Patrick Vieira

Patrick Vieira
Patrick Vieira.jpg
Personal information
Full name Patrick Vieira
Date of birth 23 June 1976 (1976-06-23) (age 34)
Place of birth Dakar, Senegal
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 3 1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current club Manchester City
Number 24
Youth career
1984–1986 FC Trappes
1986–1991 FC Drouais
1991–1993 Tours
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1993–1995 Cannes 49 (2)
1995–1996 Milan 2 (0)
1996–2005 Arsenal 279 (29)
2005–2006 Juventus 31 (5)
2006–2010 Internazionale 67 (6)
2010– Manchester City 0 (0)
National team‡
1997–2009 France 107 (6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:18, 15 May 2010 (UTC).

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:19, 2 June 2009 (UTC)

Patrick Vieira (born 23 June 1976 in Dakar)[2] is a Senegalese-born French footballer of Cape Verdean ancestry who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the French national team, of which he is the former captain.

He rose to prominence during his stint at Arsenal from 1996 to 2005, where he won three Premier League titles – one unbeaten – and four FA Cups, eventually becoming club captain. After leaving Arsenal in 2005, he spent one season at Juventus before joining Internazionale in 2006, following Juventus' relegation for their part in a match-fixing scandal. He has 107 caps for France, and was part of their 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000-winning sides.

In August 2008, Vieira was ranked the fifth greatest Arsenal player of all-time in a fan poll conducted on the club's official website.[3]

On a less positive note, he also ranks among the players to have appeared in the English game with the worst disciplinary record, having been sent off 10 times during nine years at Arsenal.[4]

On 11 May 2010, Patrick Vieira was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Contents

Club career

Early career

Born in the Christian Cape Verdean community, Vieira's family moved to Dreux when he was eight and he did not return to Senegal until 2003.[5] Vieira first played for Cannes, where he made his debut at the age of 17 and captained the team aged only 19.[5] In summer 1995, he was signed by Italian giants AC Milan, though he played mainly in the reserves and made only two first team appearances.[2]

Arsenal

In September 1996, the incoming Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger requested Vieira's purchase from Milan prior to taking up his position. Vieira was signed for £3.5 million, a figure which would be deemed a bargain in years to come.[6][7] His height, stamina and physical strength allowed him to settle into the English game quickly, while his composure and the quality of his passing cemented his position as an integral part of Wenger's stylish attacking side. Forming a powerful midfield partnership with French compatriot Emmanuel Petit, Vieira won the Premiership and FA Cup Double in 1998, his first full season at the club.[8] That summer, he was called up to France's 1998 World Cup squad.

Vieira's early years at Arsenal were beset by disciplinary problems. In the 2000–01 season, he was sent off twice in two consecutive matches (the opening matches of the season), though after returning he did not receive another card for 28 matches. In all, he has been sent off twelve times in his career: nine times with Arsenal and once each with Juventus, France and Internazionale.

Vieira (center, on podium) holding the 2003–04 Premiership trophy after Arsenal's unbeaten season.

Vieira would go on to win Euro 2000 with France, as well as a second Double with Arsenal in 2002. He also played in the 2000 UEFA Cup Final. Arsenal lost the Final to Turkish side Galatasaray on penalties, with Vieira missing his. After Tony Adams's retirement in 2002, Vieira (already vice-captain) became club captain, since which his disciplinary problems cooled significantly. Though he missed Arsenal's 2003 FA Cup Final win with injury and therefore did not qualify for a winner's medal, Vieira lifted the trophy jointly with captain for the day David Seaman.

In 2003–04 at Arsenal, he captained the side on an historic unbeaten season in the Premier League.[9] At the beginning of this campaign he was in and out of the side because of a hamstring injury, with Ray Parlour replacing him in the side. However, Vieira returned for the Champions League match against Lokomotiv Moscow, with the Gunners winning 2–0 and qualifying for the 1st Knockout round.

