A leader of men.
Paul Pogba declared, ahead of the World Cup, that this was his time to ‘take the reins’ of the French team. Following a season of highs, lows and criticisms with both Manchester United and France, it seemed like a bold claim.
The 25-year-old backed those words up no end, by helping his team to their second World Cup win and netting in the final.
Following France’s 4-2 win over Croatia in the final, Pogba told reporters of his speech to the squad before the game. He commented:
“I told everyone that we are 90 minutes away from realising our dream, we are 90 minutes from entering into history books for life, and we were 90 minutes away from making France rock, even children and their children will know about this.
“So guys, we can do this. There are two teams and a cup and we are not going to let another team take this cup. That is all I told them.”
That sort of rousing speech, it seems, was not the first time Pogba addressed the squad in France’s dressing room.
Footage has emerged of the Manchester United midfielder rallying the troops at half-time of their quarter final win over Uruguay. With his jersey off, Pogba stood up and declared:
“It [this game] is done! There’s no turning back. It’s done.
“We’re going to continue. We’re going to go until the end. We will meet on the 15th of July.”
That, of course, was a reference to the final being in Moscow on July 15. France were leading 1-0 at the time and put the result beyond doubt when Antoine Griezmann scored after 60 minutes to make it 2-0.
https://twitter.com/utds_updates/status/1019082704187469826
Onward to a semi-final win over Belgium and victory over Croatia in the final.
We are sure similar words are spoken in dressing rooms the world over, at every level of the game, but Pogba and his teammates went out and backed up those words with clinical, professional performances.
These quotes, and this footage, just add to the legend.
