It will not win the gold soccer shoe award. It will not be the latest Nike commercial to go viral. It will not be packaged for a Top Ten list. It’s the victory of negation. It’s perfected prevention. It’s the man with the city-destroying bomb at his feet and wire-cutters in his hand who at less than Second One chooses the correct wire and saves the city.

That is what Barcelona’s Carles Puyol did not once, not twice, but three times in last Sunday’s El Clasico, as he denied strikes from three of Real Madrid’s galácticos. And while Ibrahimovic rightly etched his name into hearts and history when his sublime volley sent a ripple through the back of Real Madrid’s net, it was Puyol’s defensive positioning that ensured Barcelona is off to its best ever start.

Far too often, journalists patronize the Barcelona captain’s style of play, reducing it to strength and ferocity. Implicit in those statements is the belief that his style is somehow lesser than that of those with crossover wizardry, that somehow Puyol’s style is more base, primal. At best this is a lazy stereotype but at its worst it denies Carles’ creative intelligence.

Similar to the way the Chicago Bulls’ Scottie Pippen understood his body and used its length to play between the X’s and O’s, creating the defensive pressure that confused and suffocated and freed Michael Jordan, Puyol uses his compact build to win the ball through explosive angular attacks. A taller man might wait for the arcing cross to meet his head. Puyol, through his intelligent understanding of the game’s movement, knows where he will meet the ball, uses his creativity to get there, and uses his body to send the ball where it most needed.

An appreciation of his game and the art that he brings must also include his timing. Like a Thelonious Monk composition, it is perfect but seems off. In the 26th, 53rd, and 70th minutes, Carles fully committed to sliding challenges in the penalty box and three times he prevented potential goals. As the game wore on and Real Madrid pushed forward with a one-man advantage, it was Puyol who ensured his defensive line remained compact, absorbing the attacks, winning the ball, then beginning the rhythm of attack. Like Theolonious, Puyol’s play animates the heart but also delights the brain.

The 155th edition of El Clásico ends with a 1-0 victory for FC Barcelona and while Ibra won the game it was the captain Puyol who was the man of the match, an intense effort in which they achieved their desired result without compromising their beliefs and philosophies. It was Puyol who saw them through a game of exhausting, beautiful tension.