2004–05 season and Madrid speculation

In 2004, Arsenal accepted a bid reported to be worth £23 million from Real Madrid, but Vieira turned down Real's contract offer.[10] Following Real's unsuccessful approach, Vieira remained Arsenal's captain for the 2004–05 season, during which the club broke Nottingham Forest's record for the number of games unbeaten in the Premiership.[11] Vieira made a solid start to the season but wasn't in sparkling form. Arsenal had passed the record and were 49 games unbeaten and were 1st with 25 points from a possible 27. They were 49 and out when they lost to Manchester United, Vieira's and Arsenal's form decreased with draws against relegation candidates Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Brom which saw them fall to 2nd.

Vieira scored his first goal of the season in a topsy-turvy North London derby which Arsenal won 5–4. Vieira scored his second goal of the season in vain as Arsenal lost to a weakened Liverpool. Chelsea were starting to sail away with the title and Arsenal were struggling to keep up with Chelsea despite a creditable 2–2 draw with the league leaders. Arsenal then suffered a 2–0 defeat at the hands of Bolton before Manchester United completed the double over Arsenal with a 4–2 win at Highbury which Vieira scored the opening goal. Arsenal fell to 3rd but improved to take 2nd ahead of United. Arsenal also finished with impressive home wins against 5th place Liverpool and 4th place Everton with Vieira scoring against Everton in a massive 7–0 win.

Vieira scored in the 4th round of the FA Cup 2004-05 in a 2–0 win against Wolves. In the 2005 FA Cup Final he scored the winning penalty in a penalty shoot-out after a 0–0 draw with Manchester United.[12] Renewed speculation about Vieira's future emerged at the conclusion of the season, and the cup victory ultimately proved to be his final game for Arsenal.

Exit from Arsenal

On 14 July 2005, Arsenal accepted a bid of €20 million from Italian giants Juventus[13] and Vieira agreed a five-year contract with the Serie A side the following day. One of the reasons for his transfer was also the emergence of teenager Cesc Fàbregas, who had played in place of Vieira when the latter was injured.

In total, Vieira played 407 times for Arsenal and scored 34 times.[2] In his time at Arsenal, Vieira appeared in the PFA team of the year six years in a row from the 1998–99 season up to the 2003–04 season.

He returned to Arsenal for one game on 22 July 2006 in a testimonial for Dennis Bergkamp as one of the Arsenal legends against Ajax legends. Despite his departure, Vieira has remained a favourite among Arsenal fans. An image of him sits alongside 14 other past and present Arsenal greats in "The Armoury", the club's shop at the Emirates Stadium.

Juventus

After Vieira's move to Juventus, then-Juventus manager Fabio Capello used Vieira in a midfield consisting of Brazilian Emerson and Czech Pavel Nedvěd. He helped Juventus to record their best ever start to a league season. Despite his performances dipping as the result of a persistent groin injury and a reported training ground bust-up with team mate Zlatan Ibrahimović, Vieira helped Juventus retain the Italian Championship (later striped).

In a twist of fate, Vieira returned to Highbury on 28 March, 2006 to play against Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Arsenal won 2–0 on aggregate, scoring twice in the first leg. Vieira received a yellow card in the first leg match at Highbury and was suspended for the return leg on 5 April 2006. During the first leg he was the subject of a strong tackle by former club and national team mate Robert Pires. Vieira was left crestfallen as Pires regained possession and Arsenal attacked, scoring the first goal of the tie through Cesc Fàbregas. Pires humorously quipped that it was the first time in 13 years he had got the better of Vieira physically.[14]

Vieira playing with Inter

Internazionale

Juventus were stripped of their 2004–05 and 2005–06 titles after it was revealed they were involved in a match-fixing scandal.[15] Juventus were relegated to Serie B and deducted 17 points by the Italian Football Federation for their involvement,[15] prompting many of the club's major stars to move elsewhere. After press speculation linking him to various clubs, including Arsenal and Manchester United, on 2 August 2006 Vieira officially signed a 4 year-deal for Internazionale in a deal to be worth €9.5m,[16] less than half the €20m fee Juventus had paid just 12 months prior.[17] Vieira declared he wanted to continue to play at the highest level at the presentation conference, which is his reason to leave Juve.[18]

