Paul Pogba – Not one for the future, one for the present

TURIN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 22: Paul Pogba of FC Juventus salutes the crowd at the end of the Serie A match between FC Juventus v AC Chievo Verona at Juventus Arena on September 22, 2012 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

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 midfield. 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 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 a 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 of 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 Chievo’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 call upon 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 was 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 (Or give him to Milan for free, we’ll use him).