Can Paul Pogba's Brother Florentin Make a Name for Himself at Saint Etienne?
Paul Pogba is France's most talented footballer since Zinedine Zidane, while older brother Florentin Pogba just wants to make the grade at Saint Etienne.
| Paul | Juventus | France | CM | 21 | 6'2" | 176 lbs |
| Mathias | Pescara | Guinea | CF | 24 | 6'3" | 192 lbs |
| Florentin | Saint-Etienne | Guinea | CB/LB | 24 | 6'2" | 192 lbs |
Like twin brother Mathias Pogba, formerly of Wrexham and Crewe Alexandra, football has been a struggle for Florentin.
In stark contrast, Paul has been a headline maker since the age of 16.
August 1, 2009, per The Guardian: "French club Le Havre have attacked Manchester United for signing Paul Pogba, accusing the Premier League champions of luring the 16-year-old midfielder by offering his parents large amounts of money."
May 30, 2010, per UEFA's official website: Named in UEFA European Under-17 Championship Team of the Tournament.
August 12, 2011, per Adam Marshall and Danni Sharrock at Manchester United's official website: Then-United manager Sir Alex Ferguson should have heeded to his own advice: "If we hold [Paul] Pogba back, what's going to happen? He's going to leave."
July 4, 2012, per MUTV (h/t Adam Marshall at Manchester United's official website): Exercised his Bosman right to a free transfer and moved to Juventus under acrimonious circumstances with Ferguson accusing Paul of lacking respect.
July 15, 2012, per UEFA's official website: Named in UEFA European Under-19 Championship Team of the Tournament.
July 13, 2013, per FIFA's official website: Pivotal member of France's FIFA U-20 World Cup winning squad. Received the Golden Ball for "outstanding player of the competition."
July 13, 2014, per FIFA's official website: "FIFA's Technical Study Group has named Paul Pogba as [the World Cup] Young Player Award winner."
Florentin's uncertain footballing journey is more alike to the prospects at Nike's The Chance than Paul, who is expected to lead France to World Cup triumph in 2018, a la Zidane in 1998.
Paul's career progressed at a precipitous rate, whereas Florentin toiled away for Sedan in Ligue 2 after returning from an arcane spell at Celta Vigo.
In 2012, Saint Etienne identified Florentin's raw potential, signed him and loaned him back to Sedan.
Saint Etienne had two great selling points to Florentin who was stuck in obscurity.
- Rescued the career of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who failed to break into AC Milan's first XI, and was shafted out on loan four times.
- "If you are good enough, you are old enough" mentality to being a regular starter i.e.: Faouzi Ghoulam, Josuha Guilavogui and Kurt Zouma.
During Florentin's debut season at Saint Etienne, he was a squad player.
- Fourth-choice centre-back behind Loic Perrin, Moustapha Bayal Sall and Zouma.
- Fourth-choice left-back behind Ghoulam, Benoit Tremoulinas and Jonathan Brison.
Florentin appeared as a substitute in Ligue 1 four times.
Entering the past summer transfer window, Saint Etienne manager Christophe Galtier said either Florentin or Paul Baysse would leave, per a tweet from Get French Football.
Florentin was on the outside looking in and Baysse was recuperating from a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Both stayed on Saint Etienne's books.
Waiting for an opening, Florentin was afforded a chance after Perrin tore a muscle in his thigh in the UEFA Europa League qualification win over Kardemir Karabukspor.
"I always believed in our chances and that's why we made it, even though a few things, like the injury to Loic Perrin, didn't go our way," Galtier said, per Ligue 1's official website. "For us at Saint-Etienne, this is a huge step."
It was also a huge step for Florentin, who contributed to Saint-Etienne keeping a clean sheet, and converted a penalty in the 4-3 shoot-out victory over Karabukspor.
Progression then regression.
In the following game, a 5-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, Florentin was one of the worst players on the field, despite receiving the highest rating of his team from WhoScored.
Florentin did not tightly mark Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who headed home PSG left-back Maxwell's inswinging cross.
Failing to close down PSG left-forward Edinson Cavani, Florentin was at fault as the Uruguayan international curled the ball past a hapless Saint-Etienne goalkeeper Stephane Ruffier.
It was a tough initiation into the starting XI for Florentin after he spent the large majority of last season watching Perrin, Sall and Zouma.
That said, the same people who make concessions for Paris Saint-Germain's €49.5/£39 million-valued centre-back David Luiz should give Florentin a pass.
The potential is there.
Florentin possesses prototypical size for a top-flight defender and is a natural left-sided centre-back, which is a commodity.
In every game this season, his passing accuracy has increased and he completed 95 percent of passes in a 1-0 win over Lens, per Squawka.com.
Perrin "is not expected back before mid-October with a muscle injury," per Philippa Booth at French Football Weekly, so Florentin needs to impress in this small window of opportunity.
Snippets of class—like against Lens—will steadily increase Florentin's reputation.
After Lens centre-forward Yoann Touzghar dribbled away from Ruffier, the Saint-Etienne goalkeeper was bailed out by Florentin, who courageously blocked Touzghar's stinging shot.
Forget about Florentin trying to escape the shadow of brother Paul.
Florentin should strive to emulate Mehdi Benatia, a late-bloomer, who did not impress Blackpool to justify a £100,000 transfer fee in 2010, per Jack Gaughan at the Daily Mail.
- Ceiling: Florentin keeps Perrin, one of Ligue 1's best players, out of Saint Etienne's starting XI.
- Floor: Florentin does enough to get signed by another top-flight club.
Statistics via WhoScored
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