay the same...

Funny thing is, neither can anyone else. “If he is thinking of leaving, he should get that idea right our of his head”, said Pep this summer. Valdés (who had his own contract renewed this summer), also spoke in favour of his captain, saying that “he is an example to the whole cantera“. Iniesta, too, rehearsed a line from his favourite blues song, saying in a radio interview a few weeks ago, “The only thing I want is for Puyi to stay by my side” (no, I did not make this up… the interview is not online anymore, but I downloaded it, in case anyone wants to hear the cheesy declarations in the original Spanish). And Xavi, this morning, giving the news to the press, also went overboard with the poetics: “Carles has been here for many years, he is the soul of the team, which makes this fantastic news.”

So, we have got ourselves a captain for three more years. Finally we can stop crying on the evenings and starting Facebook groups to pray for Puyol to stay on the team (you didn’t do that? Must be just my circle of friends, then…).

Are you part of that 93% of culés who’d be happy to see our heroic Captain retire at the Camp Nou, or do you think we should be like other clubs and trade him in for a younger model (no, I’m not trying to influence your answer in the slightest, why do you ask?).