Patrice Evra talks on Pogba’s journey at Juventus

In an interview with Stick to Football, Patrice Evra shared some anecdotes about his time at Juventus, reflecting on his experiences and insights into former teammate Paul Pogba.

Pogba

“I used to tell him: stop thinking that people hate you, it’s because you frustrate them. You’re a beast; when you go box to box, no one can stop you.

Do you know how many times Allegri didn’t want to play him? Then he’d score a goal and get praised even if he had played badly.

That’s why I wanted to coach him mentally. I can give an example of when he played against Liverpool for the first time.

The night before the game, I was on FaceTime with him and saw many people in his room, and he was signing shirts. I asked him if he was ready for the match, and he said yes.

I remember it being one of the worst games he ever played. So I talked to him after the game, and he admitted I was right he wasn’t focused.”

Differences Between Juventus and Manchester United

“I’ll be honest, nine years at United felt like a vacation compared to Juventus. The intensity of the work, those training sessions it was something I had never experienced before in my life.

We had to run 4 km every day. Zidane said he saw players vomiting on the pitch during training in his time. I saw it too, and they still had to finish their runs.

After Champions League matches, we also had intense gym sessions. After games in Manchester, the players had a buffet, but in Italy, I got a large portion, while the other players got smaller portions.

I took Pogba to the kitchen, and we saw that every player’s photo was color-coded to give them different portions.

Every two weeks, we had blood tests; they wanted to know what you ate and even went to your house to tell your wife or chef what to cook. You’d get fined if you disobeyed. For me, it was fantastic, but we couldn’t find the right balance.”

Berlin Final

“For me, before the Champions League final against Barcelona, the way we trained left us tired. They watched us on the pitch and during training, telling us to go faster, and they were around the field with computers.

Tevez was a bastard. He said, ‘Come, it’s fantastic here,’ but he didn’t tell me anything about what would happen. On the first day, I saw people with suitcases and was confused because the Apache hadn’t told me that we would be staying at the team hotel for the first two weeks.

I asked him why he didn’t mention the intensity, and he said, ‘I wanted someone to die out there with me.’ I was 33 years old, so I struggled for the first few months, but afterward, I felt like I could destroy anyone. On match day, we did a real training session.

Honestly, when I saw that team, I knew we would win the league and go at least to the Champions League semifinals, but I couldn’t say it out loud for superstition.

I thank them because they extended my career, and without them, I wouldn’t have played until I was 38.”