Florentin Pogba

Peïlé Florentin Pogba (born 19 August 1990) is a Guinean professional footballer who plays as a defender for Ligue 2 club FC Sochaux-Montbéliard[2] and also plays for the Guinea national team. He is the older brother of Paul Pogba.

Florentin Pogba
Pogba in 2018
Personal information
Full name Peïlé Florentin Pogba[1]
Date of birth (1990-08-19) 19 August 1990
Place of birth Conakry, Guinea
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Sochaux
Number 3
Youth career
2007–2009 Celta Vigo
2009–2011 Sedan
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2012 Sedan 45 (4)
2012–2018 Saint-Étienne 66 (3)
2012–2013 → Sedan (loan) 34 (3)
2018 Gençlerbirliği 8 (0)
2019–2020 Atlanta United 13 (0)
2019–2020 Atlanta United 2 4 (0)
2020– Sochaux 7 (0)
National team‡
2011–2012 France U20 3 (0)
2010– Guinea 21 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16 November 2020
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 May 2018

Early life

Born in Conakry, the capital of Guinea, Pogba and his family moved to Roissy-en-Brie in France when he was only eight months old.[3]

Pogba has two brothers who are also professional footballers. His twin brother, Mathias, plays for Sochaux, and his younger brother, Paul, plays for Manchester United and the French national team.[4][5]

He grew up supporting Arsenal, following their invincible season.[6]

Club career

Sedan

Pogba began his youth career playing for several clubs in Île-de-France. It was here that he came to the attention of Spanish side Celta Vigo and signed for them in 2007, although he never made an appearance for their senior team. After spending two seasons in the youth ranks at Celta, he had a trial with Sedan in August 2009. After a successful trial, he joined up with Sedan's reserve team, and after one season in the reserves, he signed his first professional contract in March 2010. On 20 November 2010, Pogba made his first appearance with the first team in a 2–0 win against amateur side FC Steinseltz in the Coupe de France. A few months later, on 5 February 2011, he made his league debut in a 1–0 defeat against Boulogne. Despite the result, Pogba's performance was praised, and he kept his place in the team. On 20 September, in the following season, he scored his first goal for Sedan, a header from a corner against Troyes.[7]

Saint-Étienne

On the final day of the summer transfer window in 2012, Pogba was transferred to AS Saint-Étienne for a fee of €500,000. He was then immediately loaned back to Sedan for the remainder of the 2012–13 season.[8] After returning to Saint-Étienne in 2013, he initially struggled to break into the team in his first season with the club. He scored his first goal for the club on 3 December, in a 2–0 win against Montpellier HSC. By this time, he had well and truly established himself as the first choice centre-back at the club, displacing long time Saint-Étienne defender Loïc Perrin. Pogba picked up a serious injury whilst on international duty with Guinea.[9] It was initially feared that he would miss the rest of the season, but he returned against Nice in the 36th match week of the season.

Gençlerbirliği

In January 2018, after 86 appearances and 3 goals for Saint-Étienne, Pogba was transferred to Turkish club Gençlerbirliği on a short-term contract.[10][11] On 6 May 2018, Pogba was involved in a confrontation with teammates during a crucial game against Antalyaspor. Gençlerbirliği were losing 0–1 when Pogba limped off the pitch and took off his shirt in the 88th minute. The Ankara side, fighting to avoid relegation, had already used the allowed three substitutions.[12] Gençlerbirliği's captain, Ahmet Oğuz, furious that he was going to leave them with ten men, confronted Pogba, who turned around and walked on to face his teammate as other players and staff were forced to separate the duo.[13] He became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract.[11]

Atlanta United

In January 2019, Pogba went on trial with Spanish Segunda División club Elche.[14] He impressed during his trial and was set to sign with the club but a registration hitch meant he was unable to.[15]

A month later, Pogba signed for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC, following a preseason session with the team.[16] He made his first team debut in a 1-0 victory against Vancouver Whitecaps on 16 May.[17] He started and played the full match as Atlanta recorded their fifth shutout victory in a row, setting a new MLS record.[17] In the 2019 Campeones Cup against Club América on 14 August, Pogba earned a penalty for Atlanta that was converted by Josef Martínez and sealed a 3–2 victory.[18][19]

In the final of the U.S. Open Cup against Minnesota United on 27 August, Pogba played at center-back as Atlanta won 2–1 and secured their second trophy of the season.[20]

On 21 November, it was announced that Atlanta had declined the option to extend Pogba's contract into the 2020 season due to the uncertainty around the collective bargaining agreement, meaning that he became a free agent.[21]

Sochaux

On 18 May 2020, it was announced that Pogba had signed a three-year contract with Ligue 2 side Sochaux pending a physical.[22]

