baligugl.blogg.se - The caretaker everywhere at the end of time

Juventus are no longer the be-all and end-all in the Serie A title race but they are manoeuvring for another tilt at the top. At 29, there are still some peak years remaining in Paul Pogba’s career. He returns six years older, but also six years more experienced. It was Claudio Marchisio and Sami Khedira largely used in the midfield alongside him but the result was much the same as it had been with Vidal and Pirlo on board. Of course, there is no Vidal and no Pirlo in the Juve ranks these days, but even after the pair had departed in 2015 Pogba was a champion with the club again the following season, topping the appearance charts as he revelled in the same sort of positioning as he had enjoyed in the previous three Scudetto campaigns. But under Massimiliano Allegri at Juventus he should get far greater opportunities to sparkle. So often sat alongside Michael Carrick or Nemanja Vidic in a deep midfield slot in the early stages of his return, he would be utilised on the left wing more often than in a more natural central berth as his second United stay reached its latter stages. Pogba slotted in perfectly, something which can never have been said of him at Old Trafford, but then United had seemingly broken the world record transfer fee in the hope Pogba would be the sole answer in midfield rather than accept that he was a player who would need to be built around. At Juve he was given the licence to stride into space with or without the ball, with Arturo Vidal doing a lot of the hard work and Andrea Pirlo allowed to remain in a deep-lying position from which he could work his magic on the ball. But for a short run after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had been handed caretaker charge following Jose Mourinho’s sacking, Pogba rarely played in an advanced midfield position which allowed him to exploit the gap between opposition lines of defence.Īnd that was where he had excelled most in between his United spells.

Juve joint favourites for Scudetto after Pogba signing*Īfter returning to Old Trafford four years on, Pogba played a further 226 games for United but somehow still ended up feeling short-changed.

Pogba is United most divisive player ever.

United are as culpable as Juve for Pogba troubles.

When Paul Scholes came out of retirement the following month, Pogba’s opportunities were reduced still further. Even after a host of players were dropped for partying without permission over Christmas 2011, Park Ji-Sung and right-back Rafael were used in midfield instead of the Frenchman for a home league fixture against Blackburn Rovers. When he was wearing red as a youngster it was a lack of first-team opportunities which persuaded Pogba that his future laid in north-west Italy rather than north-west England. Back at the club where he became a true superstar, under the same manager who piloted the Bianconeri to the Champions League finals of 20, Pogba’s ability could be about to be harnessed in a way which he will tell you he was crying out for throughout his two stints at Manchester United.

But it could be over the coming four years in Turin that the argument is truly laid to rest. The whys and wherefores behind the failure of his £89.5 million move in 2016 have been discussed plenty.

That he achieved all of the above with Juve and not with United says much about what happened over the last six years at Old Trafford.

Paul Pogba completed his move from Manchester United to Juventus on Monday as a four-time league champion, three-time senior domestic cup winner and a former Champions League finalist.