He was a pivotal figure on and off the pitch in France’s World Cup win but will Paul Pogba be able to emerge as the leader of this Manchester United team? The answer to that will rest with Jose Mourinho but also the player himself, writes Adam Bate.
The sight of Paul Pogba cajoling his team-mates in their moment of need will have been jarring for some of his more vocal critics. But there he was. France’s leader in the dressing room. “Today, we run ourselves to death out on the pitch,” he told his team-mates before the Argentina game. “No one lets anyone else down. No one drops off. The details, boys.”
Another video of Pogba before the final itself was even more revealing. These were not the manic utterings of an overexcited young man but instead evidence of his calm guidance. He was urging concentration and providing context ahead of the biggest game of their lives. This was real leadership, backed up by a man-of-the-match performance on the pitch.
Samuel Umtiti claimed that Pogba had always been a leader but another France centre-back, Adil Rami, was perhaps more accurate when he spoke of the 25-year-old becoming one in Russia. Pogba had, after all, been jeered by his own fans when playing against Italy on the eve of the tournament. He grew into this role and he grew into his role in midfield too.
“It is a World Cup and we have to sacrifice,” he explained. “We have to defend. It’s not what I do best, I’m not N’Golo Kante, but I will happily do it. I think I have become more mature.”
That last word is the one that will resonate with Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho ahead of the forthcoming Premier League season. He has suggested as much in his typically pointed remarks during the club’s pre-season tour of the United States.
“I hope he understands why he was very good,” said Mourinho. “That’s the point about his performance level and contribution to a winning team, is to understand why he was so good – especially in the second part of the competition, where he was absolutely brilliant.”
Mourinho highlighted Pogba’s performance in the semi-final win over Belgium, in particular, and the positional maturity he showed in that game – waiting for the right time to express himself. He will probably be wondering how Didier Deschamps convinced him to do it.
The truth is that Pogba still considered his disciplined display to be a sacrifice and admitted as much. It is easier to make that sacrifice when the prize is so great and the reward is so immediate – 90 minutes away, as he himself pointed out in his dressing room speech.
It is a little trickier to be persuaded of that when United go to Burnley in the final game before next month’s international break (and all that will bring for France’s homecoming heroes). Nor will the need for three points be quite so obvious when United travel to Vicarage Road to take on Watford in the first game back from that trip.
Pogba has already shown that he can deliver in the big games for Mourinho. Most notably, there was his standout performance in the turnaround win over Manchester City that delayed Pep Guardiola’s title celebrations. Pogba scored twice in two second-half minutes – just part of a “phenomenal” performance, according to his manager.
“To lose against Manchester City and see them celebrate in their home stadium, I couldn’t let this happen,” Pogba said afterwards when explaining his motivation in beating United’s Manchester rivals. But perhaps that’s part of the problem. The target was there for him – imminent and achievable. Consistency is the challenge now.
Even in that game, he had been unconvincing before the interval and it was not exactly the turning point in his United career that his supporters had hoped for. Pogba was substituted before the hour mark in the very next game against West Brom. Then he returned as the star man in their midweek win at Bournemouth. And that was just April.
“Manchester United are a far better team with Paul Pogba in it,” Gary Neville said hat month. “He brings arrogance, confidence and belief. But when you are a player who is signed for that money, you have to play well and you have to match it.