One is a self-acclaimed football god and the other isn’t too much of a ‘long shot’ away from Mt. Olympus or wherever football gods are domiciled. Godhood or not however, no one can deny they are among the best in the game of football today.
This pair who practically spend their every waking hour in the media spotlight ─ When Zlatan isn’t making controversial comments, he’s calling someone out or giving memorable quotes while Pogba is at the other end of the room exhibiting dabs ─ probably have no secrets from us or so you thought, right? Dead wrong. It appears they’ve actually been holding back on us.
Let’s quickly catch up on some 10 unusual facts about the pair and see if I can get you to say “Oh, I didn’t know that!” at least once before the end of this piece. Leggo!
The Zlatan Rising.
Zlatan once came on as second half substitute for FBK Balkan; a local club he played for as a youngster, scoring 8 goals in a game his team was trailing 5-0. He was just 10 years old at the time. That day, ‘The Zlatan’ was born and he’s managed to keep the world at his feet ever since.
Agent Mino
Asides from sharing herculean abs, irresistible swag and fab moves on and off the pitch, Pogba shares the same agent with Zlatan in the person of Italian Mino Raiola. He coincidentally manages the iconic but controversial Mario Balotelli. Perhaps, a modern equivalent of the mythical centaur Chiron, Raiola definitely appears to have a strong bias for enigmatic athletes. It’s probably no accident that both Zlatan/Pogba now play for the Red Devils.
9 is for Zlatan
Zlatan has won so many laurels over the years that I’m sure he’s lost count himself. But did you know that the new Manchester United forward who dons the number 9 has also won the Swedish Guldbollen (Swedish Footballer of the Year award) 9 times? He picked up his most recent in November 2014 which was his 8th consecutive Guldbollen award. Genius or god? Make your pick.
The Turin Effect
Pogba’s signing visibly calmed the nerves of so many Manchester United fans around the world and Pogboom as he’s also called is expected to fill a void the Red Devils have been plagued with since Roy Keane left. Coincidentally, Pogba’s greatness was established at Turin (Juventus) the same place where that of his predecessor, Keane was cemented.
It’s also quite uncanny that like Keane, Man United broke their transfer record to sign him. Although, Pogba shares all these in common with Roy Keane including a similarity in style of play, whether or not he can get the job done like Keane did at Old Trafford remains to be seen.
Black Belts
You may have wondered how Zlatan is able to manage acrobatic feats on the pitch despite his huge girth. Well, all was revealed when I discovered he has two black belts in Taekwondo. That moment, the dots connected. The Zlatan got his first black belt at the age of 17 in his Swedish hometown of Malmo while the second was a honourary title from the Italian Taekwondo team. This goes to show he’s also quite capable of acrobatic feats off the pitch as well. Non-Zlatan fans would do well not to provoke him though.
La familie du football
Very few perhaps know Pogba hails from a footballing family or that his twin brothers also play professionally. His dad and mum both played in their youth albeit in a non-professional capacity. Fortunately, they are still around to witness their three kids live the dream. Mathias and Florentin; the twins (Pogba’s elder brothers) play for Sparta Rotherdam and Saint Etienne. Both also represent Guinea unlike Paul who prefers to play for France.
Human Snake
Zlatan has enough tattoos on his body to embarrass a Gaboon Viper which is among one of the most intricately patterned snakes in the universe. He has among his most cherished ones a Koi fish and a red dragon which points to his warrior-like nature, birthdates of his parents and children; his parents’ names and the following words from a Tupac song ‘Only god can judge me’ which kind of begs the question “Which god?”. One thing is certain though, Zlatan knows. *winks*
The Italian Job
He’s got sleek, rogue-like moves on and off the pitch and I ain’t talking dabs here. Discontented and desiring more playing time, a restless but highly ambitious Pogba made his move out of Manchester (during his first stint) long before anyone suspected. Sir Alex Ferguson who was then Manager was quoted as saying “He (Pogba) signed for Juventus a long time ago”. The Old Ladies eventually paid £800,000 as compensation to United in order to keep the peace. Pogboom as the next 007, anyone?
To Zlatan
The above is a Swedish term which means ‘to do something impossible or with extreme talent’. It has also been added to the Swedish national dictionary and is as well popularly used in many countries. ‘Zlatan’ and ‘Zlatan Ibrahimovic’ are also trademarks which mean he has rights to the name for products such as sporting items and other goods. No one can Zlatan better than ‘The Zlatan’ if you ask me.
Like Rhythm and Poetry
You’ve probably seen his awesome dabs but did you suspect how deep his love for hip-hop runs? Pogba absolutely loves rap, rappers, American hip-hop culture and once confessed Jay Z was among the three famous people in the world he would love to dine with. The Hip-hop community love Pogba back almost as much as he does.
He’s very close friends with American rapper Kanye West, Canadian rapper, Drake and UK rapper, Stormzy. He’s also not shy to drop some rap lines from time to time as seen here. It’s probable we’ll be seeing some more fantastic hip-hop moves from Pogboom in coming years.
Till then, I say…Sku Sku (x3) Ya ya Ya ohhhh
*Drops mic and dabs off stage*
Article By: @Teehem
