I came upon the idea of writing about
Paul Pogba when an acquaintance(Manchester United fan) and I sat
plowing into Manchester United's need for a strong player in
mid-field. The usual names were thrown around of course, before he
eventually pointed out that Pogba was the kind of player Sir Alex
Ferguson would have loved to retain. My friend's belief was that
Pogba was a strong, powerful midfielder and some one who, in a few
years' time, would be one of the best in the world.
I had to disagree, watching the France
youngster ooze class for Juventus in their 2-0 win over Chievo
Verona, I was convinced Pogba's time is now. Not 3 years down the
line, not 1 year down the line. But, Now.
The youngster was given his first
Bianconeri start, deputising for the excellent Andrea Pirlo who was
given a well-deserved rest, and he took little next to no time to
impress the Juve faithful and aficionados alike. What impressed me
most about the former Manchester United man, was how he could combine
the jobs of playing as an anchor man and as a deep-lying play-maker
seamlessly and to devastating effect. Of course, to expect yourself
to start ahead of Pirlo in Italy would be overly optimistic but the
Frenchman did his reputation no harm with a solid show.
Not that Pogba's performance has taken
everyone aback. The footballing world has been rife with talks about
how good this youngster is ever since he made his move from Le Harve
to the red half Manchester. SAF had earmarked him as the future
captain of the French National team. Captaining a French team is no
small task and such words coming from Ferguson shows the kind of
potential the 19 year old possesses. Juventus' care-taker manager,
Massimo Carrera has been all praise for Pogba since the move to Juve
remarking that 'he has a great future at the club' and that 'he has
all the characteristics to do well'. Even Cheivo's manager found
praise for the defensive mid-fielder after the game saying 'his
future is more than secure,' while also adding that 'He’s an ideal
replacement for Pirlo.'
Pogba's passing was of high quality
while he was even more effective defensively, winning a good number
of tackles and also displaying his prowess in the air. As world-class
as Pirlo was, no is, the biggest draw-back is that the World Cup
winning Italian mid-fielder is a weak link when it comes to defending
(as seen against Chelsea in the Champions League) and especially when
the ball is in the air. Pogba's ability to cover these two fields
make him a more complete mid-fielder and one that will sit easily in
Conte's system. The Italian manager took Juventus back to the top
last year with a strong defensive foundation and a hard-working,
combative mid-field around Pirlo, who was in god-mode. Now, with
Pirlo ageing and more football in the form of Champions League
calling, Conte will be delighted to have someone like Pogba should
Pirlo, god-forbid, lose his touch, need some rest or succumb to
injury.
For the Frenchman, he could not have
found a better place to express himself and excel. As much as the
Manchester United faithful say that moving away from the watchful
eyes of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson was a bad move, I think Pogba
has made the move which he thinks will benefit him. Now, playing
alongside the likes of Gigi Buffon, Arturo Vidal, Georgio Chillieni
and Claudio Marchisio and under the wings of a relatively
inexperienced but wonderfully gifted coach, Pogba could only become
the player many have touted him to or have feared him to become.
Only time will tell, if Pogba will get
to see much playing time with the Old Lady, for all we know it might
after all turn out that leaving Old Trafford turned out to be a
disaster; but one thing is for certain – the boy is too good to be
playing from the bench or to wait for his time to come. His time is
now – Unleash him.
