Paul Pogba
Pogba playing for France U19 in 2012. | |||
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Paul Labile Pogba[1] | ||
Date of birth | 15 March 1993 | ||
Place of birth | Lagny-sur-Marne, France | ||
Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in) | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
Team information | |||
Current team | Juventus | ||
Number | 6 | ||
Youth career | |||
1999–2006 | Roissy-en-Brie | ||
2006–2007 | Torcy | ||
2007–2009 | Le Havre | ||
2009–2011 | Manchester United | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2011–2012 | Manchester United | 3 | (0) |
2012– | Juventus | 6 | (2) |
International career‡ | |||
2008–2009 | France U16 | 17 | (1) |
2010 | France U17 | 10 | (2) |
2010–2011 | France U18 | 6 | (1) |
2011–2012 | France U19 | 12 | (4) |
2012– | France U20 | 3 | (1) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 31 October 2012 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 September 2012 (UTC) |
Paul Labile Pogba (born 15 March 1993) is a French footballer who plays for Italian club Juventus in Serie A. Of Guinean descent, he operates primarily as a midfielder and is comfortable at playing both in attack and defence.[2] Pogba was described by his former club Manchester United as a "powerful, skillful, and creative" player who has "an eye for goal and a penchant for the spectacular.[3]
Pogba started his football career playing for local amateur clubs in Paris such as US Roissy-en-Brie and US Torcy before joining professional club Le Havre in 2007. He played for Le Havre for two years before venturing to England to join Manchester United in 2009. Pogba's transfer was subject to controversial debate as his former club accused the English club of tapping up the player. After three years with Manchester United, in which he made seven first-team appearances, in July 2012, he departed the club to join Juventus after his contract with the English club expired.
Pogba is a French youth international having represented his nation at all levels for which he has been eligible. With the under-16 team, he captained his nation to victories at the Aegean Cup and the Tournoi du Val-de-Marne and, at under-17 level, played at the 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship.
Personal life
Pogba was born to Guinean parents in Lagny-sur-Marne, a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris. He has two older brothers who are also footballers. Florentin, the eldest, currently plays for Sedan in France,[4] while Mathias plays for English club Crewe Alexandra after signing a two-year deal in July 2012.[5] Florentin was previously a member of the Guinea national team and made an appearance with the team in a friendly match in August 2010. In June 2011, he began representing France at youth level and currently plays on the under-21 team.[6]
Club career
Early career
Pogba began his football career at age six playing for US Roissy-en-Brie, a few miles south of his hometown. He spent seven seasons at the club before joining US Torcy where he served as captain of the club's under-13 team.[7] After one season with Torcy, Pogba joined professional club Le Havre. In his second season at the club, Pogba captained its under-16 team to the final phase of its domestic league, the Championnat National des 16 ans. Le Havre finished second to Lens in the final group phase finishing ahead of the likes of Lyon and Nancy.[8] Pogba also established himself as a youth international for his country. His performances domestically and internationally led to interest from English clubs Arsenal and Liverpool, as well as Italian club Juventus.[9]
Departure to Manchester United
"The player [Pogba] and his parents refused to keep the arrangement because Manchester United offered very high sums of money to the parents of the [player] with the aim of obtaining the transfer of their son."