In his first season at Inter, he added to his trophy cabinet the Italian Super Cup (scoring a brace in that game) as well as the 2006–07, 2007–08 and 2008–09 Serie A titles. But due to injury, he failed to become one of the regular starter, Olivier Dacourt, initially a backup player, became Mancini's first choice. And since the club signed Sulley Muntari and Thiago Motta, Vieira became of lesser and lesser importance in the team.

In response to extensive media speculation regarding a possible return by Vieira to his former club in 2009, Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger admitted that he would contemplate re-signing Vieira. [19] However the move never happened and Vieira remained at Inter. On 6 January Vieira unusually played as starter against Chievo, which was his 8th league start of the season.[20] Before the match Inter had lost Esteban Cambiasso and Sulley Muntari due to injury, Dejan Stanković and Thiago Motta suspended.[21] José Mourinho stated that Vieira had played his last game at Inter after the match.[22]

Manchester City

On 8 January 2010 it was confirmed that Vieira was having a medical at Manchester City and he would sign a six-month deal, where he would link up with former Arsenal colleagues Kolo Touré and Sylvinho. The contract also includes an option for a 12-month extension.[23] Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini described Vieira as an excellent midfielder with a winner's mentality and that he would fit into Manchester City's squad very well.[24] He made his debut for Manchester City in the 2–1 defeat to Hull City. Three days later he made his first start for City against Bolton where he assisted Emmanuel Adebayor through a long ball in the 2–0 victory. He scored his first goal for the club against Burnley in their 6–1 win on 3 April 2010.[25] On 9 June 2010, Viera agreed to a one-year extension to his contract, which will keep him at Eastlands until the summer of 2011. Expected to join Leeds United in August 2010. There now appears to be very strong rumours that Viera is having his contract paid up and signing for Leeds United on a 3 year contract, 2 as player leading to coaching on the 3rd with possible extention. Source : 2 very well known Agents, 1 being the agent of Viera himself, Marc Roger.

International career

Vieira chose to make his debut for France in 1997 against the Netherlands. He was part of the France squad in the 1998 FIFA World Cup. He came on as a substitute in the final against Brazil, and set up Emmanuel Petit for France's third goal in a 3–0 win.[26] He, with the rest of the squad, received Knight of Légion d'honneur, France's highest decoration, in 1998.[27][28]

He subsequently played as a first choice midfield player in France's successful campaign in Euro 2000, which they won, beating Italy in the final.[29] He helped France to victory in the 2001 FIFA Confederations Cup, ending the tournament as joint top scorer with two goals, including the winner in the final against Japan. He also played in all three games in the FIFA World Cup 2002, in which France were eliminated in the group stage, failing to score a goal. He was injured and missed France's defeat to Greece at Euro 2004.

Vieira was appointed France's national team captain on Zinédine Zidane's retirement from international football. Nonetheless, he and veteran defender Lilian Thuram were instrumental in convincing Zidane to end his retirement and help the flagging campaign to qualify for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Vieira even handed back the captaincy of the team to Zidane.

On June 23, 2006, his 30th birthday, Vieira took the captain's armband for the match in place of the suspended playmaker Zidane, whom he shared the birthday with, scoring the first goal when France beat Togo 2–0 in the group stages of the FIFA World Cup 2006; Vieira set up Thierry Henry for France's second. This win helped France advance to the knockout stages, coming second behind Switzerland, and it prolonged Zidane's international career. In the round of sixteen, Vieira scored the second goal in France's 3–1 defeat of Spain; France went on to beat favourites Brazil 1–0 in the quarter-finals, and Portugal by the same score in the semi-finals, which gave them a place in the final against Italy. Vieira was one of the best midfielders at the tournament with a string of fine performances. Vieira started the final, but was substituted due to injury in the second half, likely sustained when he collided with Italian defender Fabio Cannavaro. Italy won 5–3 on penalties after the game finished 1–1 after extra time. As of November 23, 2006 Vieira has appeared 100 times for France, scoring 6 goals.

