Guardiola: Fit Puyol can play on

Posted Saturday, April 14, 2012 by ESPN

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola believes Carles Puyol still has a lot to offer the team despite the skipper turning 34 years of age on Friday.

Puyol has played an impressive 552 times for the Catalans and is only second to team-mate Xavi Hernandez's tally of 621 games on the club's all-time appearance list.

"[Puyol] He's the kind of player whose fitness will tell him when he has to stop," Guardiola said on the club's website.

"His desire has hardly changed at all since the day he started. If injuries are kind to him, his career can carry on for some time".

Puyol, even at 34, remains a crucial component of Barca's defence and is currently enjoying his best ever spell at the club in terms of scoring goals.

Puyol has set a new personal record this campaign with four goals - two in La Liga and two in the Cup - beating his previous best of two goals set in the 2001/02 and 2006/07 seasons.

Barca will go in search of an 11th successive La Liga victory at Levante on Saturday trailing league leaders Real Madrid by just four points with six games to go in the championship.

The two teams will meet in a week's time for the season's second El Clasico.