Le Havre's response to Pogba's decision to join Manchester United.[10]
On 31 July 2009, Pogba announced that he was departing Le Havre to join the youth academy of Manchester United in England. The move stunned his parent club as it allegedly had a "non-solicitation agreement" with Pogba, which was agreed to by not only the player, but also his parents in 2006. The agreement, which was in place until the end of the 2009–10 season, allowed Le Havre to sign Pogba to an aspirant (youth) contract once the player met specific age and scholarship requirements.[11] On 1 August, Le Havre released an official statement on its website criticising Manchester United and the Pogba family.[10] Le Havre also announced its intent to ask FIFA to probe the situation.[12]
In response to Le Havre's accusations, Manchester United threatened to sue the club, while Pogba denied he was leaving Le Havre for monetary reasons, which Le Havre president Jean-Pierre Louvel had alleged to be £87,000 and a house.[13][14] Le Havre was also accused by Pogba's former club Torcy of using the same tactics it purported Manchester United to have used when the club acquired Pogba from its youth academy. On the same day of Pogba's announcement to depart for England, Torcy released a press release on its official website criticising Le Havre's accusations stating "We will not use the term "steal", but the recruiters of Le Havre acted the same way with the club in Torcy". The club cited Le Havre's acceptance of allowing Pogba to sign an amateur license with the club without notifying Torcy as its primary reason why.[7][15] On 7 October, Manchester United were cleared of wrongdoing by a judge appointed by FIFA with the judge declaring that Pogba was not contractually linked to Le Havre.[16] Despite having the option to appeal, on 18 June 2010, Le Havre officials confirmed that the club had reached an agreement with Manchester United for the transfer of Pogba. The terms of the agreement are confidential.[17][18]
Manchester United
Pogba completed his transfer to Manchester United on 6 October 2009 and made his debut with the club's under-18 team on 10 October against Crewe Alexandra in a 2–1 defeat. He finished the 2009–10 under-18 campaign with 19 starts and seven goals. The team finished first in their group, but lost 5–3 on penalties to the Arsenal Academy in the semi-final playoffs. In April 2010, Pogba was a part of the under-18 team that successfully defended their title at the Torneo Calcio Memorial Claudio Sassi-Sassuolo in Bologna, Italy.[19] In the 2010–11 season, Pogba remained on the club's academy team in the Premier Academy League and played with the team during the first three months of the season. In November 2010, he was called up to the club's reserve team and made his debut on 2 November 2010 in a 3–1 win over Bolton.[20] On 10 January 2011, in the FA Youth Cup, Pogba scored a long-range goal, described as "a real screamer", in the team's 3–2 victory over Portsmouth. The win allowed the team to progress to the fourth round of the competition.[21] A month later, Pogba scored a similar goal in a 3–2 defeat to West Bromwich Albion in the Academy League.
On 19 February 2011, Pogba was one of four academy players that earned a promotion to the first-team squad by manager Alex Ferguson ahead of Manchester United's FA Cup fifth round match against Crawley Town.[22] Pogba was assigned the number 42 shirt. He did not appear in the match, but later made the bench in the team's league match against Wolverhampton Wanderers on 22 February; however, for the second consecutive time, he did not make an appearance.[23] Pogba ultimately finished the campaign with no senior team appearances. After the match against Wolves, Pogba returned to youth level to continue contesting matches in the FA Youth Cup. In the team's two-legged semi-final encounter against Chelsea in the competition, Pogba converted a goal in the first leg, a 3–2 defeat, and provided the assist on the opening goal in the second leg, a 4–0 win.[24][25] In the final of the competition, Manchester United defeated Sheffield United 6–3 on aggregate to win its 10th Youth Cup title. Pogba started and played the entire match in both legs.[26][27]
Ahead of the start of the 2011–12 season, Ferguson confirmed that Pogba will feature with the senior team during the season stating "I mean if we hold Pogba back, what’s going to happen? He’s going to leave. You know, in a couple of years’ time when his contract is going to finish. So we have to give him the opportunity to see how he can do in the first-team and he’s got great ability".[28] Pogba was promoted to the club's reserve team permanently for the 2011–12 season and made his season debut on 15 August 2011 in the team's opening Premier Reserve League match against Arsenal.[29] On 25 August, in a team's second league match against the Swansea City reserves, Pogba scored the second goal for the team in a 6–0 rout.[30] On 19 September, he was named to the first-team to participate in the team's Football League Cup tie against Leeds United that was played on the following day with Ferguson proclaiming that "I intend to play him [Pogba] against Leeds United".[31] Pogba, subsequently, made his professional debut in the match appearing as a half-time substitute. Manchester United won the match 3–0.[32] Pogba made his second appearance against Aldershot Town in the Fourth Round of the League Cup on 25 October 2011.
