This article was written at a time when Paul Pogba and Juventus were struggling. Those struggles got worse before they got better, but Juve have now won 15 straight Serie A games, find themselves in first place, and Pogba is playing with all of the confidence and leadership one could hope for. This article sheds some light on how Pogba got out of an unencouraging start to the season with some help from his manager, Massimiliano Allegri.
Last year Juventus won Serie A, the Coppa Italia, and made it to the Champions League Final, and did so in large part because of the contributions and leadership of Carlos Tevez, Arturo Vidal, and Andrea Pirlo. Those three are now gone, and while Juventus has retained legendary goal keeper Gigi Buffon and a world-class defense, its midfield and striking corp are going through an adjustment period, to say the least.
The team has brought in very capable replacements. Sami Khedira, Mario Mandzukic, Juan Cuadrado, and Paulo Dybala all bring qualities that Juventus need, but the first three are adjusting to a new league and a new team, and Dybala is only 21 years old. They are not in positions to immediately pick up where the men they replaced left off.
This leaves Paul Pogba in an unusual situation: at 22, he is not only clearly one of the most talented players on the team, he is practically a veteran. So, he has done what any ambitious player would do in his position: he has tried to be the leader and match-winner that Juventus need. Unfortunately for him, he has found that wanting and doing are two different things entirely.
Juventus lost both of its first two Serie A matches, including a 2-1 loss to AS Roma, a game with title implications even in August. Pogba has been guilty of doing too much. He is well intentioned to want to the leader of Juventus, but in doing so he is trying to be the player that we all hope he will be 5 years from now, today, and that is not possible.
There is no set age for becoming a leader, or a match winner; everyone who becomes either does so at different times, and some never become either at all. Trying to do too much, too early can ruin a player, and that is exactly why Juventus’ manager Massimiliano Allegri had the following to say to the media about Pogba.
"A 22-year-old cannot act and play like a 30-year-old. So [Pogba] must play as he knows how to play and exploit his skills, of which he has many,” said Massimiliano Allegri.
"He must put his ideas in place and be calm once again and live and play like a 22-year-old individual because it is right and normal to do so. Too much responsibility has been placed on his shoulders, so much that a normal 22-year-old would struggle to cope."
"Nobody is asking Pogba to score three goals per game or to win games single-handedly. We just ask Paul to play as he knows, a bit more carefree, and make the mistakes a normal 22-year-old makes."
Allegri is telling Pogba to just be himself, and that all the pressure he has put on himself is unnecessary. Allegri is trying to prevent Pogba from burning out at a young age, he is allowing him to grow into the kind of leader that Pogba wants to be, but is unable to be right now. This is the kind of management that lets careers blossom, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Juventus will probably bounce back against Chievo this weekend, but with a Champions League match against Manchester City just 3 days later, they are at risk of starting off their season with three losses out of their first four games played. If Pogba unrealistically puts pressure on himself, then he surely would also unrealistically assign blame to himself. Ir Juve lose three of four, It is possible that Pogba will come out of that four game stretch in a funk that could take a month to recover from.
While Juventus doesn’t need Pogba to be a leader and match-winner yet, they do still need him to be one of its best players. The team needs to recover, and correct the course of their season. It is still possible, but it requires Pogba to be at his best, not someone else’s. Allegri knows this, and has handled the situation with all of the wisdom and tact of a great manager.
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