On August 5, 2006 Vieira was reappointed captain of the French national team for the Euro 2008 qualifying campaign.[30] However, he played no part in the group games at Euro 2008 for a struggling France due to a niggling knee injury.[31] His last cap with the national team was on June 2, 2009 in a friendly match against Nigeria. He was not included by coach Raymond Domenech in France's squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa,[32] and after France's failed campaign effectively announced his international retirement by declaring that he would not make himself available to play under former team-mate and new French Manager Laurent Blanc. On 7 July 2010, Vieira confirmed again that he was no longer interested in playing for France and will devote his time to Manchester City.[33]

Career statistics

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
France League Coupe de France Europe Total
1993–94 Cannes Division 1 5 0 - - 5 0
1994–95 31 2 - 4 1 35 3
1995–96 13 0 - - 13 0
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
1995–96 AC Milan Serie A 2 0 - 2 0 4 0
England League FA Cup Europe Total
1996–97 Arsenal Premier League 31 2 5 0 1 0 37 2
1997–98 33 2 4 0 2 0 39 2
1998–99 34 3 5 0 3 0 42 3
1999-00 30 2 16 0 14 0 60 2
2000–01 30 6 14 2 12 0 56 8
2001–02 36 2 12 1 11 1 59 4
2002–03 24 3 6 1 12 1 42 5
2003–04 29 3 10 0 7 0 46 3
2004–05 32 6 7 1 6 0 45 6
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
2005–06 Juventus Serie A 31 5 5 2 7 0 43 7
2006–07 Internazionale Serie A 20 1 - 4 1 24 2
2007–08 16 3 2 0 3 0 21 3
2008–09 19 1 2 0 3 0 24 1
2009–10 12 1 1 0 2 0 15 1
England League FA Cup Europe Total
2009–10 Manchester City Premier League 3 1 1 0 - 4 1
Total France 49 2 - 4 1 53 3
Italy 94 11 8 2 20 1 125 13
England 280 29 80 4 68 2 429 35
Career total 411 40 97 6 90 4 592 50

Honours

Club

England Arsenal

Italy Internazionale

France France

Individual

Orders and special awards

Personal life

Vieira and his Trinidadian wife, Cheryl, first met in England while he was playing for Arsenal.

