Who is Pogba, no need to tell

Who is Pogba, no need to tell. In good shape, he will make a difference even in slippers. The problem is that he is rarely in good shape. The Frenchman is unstable, lazy and tactically limited. He does not like challenges and disappears into systems that do not create ideal conditions for him. Based on this, not everyone is happy about Paul’s return – especially since he comes to the salary and Dybala’s number. But his qualities are necessary for Juventus.

In Allegri football, the center of the field is the sorting area. Style is defined by half-flanks

Allegri is rightly considered one of the most flexible and anti-systemic coaches in the world, but even he has general principles – and they regulate exactly the areas in which Pogba creates. The middle of the field in his football is something like a transit zone. The ball is almost not delivered to the penalty area through the center, the defensive midfielders avoid verticalization. The passing map with Villarreal is quite typical for Max: the game is played with horizontal and diagonal passes and escalates through the edges – the center only sets the direction. The coaching style determined the requirements for the performers. Allegri’s ideal number 8 is an athletic box-to-box with space attack skills. He has little effect on the organization of the game, but breaks into free zones in a timely manner and attacks the penalty area from the depths. In fact, he is a saboteur, an anarchic element in academic football: his main task is to blow up the game with constant threat and the creation of a numerical advantage in unexpected areas. The roles in the middle are regulated simply: the defensive midfielder distributes the balls along the flanks, the eights fill the voids on the wings or run into the penalty area. The pattern of the game is defined at the edges. When Dybala and Douglas Costa worked on the half-flanks, Juve put stylish dagger football at the bottom. As soon as the time came for Ronaldo and Cuadrado, the Turinians regressed to a hanging ball. The pass map from the match with Villarreal also shows Allegri’s main shortcoming. His unstructured soccer only works if all the pieces of the puzzle are in place. Today’s half-flanks are incapable of anything other than crosses, and there is no benefit from them: playing in the air is Vlahovic’s weak point. In addition, there are not enough recipients in the penalty area. Of all the eights of Juventus, only McKenny sees free zones. The creative group does not have enough proposals – that’s why the people of Turin are sterile. Pogba solves both problems.

Paul will add unpredictability to Juventus and increase Vlahovic’s performance

Turin’s main transfer task is to reformat the necessary zones and restore the ability to open the defense from the bottom. This requires two types: resourceful individualists on the half-wingers and midfielders with skills in attacking space. Pogba fits both descriptions. Creative undermining of measured games and clever inclusions from the depths are the main aspects of his multifaceted talent; once it was they who determined his rise at Juventus and the excellent game at Allegri. At Manchester, Paul did not lose these skills. Last season, he made 3.4 touches in the box in 90 minutes. Most juventini do not come close to such figures. In the entire Serie A, they were surpassed by only three midfielders – McKenny, Milinkovic-Savic and Roberto Pereira. At the same time, Pogba famously protects the ball after the reception and converts touches into threats. His 1.2 shots from the box in 90 minutes is one of the best among the eights in the top leagues. In England, only De Bruyne and Gundogan beat more, in Italy – Frattesi and Milinkovic-Savic. In Juventus, only McKenny squeezes comparable numbers.