Capello slams Pogba and Argentina

By Football Italia staff

Fabio Capello maintains Juventus got “a fantastic deal by selling Paul Pogba at that price” and dubbed the Argentina midfield “pathetic.”

The former Milan, Roma, Juventus, Real Madrid, England and Russia Coach is working as a pundit on Mediaset during their World Cup coverage.

He was not impressed with many of the performances so far in the tournament, including that of Manchester United’s €105m purchase Pogba.

“The truth is that Pogba makes the difference in Italy, but not in England or on international duty. That’s because with his physical strength, to us he seems impossible to control, but when he plays elsewhere, he becomes normal.

“I’d say Juventus got themselves a fantastic deal by selling him at that price.”

The narrative of the World Cup so far has been the duel between Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a hat-trick for Portugal against Spain, and Lionel Messi, whose penalty miss proved costly as Argentina drew with Iceland.

“Messi suffered the pressure after Ronaldo’s three goals. Ronaldo wanted to do something more, because he hasn’t scored many World Cup goals before this,” added Capello.

“Argentina’s midfield was ridiculous, slow, always trying to go through the middle to hand the ball to Messi. I think Messi is a better player than Ronaldo, but the Argentina team isn’t helping him.”

Cristiano Ronaldo warned he could leave Real Madrid without an increased salary, but Capello believes it’s not about money.

“It’s an issue of pride and feeling he is treated on the same level as Messi.”

Argentina boss Jorge Sampaoli was criticised for his approach, tactical confusion and leaving Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala on the bench against Iceland.

“Dybala is still a long way off Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. He has to improve his consistency and the way he participates in the overall moves,” continued Capello.

“He always waits for the ball to come to him, but that’s because he plays in a strong team that lets him do anything he wants. Dybala could’ve given Argentina something different, especially from distance, and I would’ve used him against Iceland.”

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