Carles Puyol interview: Ex-Barcelona star on watching from afar

How is it to watch your Barcelona play and win from a distance?

They keep showing they are winners, competitors, they still have a lot of hunger, and we saw it last Sunday in Madrid. They have been at a very high level throughout the season with the exception of four games. The Champions League elimination was a pity, but still, the year has been framed. 

Do you have butterflies in the stomach watching your old team-mates?

Man, of course. I'd love to be with them, for the better life is like this and you have to acccept whatever comes. Now I'm watching from the other side of the wall. 

Are you proud of your accomplishments?

I was very lucky, very. I've done what I liked most, to train and to play. Football was and is my passion and today I have to give thanks to be able to play for Barcelona. I settled for playing for the youth side! That was when my dream came true.

Not a bad career... 21 titles, second most games played for Barca...

But don't forget that in my first five years we didn't win any title. 

Why not forget that?

Becuase they were very difficult years, very tough for everyone. Later, when you have the luck to live the next 10 full of success, you take stock of those tough years because it helps you value what you have won much more. 

What a change.

We went from not having the option to win to live through a marvelous decade. The most important thing is that we have contributed to changing the mentality of Barcelonismo. We have made it so that even just winning a league seems that it might not be enough. How many have won a treble? How many have won two doubles consecutively? All of this has to be valued. Barcelona's story speaks for itself.