Atletico Madrid legend Diego Godin picks out Barcelona icon as favourite central defender

Atletico Madrid icon Diego Godin is for many the player they most closely associate with ‘Cholismo’, for his incredible attitude and last-ditch defending. Somewhat surprisingly, they are traits he admired in a Barcelona player as a younger defender.

The veteran Uruguayan, recently retired, spoke to Cadena SER on Thursday evening, where he also had his say on Joao Felix’s struggles at Atletico. However when asked for his favourite central defender, Godin stayed in Barcelona.

“I loved Puyol. He is a player that I always admired a lot. We are not exaclty contemporaries, since he played a little before me, but I loved the way he played.”

Carles Puyol is not associated with Barcelona’s style of play whatsoever, but there were few if any that he did not win over at Camp Nou – and clearly beyond.

“You have to admire him. They put him on the right, on the left… and he always delivered.”

“When you are going to be a professional you pay a lot of attention to the way that the players behave on the pitch. That’s what earns everyone’s respect. Knowing how to win, which is the most difficult thing.”

Puyol was often used as a right-back as a youngster, and moved back into the middle of defence thereafter, despite his lack of height. When Pep Guardiola was struggling with injuries as a manager, he used Puyol at left-back too.

Being Uruguayan, Godin’s character almost seems natural, but it was Godin’s generation that popularised the battling Uruguayan attitude through their success. Puyol would have fitted the Celeste like a glove too.