On 31 January 2012, Pogba made his Premier League début against Stoke City replacing Javier Hernández in the 72nd minute.[33] He made another substitute appearance against West Bromwich Albion on 11 March.[34] Four days later, Pogba made his European debut in the second leg of the team's UEFA Europa League Round of 16 tie against Spanish club Athletic Bilbao. He appeared as a substitute in the 2–1 away defeat as Manchester United lost the tie 5–3 on aggregate.[35]
Juventus
On 3 July 2012, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson confirmed that Pogba had left the club after not signing a new contract.[36] Ferguson also stated that Pogba had signed for Italian club Juventus "a long time ago as far as we're aware". On 27 July, Juventus confirmed on their official website that Pogba had undergone a medical at the club,[37] and the transfer was completed on 3 August, when he signed a four-year contract.[38] He made his first appearance for Juventus in a pre-season friendly against Benfica in Geneva on 1 August, coming on as a 78th-minute substitute for Andrea Pirlo.[39] Pogba's first competitive appearance came in the Serie A match against Chievo on 22 September 2012, where he played the full 90 minutes.[40] On 20 October, Pogba scored his first goal for the club in a 2–0 win over Napoli.[41] On 31 October, he started against Bologna and scored the game-winning goal in a 2–1 victory. Pogba also assisted on the opening goal scored by Fabio Quagliarella.[42] The midfielder was, subsequently, praised for his performance in the match by several Italian media outlets such as la Repubblica, Il Messaggero, and La Gazzetta dello Sport.[43]
International career
Pogba is a French youth international and has earned caps at all levels for which he has been eligible. Prior to his international debut, Pogba was named captain of the under-16 team by coach Guy Ferrier. He made his youth international debut on 23 September 2008 in the team's opening match of the campaign against Wales in Llanelli. France won the match 4–2.[44] Under Pogba's leadership, the team recorded impressive victories over Uruguay and Italy in the Tournoi du Val-de-Marne, and defeated the Republic of Ireland by a combined score of 8–2 over the course of two matches.[45][46][47][48] On 31 January 2009, he scored his first youth international goal in the 2009 Aegean Cup Final against Norway. The goal gave France a 1–0 lead and the team won the match 2–1 to win the tournament.[49] Pogba finished the under-16 campaign with 17 appearances and one goal.
For his role in allegedly breaking his contractual agreement with Le Havre, Pogba was suspended from international duty by the French Football Federation for six months.[50] As a result, Pogba was stripped of the captaincy and made his debut with the under-17 team late in the campaign on 13 February 2010 against England at the Algarve Cup.[51] He was a part of the team that played at the 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship scoring both of his goals with the team at the tournament. He scored the only goal in the team's 1–0 victory over Portugal in the group stage and netted his second in the team's 2–1 loss to England in the semi-finals.[52][53] Following the departure of Ferrier as the team's youth international coach, Pogba was re-instated as captain at his age level by new coach Pierre Mankowski. Mankowski had previously been the assistant manager of the senior national team under the reign of Raymond Domenech. Pogba made his under-18 debut on 27 October 2010 at the Tournio de Limoges against Greece in a 4–1 victory.[54] On 24 March 2011, Pogba scored his first goal with the team netting the game-winning goal in a 2–1 win over Germany. The goal was scored from over 30 metres (33 yd) out.[55]
Pogba made his debut with the under-19 team in its first match of the season against Italy on 6 September 2011. In the match, he assisted on two goals, scored by Jean-Christophe Bahebeck and Anthony Koura, in a 3–1 victory.[56] On 29 February 2012, he scored his first goal for the team in a 2–1 defeat to Spain.[57] In Elite Round qualification for the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, Pogba scored the fifth goal in the team's 6–0 rout of the Netherlands. The victory qualified France for the competition.[58] On 11 June 2012, Pogba was named to the squad to participate in the tournament. In the team's opening group stage match against Serbia, he converted a penalty in a 3–0 win.[59] France reached the semi-finals where the team faced Spain. In the match, with France trailing 3–2 in extra time, Pogba scored the equalizing goal three minutes prior to the match's completion to send it to penalties. However, despite Pogba converting the opening penalty for France, Les Bleuets were defeated 4–2.[60]
Due to the under-19 team's semi-final appearance in the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, the nation qualified for the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup, which merited under-20 team appearances for Pogba. Similar to the previous two seasons, Pogba was installed as captain by Mankowski and made his under-20 debut in a 0–0 draw against China.[61] In the team's next match against North Korea, Pogba scored the team's second goal in a 3–1 win.[62]
