The Chelsea boss managed the
world's most expensive player
while at Juventus, so we take
a look at how he got the most
out of the French midfielder
Antonio Conte's management of Paul
Pogba whilst at Juventus offers Jose
Mourinho an insight into how to get
the best out of his £89 million
signing, having watched the
Frenchman struggle to live up to his
record-breaking price tag at
Manchester United.
Don't compare Kante with Pogba,
says Conte
Pogba flourished under the tutelage
of Conte in Turin but has so far only
shown glimpses of what he is capable
of in the Premier League.
Despite his patchy return to
Manchester, Pogba has been ever-
present in the United line-up. He has,
however, had to play a little deeper
than he would have liked under
Mourinho, who arrived at Old Trafford
to find a wealth of attacking
midfielders at the club but far less
competition in the deeper roles.
Pogba has himself revealed his
preference for a more advanced
position in midfield, specifically
highlighting the left side in a three-
man unit in the middle of the park,
though is willing to sacrifice this spot
for the sake of his team-mates.
"I would say midfielder on the left. If
you play a three I can play on the
right of left, but I feel more
comfortable to play on my
left," Pogba told Sky Sports when
asked what his best position is. "I can
do it [holding midfielder], but I feel
more comfortable a bit higher."
Mourinho has had trouble getting the
best out of Pogba so far, as he lacks
energy and power in midfield to
compliment his genius. Pogba is often
played in a central midfield role in a
4-2-3-1 formation, where he is asked
to play with more defensive
responsibility than he would ideally
like, while also being the player who
starts off the attacks from deep
positions.
PLAY
Pogba does sometimes get to play at
the top of the midfield three, though,
which he is more suited to, though his
placement there is at the expense of
one of many attacking team-mates,
such as Juan Mata, Henrikh
Mkhitaryan, Anthony Martial, Marcus
Rashford, Wayne Rooney or Marouane
Fellaini.
Juventus, under Conte, were playing
3-5-2 in Pogba's final year at the club
and he was employed on the left-
hand-side of a midfield three. Conte's
wing-backs were able to provide cover
for Pogba, who was able to focus on
making intelligent runs and being a
goal threat in Serie A.
He also had Andrea Pirlo alongside
him, who would sit the deepest and
take on the transition phase, quickly
moving the ball from defence to
attack.
Pogba's increased responsibility,
coupled with his price tag and the
difficulty of the Premier League, are
the reasons why he hasn't quite
looked a world-beater just yet.
The 23-year-old got used to winning
silverware and developed his game
under Conte at Juventus, claiming four
back-to-back league titles at the club,
as well as two Coppa Italia trophies.
Pogba was also in the side led by
Conte's successor Massimiliano
Allegri who competed in the
2015 Champions League final, before
eventually losing the game 3-1 to
Barcelona.
Pogba is now preparing for another
reunion with his former mentor Conte
as Manchester United travel to
Stamford Bridge on Monday evening,
having suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat in
the earlier league meeting. That loss
was another game in which Pogba was
picked out as performing poorly,
while his countryman, N'Golo Kante,
took the plaudits.
However, he has already tasted
success in a red shirt after claiming an
EFL Cup trophy, while United remain
in contention to lift the FA Cup and
Europa League. The Red Devils will
need to improve upon their sixth-
place position in the Premier League
table in the coming weeks, however,
and Pogba will be key to their
success.
Conte: I want to be like Mourinho
The Frenchman will certainly be
pivotal to United for many years to
come, but Mourinho may have to
spend yet more money to get the
best out of the world's most
expensive player, as he re-thinks his
long-term position in the starting XI.
To do so, he could well look for a
Arturo Vidal and Pirlo-type
combination in the transfer market, or
even a younger Michael Carrick and a
Kante type of player to get more out
of his £89m man.
No comments:
Post a Comment