Someone is being extremely naughty on the blogs, coming up with some mischief about the club “keeping mum” about a knee injury to Paul Pogba. The word from Paul McGuinness, however, is that everything is fine and that he will be making a permanent step up from the academy to the reserves in late January or February. The issue with the lad seems to have more to do with building up his strength and stamina than any kind of severe injury. Indeed Pogba seems to have been a part of the small group which accompanied Wayne Rooney to Nike headquarters in the U.S., for special training to increase endurance and muscle mass.
Most of the publicity concerning Pogba has been an abject lesson in the ugly politics and relentless greed of modern football. What people seem to forget sometimes is that he is still only seventeen and that referring to him as “the next Vieira” or “the white Giresse”–as is the hyperbolic wont of certain journos–is not necessarily what the lad wants or needs.
First spotted by Le Havre’s chief scout Franck Sale playing the game on the Darwinistic concrete courts of the projects in his home district of Sarcelles in the suburbs of northern Paris, at the age of 13, Pogba impressed him right away. Having already ‘found’ Charles N’Zogbia in the same place, these part-time basketball courts are the first place the scout visits when he arrives in the capital from Normandy, he told Goal.com.
“I was impressed by his attitude,” says Sale. “He was already like a footballer and had great game intelligence for his age.”
Sale recruited him for the well-respected Le Mans academy. One which has already had much success with N’Zogbia, Ibrahim Ba, Jean-Alain Boumsong, Lassana Diarra and Vikash Dhorasoo. Unfortunately, as often seems to be the case with young players who sign for clubs like Caen, Auxerre and Le Havre, whose bread-and-butter survival is dependent upon its academies, certain promises were made but not kept, according to Pogba’s mother in Gazette Soir.
The club’s current youth program director Frederic Lipka, who arrived at the club when Pogba was 14, saw right away that Pogba was going to be the jewel of the academy. “He was a player who was already very efficient at a very young age. The quality of his technique and his size. There were others that were also good, but the amount by which he was progressing was striking. Straight away, I thought, when he reached 17 or 18, he would be ready to step up to the top level.”
Pogba first played for France under-16s before even reaching the age of 15. Tough on the pitch, Pogba’s innate intelligence and approachability made him the coach’s favorite at both academies, so that he was soon wearing the captain’s armband for club and country. Already, agents were making illegal approaches to his mother through neighborhood intermediaries in Sarcelles. At the same time, with Arsenal, Olympique Marseille, Olympique Lyonnais, Chelsea and United sniffing around, Pogba’s departure was perhaps inevitable.
At this point, the whole truth becomes a matter of perception, and although Le Havre cried wolf, Pogba’s mother has seen subsequent matters in a different light than the club. From her point of view, Le Havre’s Chairman, Jean-Perre Louvel and his son Johann made ”certain promises” they did not keep. Underwhelmed by Chelsea’s scout-”He just showed up in an expensive suit, smiled and waved a roll of cash!”-Madame Pogba felt the better alternatives were offered by Arsenal and United. “I never met Monsieur Wenger, just his scouts, but Sir Alex Ferguson came to see me in my home. He did not show me cash. Instead he told me where he saw my son in five years and ten years. I was impressed.”
At any rate, after much wrangling and grandstanding to the press on the part of Monsieur Louvet, Paul Pogba’s transfer from Le Havre to Manchester United was finally resolved after an undisclosed agreement was reached following his move in July 2009.
Pogba’s one weakness in his game still seems to be stamina. His general game, however, especially his passing, tackling and shooting, are all progressing well. I first became interested in him after a friend showed me a You Tube video of his academy exploits. A little awkward when running with the ball, this tall kid has the huge hands, feet and knees of a puppy still growing and getting used to its body. Two of the goals I saw him score in academy games were thirty yard howitzers. Along with David Beckham, he clearly is the best pure shooter the club have had on their books since Bobby Charlton. With so much physical power and confidence he has clearly already adapted well to the English game. Touch wood, fingers crossed, etc.: Il est l’affaire réelle! Paula Pogba is the real deal!
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