The Importance of Paul Pogba
He is not only extremely important to Manchester United, but for the black football community.
Paul Pogba played pretty horrifically for Manchester United yesterday, in their high profile clash against Liverpool FC. It was fair to say that one of his worst games in a United shirt; handballing in the box to give away a penalty for the first goal, struggling to defend against the oppositions midfielders, and not really creating much for his side.
This obviously saw a social media backlash, with gems such as these:
As Hilarious as those jokes where, people have been putting pressure on him since his £89 million move back to Man U in the summer. Stating that he wasn’t/isn’t worth the money, and that there are better players out there in the league, who could possibly be starting ahead of him.
Now I fully recognise some of the faults in his game, and I’m not here to fight his battles. However I will remind people of how good a player he is, and how important he is, not only for Manchester United, but for the black football community.
Firstly, yes Pogba played badly, and yes he may not be at the heights he was at during his spell at Juventus, but let’s not forget, his ability and performance at Juve is what warranted his big money move in the first place. Further, for the past six games he was showing signs of the ability he showed in Turin; and, Jose, his manager, showed his importance to the side by persistently starting him in the heart of the team over the six game winning streak Manchester had prior to this match, so he can’t be that bad.
Pogba’s performance is one thing for his team, but as a player, he represents a lot more for the game and its fans alike.
With Paul, there’s a buzz around a black player, that hasn’t been seen since the likes of Drogba and Henry; what’s more, there’s a buzz about a black central midfield player. He’s now the face of Manchester, the face of France Football and the face of Adidas. At only 23 years old, he’s now the face of black football.
In football media there usually isn’t a lot of positive talk about black football players, or players of colour. There isn’t as much praise and admiration of their talent’s and ability, in comparison to their Caucasian colleagues. So, when a player does come a long that sparks excitement from the football community, it means a lot.
It means that coaches will think in the back of their minds, that black players can not only be strikers or defenders (due to physical stereotyping) but can play in midfield as well, a role deemed to be the most intellectually tasking.
His representation means that more kids of colour will have the opportunity to represent themselves and express themselves on the pitch. It means that kids of colour will have a sporting role model to look up to when they first get into the game; a role model who is unashamedly himself and unashamedly black.
Like the man said, “My Dab or Griezmann’s hotline bling? He was special because he was the only one to do it. But my Dab was more powerful around the world” — interview with Fifa in January.
At the end of the day, when Paul Pogba plays, he not only plays for his team, he plays for the culture. Whether he plays well or plays poorly, he gets a lot of hype and attention regardless; meaning little kids can grow up wanting to play like Pogba, like I wanted to play like Henry.
So here’s to you, and the games ahead, Pogba.
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