Euro 2021: sparkling with the Blues, disappointing with Manchester ... Paul Pogba, the player with two faces

Is there a Doctor Paul in the France team and a Mister Pogba in the Manchester United club?

Tuesday evening in Munich, Paul Pogba was magnificent with the national team.

It was he who touched the most balls on the blue side (78), played the most duels (20 including 13 won) and collected the most balls (12).

Like this performance during the first match of the Euro, the child of Roissy-en-Brie (Seine-et-Marne) has been increasing the number of very high quality meetings with the Blues for 5 years.

By his regularity in international meetings, the 28-year-old midfielder (81 caps, 10 goals) is one of the basic men of coach Didier Deschamps.

His athletic strength added to his technical accuracy in the midfield made him an extraordinary player capable of changing the course of a match as during his goal of the break (his last with the Habs) in the 2018 World Cup final against the Croatia or its opening from the outside with the right foot to find Lucas Hernandez on the only goal of the meeting Tuesday night in Munich.

3 points ✅ # FRALL #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/TRnLz8LWmd

- French team ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) June 15, 2021

“Paul has matured in his later years.

At his beginnings, he made gestures that were not used much, remembers the 98 world champion Alain Boghossian consultant on M 6. Today, he simplified his game and he has become an effective player, present in the duels, with the ability to keep the ball and eliminate the opponent.

Deschamps found his player in the middle which reflects his team's state of mind.

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“As soon as he is with the Blues, we have the impression that the man is metamorphosed, said former international striker Frédéric Piquionne, consultant for RMC.

He leaves aside all the artifices he has in the club.

He goes into warrior mode and this results in the field by extraordinary scores.

It's the Pogba we want to see all the time!

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Numerous injuries in the last two seasons

If his performances are of a very high level with the Blues, they are much more inconsistent with Manchester United. The main reason is due to the many injuries that have handicapped him in the last two seasons where he has only participated in 50% of his club's games. In 2019-2020, he suffered from ankle pain, this season he was first injured in the malleolus in November and then suffered a strained tendon between mid-February and mid-March.

“At the start, Paul didn't necessarily start in the big games and then he was injured for a very long time, but when you know that there is a big competition at the end of the season, we put all the chances on his side to arrive at the top, says Frédéric Piquionne.

He didn't come back too quickly and handled the situation well.

When he returned to the field, he no longer left the eleven holders.

At the end of the season I found him radiant, very available.

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The other reason is in his relationship with his coaches. Paul Pogba walks with affect. He feels a visceral need to benefit from the confidence of his trainer. With Didier Deschamps, his relationship has been idyllic since the first match of Euro 2016 where he started the match against Romania (2-1). At Manchester United, there was first fry on the line with Mourinho, and Solskjaer didn't always put his trust in him.

“We feel he is not the undisputed leader of the game. He is a lieutenant of Bruno Fernandes (the Portuguese attacking midfielder) while in the French team he is a real boss, believes Jean-Luc Arribart, Canal + consultant on the Premier League. Like all players who walk with affect, he needs to have a coach who loves him, who gives him responsibilities and he loves that. He feels he's the boss in the middle. He has influence on a Rabiot, on a Kanté, he's the big brother who is the leader of the game. That's why he thrives and expresses himself even better. "

Among the Blues, Paul Pogba is loved and appreciated by all. He's the locker in the locker room. A role that he has played wonderfully since the 2018 World Cup where he had multiplied the virile and unifying speeches before each meeting in order to remobilize his troops. On Wednesday at a press conference, Raphaël Varane praised his teammate. “He is listened to, respected and in addition he sets the mood. He is of course a player who could wear the armband in the French team without any problem. A logical continuation for an essential player.