International career

Pogba was handed his first call up to the Guinea squad by Michel Dussuyer ahead of a friendly match against Mali on 11 August 2010. He made his international debut in the second half of the game, helping his team to a 2–0 victory.[23]

Nine months later, Pogba accepted a call-up to play for the France under-20 team in the 2011 Toulon Tournament. Pogba was allowed to do this because FIFA's regulations allow players with dual nationality to change their allegiance if they haven't yet played a competitive match for a country, which he hadn't yet done with Guinea. France went on to reach the final,[24] but lost out to the Colombia under-20 team 3–1 on penalties; Pogba was one of three French players to miss their penalty.[25]

On 24 March 2013, Pogba pledged his international future to Guinea, and he played his first competitive game for them in a 2014 World Cup qualifying match against Mozambique.[15] After struggling to play regular club football in the 2013–14 season, he also struggled to get into the Guinea team. However, after forcing his way into the Saint-Étienne side during the following season, he was able to return to his place in the Guinea team.

In December 2014, Pogba was named in the final 23-man roster for Guinea at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations.[26] Pogba played the full 90 minutes of their first group match, a 1–1 draw against Ivory Coast, and started the second match against Cameroon, before being substituted just before half-time with a thigh injury.[9][27] He did not feature again for Guinea as they lost in the quarter-finals to Ghana.[28]

Pogba was recalled to the national team in October 2019 by new manager Didier Six.[29]

Honours

Club

Atlanta United

References
  1. "Peïlé Florentin Pogba" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  2. "Florentin Pogba va s'engager avec le FCSM". FC Sochaux-Montbéliard. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  3. "Sparta Rotterdam heeft Pogba te strikken". Voetbalkrant.com (in Dutch). 31 August 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  4. "CSSA / La percée de Pogba". L'Union (in French). Reims. 11 November 2009. Retrieved 2 August 2010.
  5. Fifield, Dominic. "France's Paul Pogba: a complete midfielder worth 'two Gareth Bales'". The Guardian. London.
  6. "Arsenal fan Florentin Pogba reveals teasing with Manchester United brother Paul". Sky Sports. 12 February 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  7. "LIVE ESTAC Troyes - CS Sedan Ardennes - Ligue 2 - 20 September 2011". Eurosport. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  8. "Who is Florentin Pogba? Meet Paul's "crazy" big brother who's desperate to play for Arsenal one day". FourFourTwo. 15 February 2017. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
  9. "Afcon 2015: Guinean Florentin Pogba out for rest of season". BBC Sport. 30 January 2015. Retrieved 6 June 2015.
  10. "Games played by Florentin Pogba in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
  11. "Napoli seek Chiriches replacements". football-italia.net. 8 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  12. "Florentin Pogba clashes with teammates after walking off pitch". ESPN. 7 May 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  13. "Başkentte gergin anlar! Pogba oyundan çıktı ve..." (in Turkish). beIN Sports Turkey. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  14. Okeleji, Oluwashina (7 January 2019). "Florentin Pogba: Guinea international on trial at Spanish club Elche". BBC Sport. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
  15. "Florentin Pogba: Guinea defender ready for 'new adventure'". BBC. 6 February 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  16. Boehm, Charles (5 February 2019). "Official: Atlanta United sign center back Florentin Pogba". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved 5 February 2019.
  17. "Florentin Pogba makes Atlanta United debut in record-breaking night". MLS. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  18. "Atlanta United defeats Club America to win Campeones Cup". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  19. "Atlanta beats Club America to lift Campeones Cup". ESPNFC. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  20. "Atlanta United wins U.S. Open Cup". Atlanta Journal Constitution. 27 August 2019. Retrieved 28 August 2019.
  21. "Atlanta United: Pity Martinez will be back and can make a major impact on MLS in 2020". MLS Soccer. 21 November 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  22. "Florentin Pogba va s'engager avec le FCSM". FC Sochaux-Montbéliard. 18 May 2020. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  23. "Florentin Pogba Signs With Atlanta United". beIN Sports. 5 February 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  24. "France defeat Italy to set up 2011 Toulon Tournament final date with Colombia". Goal. 8 June 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  25. "THE TOULON TOURNAMENT'S MOST MEMORABLE MOMENTS : JAMES RODRIGUEZ FIRED COLOMBIA TO THE TITLE (13/16)". Festival Foot Espoirs. 8 May 2018. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  26. "GUINEA NAME FINAL AFCON SQUAD". African Football. 30 December 2014. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  27. "Cameroon 1-1 Guinea". Eurosport. 24 January 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  28. "Ghana eased into their fifth consecutive Africa Cup of Nations semi-final by beating a poor Guinea". BBC Sport. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  29. "Didier Six names former captain Florentin Pogba in first Guinea squad". 2 October 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
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