References

  1. ↑ "Biography forPatrick Vieira = Imdb.com". http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1352849/bio. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 players, soccerbase.com, accessed 29 May 2007.
  3. ↑ [1]
  4. ↑ [2]
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Patrick Vieira – Biography, imdb.com, accessed May 29, 2007.
  6. ↑ Where Are They Now?, premierleague.com, accessed May 29, 2007.
  7. ↑ Fordyce, Tom, "Bargain Hunt: The Premiership Years", news.bbc.co.uk, January 22, 2003, accessed May 29, 2007.
  8. ↑ Arsenal – summary of the 1997/98 season, arseweb.com, accessed May 29, 2007.
  9. ↑ CLUB RECORDS, arsenal.com, accessed May 23, 2007.
  10. ↑ Vieira decides to stay at Arsenal, CNN, August 23, 2004, accessed August 10, 2009.
  11. ↑ Arsenal run ends at 49, BBC, October 25, 2004, accessed August 12, 2009.
  12. ↑ Redknapp keen on ex-Gunner Vieira . BBC Sport (2009-07-24). Retrieved on 2009-07-25.
  13. ↑ "Agreement with Arsenal F.C. for the acquisition of the registration rights of the player Patrick Vieira". Juventus FC official site. 2005-07-14. http://www.juventus.com/site/filesite/finance/comunicatipricesensitive/14_lug_2005_eng.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-12. 
  14. ↑ Haond, Patrick, "Pires delight at dumping Vieira", skysports.com, 29 March 2006, accessed 29 May 2007.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Juventus relegation appeal fails, news.bbc.co.uk, 18 August 2006, accessed 29 May 2007.
  16. ↑ "Agreement with F.C. Internazionale S.p.A.". Juventus FC. 2006-08-02. http://www.juventus.com/site/filesite/finance/comunicatipricesensitive/02_ago_2006_eng_vie.pdf. Retrieved 2010-01-08. 
  17. ↑ Round-up: Vieira moves to Inter, telegraph.co.uk, August 3, 2006, accessed May 29, 2007.
  18. ↑ "VIEIRA: "HERE TO WIN"". FC Internazionale Milano official site (www.inter.it. 2006-08-02. http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=23453&L=en. Retrieved 2010-06-12. 
  19. ↑ "Wenger not ruling out Vieira deal". bbc.co.uk. 2009-08-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/a/arsenal/8176792.stm. Retrieved 2009-08-04. 
  20. ↑ "Serie A: Chievo 0–1 Inter". inter.it. 2010-01-06. http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?L=en&N=32989. Retrieved 2010-01-11. 
  21. ↑ "SERIE A: DECISIONS OF THE SPORTING JUDGE". ACMilan.com. 2009-12-21. http://www.acmilan.com/NewsDetail.aspx?idNews=113791. Retrieved 2010-01-10. 
  22. ↑ "Mourinho confirms Vieira exit". Skysports. 2010-01-06. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11854_5837091,00.html. Retrieved 2010-01-09. 
  23. ↑ "Patrick Vieira is undergoing a medical at Man City". BBC Sport. 2010-01-07. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/8441258.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-07. 
  24. ↑ "Patrick Vieira completes his move to Manchester City". BBC Sport. 2010-01-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/8441258.stm. Retrieved 2010-01-08. 
  25. ↑ "Burnley 1 – 6 Man City". BBC. 3 April 2010. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8596699.stm. Retrieved 3 April 2010. 
  26. ↑ FRANCE-BRAZIL 3–0 (2–0), planetworldcup.com, July 12, 1998, accessed May 29, 2007.
  27. ↑ "France honors World Cup winners – Government gives Legion of Honor to players, coaches". CNN/SI. 1 September 1998. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/soccer/world/news/1998/09/01/france_legionhonor. Retrieved 2006-07-20. 
  28. ↑ "Décret du 24 juillet 1998 portant nomination à titre exceptionnel". JORF 1998 (170): 11376. 1998-07-25. PREX9801916D. http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/WAspad/UnTexteDeJorf?numjo=PREX9801916D. Retrieved 2009-03-10. 
  29. ↑ Lipton, Martin, "France 2–1 Italy: David's golden delicious", soccernet.espn.go.com, July 3, 2000, accessed May 29, 2007.
  30. ↑ Vieira to lead Les Bleus, uefa.com, August 6, 2006, accessed May 29, 2007.
  31. ↑ "Vieira out of crunch Italy clash". FourFourTwo. http://fourfourtwo.com/news/euro2008/11797/default.aspx. Retrieved 2008-06-17. 
  32. ↑ "France keep uncapped pair in trimmed World Cup squad". BBC Sport (BBC). 2010-05-17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2010/8676453.stm. Retrieved 2010-06-16. 
  33. ↑ "Vieira calls time on international career". ESPN Soccernet. 2010-07-07. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=806765&sec=england&cc=5739. Retrieved 2010-07-07. 

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Tony Adams		 Arsenal F.C. captain
2002–2005		 Succeeded by
Thierry Henry
Preceded by
Marcel Desailly		 France national football team captain
2004–2005		 Succeeded by
Zinedine Zidane
Preceded by
Zinedine Zidane		 France national football team captain
2006–2008		 Succeeded by
Thierry Henry
Manchester City F.C. – current squad

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