If you have an American friend who has never watched a game of soccer in their life, and believes they never will because they just don’t like it, sit them down and have them watch Paul Pogba play. Just do it.
Watching him is to watch an exception at work. His teammates play the ball and they look good. He plays it and looks transcendent.
While many are tempted to believe so, he is not Zidane. He has the skills of Zidane. He is French like Zidane. He may even end up having a career that is equal to Zidane's, but, again, he is not Zidane. Zidane was an introverted genius. Paul Pogba practically drips with attitude.
His personality swings back and forth between John Wall’s swag and the cold-blooded ruthlessness of Kobe Bryant. If the United States values anything more than winning, it is winning with style, so that our dominance cannot be questioned. Pogba can not only relate to that, he may very well be the personification of it. The magnitude of his talent is matched only by the confidence with which he wields it. That is what allowed him to captain the U16 French team, lead it to victory in the Aegean Cup and the Tourney du Val-de-Marne, and defy the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United.
Pogba spent a portion of his youth career at United, and his days there were far from idyllic. Under Ferguson, he was under-utilized and under-appreciated. With each passing game his frustrations grew and grew. Finally, before a match against Blackburn, he decided he had had enough.
Before the match he told Ferguson, “Play me, and I will show you if I'm ready or not,” but when the starting XI was announced he wasn't included; Rafael and Ji Sung Park featured in midfield. United would lose 3-2. “I was disgusted…I’d lost that thing, that relation that I had with the coach. I was really disappointed, really disappointed.”
It takes a person of exceptional strength to realize that Sir Alex Ferguson, one of the greatest coaches of all time, is not the right coach for you. Many players would have just waited it out, thought to themselves, "I should just listen to Sir Alex. He’ll know when I am ready." But not Pogba. He believes he is great, and he will not stand for being treated as anything else.
Photo: tifosibianconeri
His revelation that day in Manchester is inspirational, and almost intimidating, but watching him play makes it expected. That very same belief in himself is what allows him to go past defenders so easily, to pass the ball when he wants to and not when he’s forced to, and to command the respect of everyone in a stadium. He does not do all of these things because he can. He does them all because they should be done.
Americans will find Pogba absolutely magnetic. His attitude mirrors so many of the characteristics that we pride ourselves on: rebelliousness, self-belief, ambition, even an underdog mentality. He’s a maverick in all the ways we strive to be. We can watch him and know that we are watching one of the most American players on the planet, who just happens to be French.
Our current national team has it’s fair share of characters and talent, but the two are rarely found in one player. A player like Paul Pogba represents so much of what we hope our national team can become, because of who he is and what he still has left to prove. He is only 22. they world may be at his feet, but it is up to him to do something with it.
There is no recipe for success, but god-given talent and a chip on your shoulder are about as close as it gets. We do not know what the future holds, but we do get a chance to watch it all unfold. Take a seat, it is going to be a hell of a show.
