Carlos Puyol is a beast. He has that mentality that "nothing will go through me and if the ball does go past me then I will make sure you dont", which I believe is a prequisite for all world-class CB. I think as a tough-tackler he is better than Canna already as I have rarely seen a man who get better of Puyol in one on one situation. Only player IMO that is comparable to Puyol is of course Canna, Cordova and perhaps Gonzalo. Furthermore, I feel arieal attribute is one of the least respected aspect of Puyol's game. I remember Zalayeta absolutely taking Sol Campbell to the school on air, but comparatively small Puyol dominated him in arieal battles.
Nonetheless, I too find Puyol's distribution to be somehwat desired and he can be clumsy at times with certain positional lapses on occasions. Then again, you can just about find faults in every other top class players (Nesta & His injury problems, Canna & his use of ball, Terry & speed). and I am willing to let Puyol off the hook, because his contribution to the team through his influence, dedication cannot be denied. I think when it comes down to it, its all about tastes.
I love these traditional hard-core stoppers who take no non-sense so I have soft spot for Charles.