Pogba, Juve’s rising star

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Last season, when Manchester City toppled United for the Premier League title, pundits pointed out an obvious flaw in the Old Trafford set-up — the lack of a midfield engine. It was argued that if United had a midfielder in the mould of Yaya Toure, they would have clinched their 20th League title.

Sir Alex Ferguson knew that, so did Paul Scholes — who returned from his retirement.
But the powers that be at Old Trafford perhaps weren’t too concerned. In a 19-year-old Frenchman Paul Pogba, Ferguson saw the future. Pogba was the solution to the United’s midfield crisis, someone who would finally relieve Scholes of his duty and go on to orchestrate the team for the next decade or so.
However, unpredictability is not confined to just horse racing — Ferguson’s other indulgence. Instead of taking over the mantle from Scholes, Pogba did the ‘unthinkable’ — he refused to renew his contract and walked out of Old Trafford, for the lush greens of the Juventus Stadium. Ferguson lost this bet.
It was surely a bold move by a teenager who is yet to make his mark in world football. Why would someone who is destined to be the ‘engine’ of United leave for a club where the likes of Claudio Marchisio and Arturo Vidal make a formidable midfield partnership with the evergreen Andrea Pirlo? The move was written off as an anti-climax to what could have been a potentially great career.
But six months from the acrimonious move, Pogba’s career is anything but over. In fact, it is on a spectacular rise. The 19-year-old not only has made his mark at the Old Lady of Turin with his distribution of the ball and the ability to win it, but has made the world take notice of a rising star with his penchant for stunning goals from the midfield.
In the Serie A match against Udinese last Saturday, without the injured Pirlo or Vidal, Juventus could not breach the defence despite dominating much of the first 30 minutes. They needed some inspiration, and Pogba duly provided that. Around 30 metres from goal Pogba took advantage of the space he was given, unleashing a thunderbolt with the outside of his boot. The ball curled, hit the underside of the crossbar and went in. The strike was reminiscent of the kind of goals Scholes had made a habit of scoring at United. Pogba went on to score another long-ranger in the second half, albeit this time low and parallel to the ground, as Juve won the match 4-0.
By now one thing is for sure. United faithfuls will rue their loss for a long time to come. In Pogba, they have not only lost their ‘next Scholes’ but someone who is closer to a more talented midfield general — Xabi Alonso of Spain.