Career statistics
Club
Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Europe | Other[nb 1] | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Manchester United | 2011–12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 |
Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
Juventus | 2012–13 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | |
Total | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | ||
Career total | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 |
Statistics accurate as of match played 31 October 2012[63][64][65]
Notes
- ^ Includes other competitive competitions, including the FA Community Shield and Supercoppa Italiana
References
- ^ "Premier League clubs submit squad lists" (PDF). PremierLeague.com. Premier League. 2 February 2012. p. 24. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- ^ "Paul Pogba (Manchester United FC)" (in French). Guinee Foot. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "Paul Pogba". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ^ "CSSA / La percée de Pogba". L'Union (in French). 11 November 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "Crewe Alexandra sign Mathias Pogba from Wrexham". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 7 July 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
- ^ "Florentin Pogba en EN de Guinée" (in French). AllezSedan.com. 4 August 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ a b "Manchester United "vole Paul POGBA" au HAC". US Torcy (in French). 31 July 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "Dernière journée des demi-finales" (in French). French Football Federation. 29 May 2009. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ "Arsenal, Liverpool chasing Le Havre kid Paul Pogba". Tribal Football (in French). 3 December 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ a b "Man Utd deny 'stealing' youngster". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 1 September 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "United leave Le Havre fuming". Sky Sports. BSkyB. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "Fifa denies receiving complaint over Paul Pogba's Manchester United deal". Guardian Media Group. 4 September 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "Man Utd threaten to sue Le Havre". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 September 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
- ^ "United's class of 2011 could be the next Busby Babes". The Independent. 25 May 2011. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
- ^ "Le Havre et Manchester United se déchirent pour un prodige francilien" (in French). Le Parisien. 5 September 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ^ "Pogba deal approved". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 7 October 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "Reds reach Pogba agreement". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 17 June 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "Manchester United reach agreement over Pogba". The Independent. Independent Print. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "U18s complete Italian job". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 6 April 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "Reserves: Bolton 1 United 3". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 2 November 2010. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
- ^ "U18's v Porsmouth: Pogba Screamer Helps United Progress". Stretford End Rising. 10 January 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ^ "Fergie to gamble on Manchester United kids in historic cup clash against minnows Crawley". Daily Mail. 19 February 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
- ^ "Man Utd boss Ferguson promotes four youngsters to senior squad". Yahoo!. 20 February 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ^ "FAYC: Chelsea 3 Man Utd 2". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 10 April 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ "FAYC: United 4 Chelsea 0". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 20 April 2011. Retrieved 23 April 2011.
- ^ "Blades 2-2 Man Utd - match report". Sheffield United F.C. 20 May 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ "Man Utd beat Sheffield Utd to FA Youth Cup final trophy". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 19 July 2011.
- ^ "Boss set to promote Pogba". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
- ^ "Res: Arsenal 2 United 1". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 15 August 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
- ^ "Res: Utd 6 Swansea 0". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 25 August 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
- ^ "Pogba primed for Leeds chance". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 19 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
- ^ Lyon, Sam (20 September 2011). "Leeds 0–3 Man Utd". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 20 September 2011.
