Whether he plays or he doesn’t against Denmark Paul Pogba remains the central exhibit at the French show in this World Cup. The issues that colour his experience at Manchester United are shared in the French setting, the talent universally acclaimed, the exuberance supported, the decision-making often lamented. And we are not talking Barnets, at least not all of us.
With Les Bleus already qualified, manager Didier Deschamps is weighing the value of resting key players, and thus far Pogba falls into that category, raising the bar in the second-half against Australia in the opening game and creating the only goal for Kylian Mbappe against Peru with a typically audacious intervention.
Pogba is evidently revelling in his role as the team’s touchstone in Russia, volunteering to speak to the French media for the first time in four years at a scheduled briefing on Sunday and stopping to exchange views in the mixed zone after games. He has defended criticism of his chum Antoine Griezmann and dropped a few enigmatic Pogba-isms to keep the French press in business, including one suggesting this could be his last World Cup.
Sincerity
That made Deschamps laugh at his media conference ahead of their Group C decider at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. The first question was, of course, about Pogba, about his general well-being as well as his form. The interrogator had taken a literal view of the looming World Cup exile, wondering about the sincerity of the claim. “I don’t know about that. He’s 25. He could play at 29,” Deschamps said.
“I always see the same Paul Pogba. Over 15 days he is not going to change from ugly duckling to someone very sincere. He is always like that. In my own relationship I see always the same player. He has more experience, he is good in his head, he’s happy, and very motivated.”
Deschamps is a keen advocate of Pogba, though he wrestles with the same eccentricities as Jose Mourinho at Manchester United, urging greater simplicity in the interests of consistency. When he improvises appropriately, as he did with the driving tackle to monster possession away from Peru, eating up the ground with two galloping strides and picking the sweet pass that led to the goal, Pogba is not short of friends.
Neither in this period of positive affirmation is he so twitchy about the commentary that comes his way, even acknowledging the legitimacy of Deschamp’s observations, “I know he wants me to simplify my game. He has always had faith in me. His advice is the best, on and off the pitch. He tells me to stay confident and be myself. We have a great relationship.”
Small Issues
Not quite the tension in his relationship with Mourinho, then, which led him to being benched last season, a fate he now admits was justified. “It was an experience. There were some small issues with [Mourinho], but they were nothing in the end,” he said. “Being a substitute, that sort of thing, it helps you to grow. I have to accept.”
Decoding the Pogba cock-stride is a tricky business. What we think we see might just be a construct through which the essential Pogba is not revealed. Or it might be that he is giving us the the full Pogba, an honest account of all that is, or ever will be, take it or leave it. The latter is what he told the French media. “I am just me. I am not playing a role. I have always liked laughing and dancing. The most important is to play football, to have fun and enjoy myself. It is a child’s dream to be here. I want to enjoy it as much as possible.”
The bawdy criticisms of Pogba and France made last month by Denmark coach Age Hareide were resurrected here for incendiary purposes. Pogba, said Hareide, dredging his imagination, “thinks only about his haircut”, and France are “nothing special”. He might have cause to regret both claims, though Deschamps said France will not be trying any harder than they would ordinarily be as a consequence.
“Anyone can say whatever they want, and they are responsible for those words,” he said. “It’s not particularly pleasant and my players know very well what the coach said. They can read, they can listen, but that’s not what will motivate them tomorrow.”
The post France experience the same frustrations as Manchester United with enigmatic Paul Pogba appeared first on iNews.
from Football – iNews https://ift.tt/2Ki1PHH
Post a Comment