I’m not like Pogba... I have to have serious hair like Gary Neville MATIC IS UNITED’S MR SENSIBLE
NEMANJA MATIC has got no intention of having bad hair days like Paul Pogba as he grooms Manchester United for another trophy. The Manchester United ace is the polar opposite of the flamboyant Frenchman – and that’s the way he likes it. While Pogba changes his hairstyle as often as his underpants, and indulges in flash cars and clothes, Matic is more concerned with making his headlines on the pitch. The Serb has put substance before style this season to emerge as one of Jose Mourinho’s most consistent, and favoured, players. That’s why he won’t be sweating before Mourinho names his side to face Tottenham in today’s FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, while Pogba has no idea if he will line up alongside him. Matic is far too sensible and serious to colour his hair blue like Pogba – or invent a dance routine for when he scores. He said: “No, I’d never do that. I have kids so if I do that my son is going to do the same. I have to have serious hair, like Gary Neville!” A dance move, perhaps? “No, I’m just simple,” says Matic, whose rise to the top has been as different from Pogba’s as their personalities. Pogba was Sir Alex Ferguson’s prodigal son, the precocious star of United’s FA Youth Cup-winning side in 2011 who turned his back on the club following a contract row to join Juventus and help them win the Italian title and reach the Champions League final.
He returned to Old Trafford in 2016 for a then world record £89m, while Matic’s progress was more humble.
He launched his professional career in under-stated Slovakian football with Kosice, before a two-week trial at Middlesbrough, a false dawn at Chelsea, a loan spell in Holland with Vitesse Arnhem and a move back to Chelsea via Benfica.
Craves
Success has not changed Matic, who remains a throwback to a different age of low-profile, no-nonsense midfielders who get the job done.
But he has no issue with being alongside someone like the showman Pogba, who craves the limelight and loves social media.
Matic said: “I like to play with him. He is a great player, he runs a lot, he has the quality with the ball, he can score and he can also defend very well.
“But with his quality and personality he needs to have more confidence, he needs to take more responsibility of course. He is still young, he can improve and he will improve. As he showed in the Manchester derby game, he took responsibility, played better and better, scored two goals in the second half and he also gave the other players confidence.
“After he scored the first goal we started to believe we could do something. It is exactly what he has to keep doing.”
A football agent once chuckled at Matic when he said that his dream was to play for United.
But more than a decade on Matic is having the last laugh.
And he is desperate to win the FA Cup to give United a springboard for more success next season.
He added: “I was sitting at a table with him (the agent) and he wanted to take me to another club in Serbia.
“But I was not happy to go there so he asked me, ‘Well, where do you want to go then?’
“At the time I was playing in the Serbian third division, which is probably worse than League Two in England and not even professional.
“I was 17 or 18 and earning £70 per month and I told him that I wanted to go to Manchester United.
“He was like, ‘What are you talking about?’ Of course, I used to watch United on television back in those days and I was actually joking with him, although it shows that everything is possible.
“Winning the FA Cup and finishing second in the Premier League is not a bad season, but it is not enough for this club. We have to do more.”