- ^ Mathieson, Stuart (22 February 2012). "Paul Pogba set for debut against Ajax as Manchester United fight to keep ace". Manchester Evening News.
{{cite news}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|work=
(help); Text "accessdate-12 March 2012" ignored (help) - ^ "Pogba still mulling over United future". ESPN Soccernet. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
- ^ "Athletic see off United with room to spare". Union of European Football Associations. 15 March 2012. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
- ^ Marshall, Adam (3 July 2012). "Pogba departure confirmed". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ^ "Pogba, medical checkup". juventus.com. Juventus FC. 27 July 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2012.
- ^ "Pogba completes Juventus move". juventus.com. Juventus FC. 3 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ "Fighting spirit shines through in Geneva". juventus.com. Juventus FC. 1 August 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
- ^ "Juventus 2-0 Chievo Verona". ESPN. 22 September 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ "Juventus 2-0 Napoli". ESPN. 20 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ "Juventus 2-1 Bologna". ESPN. 31 October 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ "Paul Pogba gives Bologna a fright night to spark the superlatives in Italy". Guardian Media Group. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
- ^ "Début de parcours victorieux (4-2)" (in French). French Football Federation. 23 September 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ "Première victoire contre l'Uruguay (2-0)" (in French). French Football Federation. 28 October 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ "Victoire face à l'Italie (4-0)" (in French). French Football Federation. 1 November 2008. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ "Premier succès face à l'Irlande (3-0)" (in French). French Football Federation. 10 March 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ "Deuxième victoire tricolore (5-2)" (in French). French Football Federation. 12 March 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ "La France remporte le tournoi !" (in French). French Football Federation. 31 January 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ "La France remporte le tournoi!" (in French). Laleu-La Rochelle FC. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
- ^ "Le joyau de Manchester" (in French). Laleu-La Rochelle. 26 March 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ "Pogba proves decisive for France". Union of European Football Associations. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ "Wickham shoots England into final". Union of European Football Associations. 27 May 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
- ^ "Festival offensif pour débuter (4-1)" (in French). French Football Federation. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
- ^ "Victoire tricolore pour conclure (2-1)" (in French). French Football Federation. 24 March 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2011.
- ^ "Premier succès face aux Italiens (3-1)" (in French). French Football Federation. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 6 September 2011.
- ^ "L'Espagne s'impose à Meaux (2-1)" (in French). French Football Federation. 29 February 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
- ^ "Netherlands 0–6 France". Union of European Football Associations. 30 May 2012. Retrieved 3 July.
{{cite news}}
: Check date values in:|accessdate=
(help) - ^ "France in cruise control against Serbia". Union of European Football Associations. 3 July 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ^ "Spain finally see off France in semi-final shoot-out". Union of European Football Associations. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ "Match nul face à la Chine (0-0)" (in French). French Football Federation. 7 September 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
- ^ "La France domine la Corée du Nord" (in French). French Football Federation. 9 September 2012. Retrieved 2 October 2012.
- ^ "Paul Pogba". StretfordEnd.co.uk. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
- ^ "Paul Pogba Career Stats". Soccerbase. Retrieved 19 September 2011.
- ^ "Paul Pogba ESPN Profile". ESPN. Retrieved 29 September 2012.
External links
- Profile at ManUtd.com
- Paul Pogba at L'Équipe Football (in French)
- Paul Pogba – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Paul Pogba at Soccerbase
- 1993 births
- Living people
- People from Seine-et-Marne
- French footballers
- Association football midfielders
- French people of Guinean descent
- Manchester United F.C. players
- Premier League players
- Expatriate footballers in England
- French expatriate footballers
- France youth international footballers
- Juventus F.C. players
- Expatriate footballers in Italy
- Serie A footballers