Patrick Vieira Biography

Patrick Vieira, born on 23 June 1976 in Dakar, Senegal, is a former French international football player and currently a professional coach. Vieira began his professional career at AS Cannes. He left for AC Milan in 1995, at the age of 19, Arsene Wenger brought him back on track at Arsenal after an almost a year without playing for the Rossoneri.

Vieira spent nine seasons in London, where he played for the league title every year and helped stabilize the club at a high level. From 1997 to 2005, he was one of the key players in the Arsenal team. After two

and FA Cup doubles in 1998 and 2002, he and Arsenal won the 2004 Premier League while remaining unbeaten. In 2000, he reached the final of the UEFA Cup with Arsenal.

In 2005, after a successful last

campaign, he joined Juventus Turin, with whom he was crowned Italian Serie A champion before Calciopoli.

Vieira then switched to Inter Milan, for three and a half seasons and won 4

titles in there. In January 2010, he returned to England and Manchester City where he won one last FA Cup before beginning his coaching career.

champion in 1998, European champion in 2000 and winner of the Confederations Cup in 2001, Vieira is a major player in the midfield of the French national team in the 2000s. He was never lacking in effort, but his career has been dwindling over the years.

His injury in the 2006 World Cup final against Italy, which was lost in the chaos of the final, seemed to be the beginning of his career decline in the blue jersey. Present at Euro 2008, he couldn't take part in it because of an injury that took too long to heal.

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All You Need To Know About Patrick Vieira Biography

Finally not retained by coach Raymond Domenech for the 2010 World Cup, Vieira retired with 107 international caps, including 21 as captain and scoring six goals. As a young retired footballer, Vieira first took on the role of ambassador and then head of development for Manchester City in England and abroad.

For the 2013-2014 season, Patrick Vieira was appointed manager of the club's reserve team (U21). He was appointed manager of OGC Nice on 11 June 2018, after having served as coach of the New York City FC football team. He was dismissed from his position at

on 4 December 2020, following Nice's elimination in the 2020-2021 Europa League and the fifth defeat in all competitions.

Patrick Vieira Information

Now that we’ve had a general overview of

Patrick Vieira life story

and biography, it is time to share some general information about him, stay tuned.

Patrick Vieira Bio

• Full Name: Patrick Vieira

• Nickname: Paddy

• Profession: Professional Footballer

Patrick Vieira Physical Stats

• Weight: 85 Kg

• Height: 1.92 m

• Eye Color: Dark Brown

• Hair Color: Black

Patrick Vieira Football Information

• Position: Midfielder

• Jersey Number: 4

• Professional Debut: 1994

Patrick Vieira Date of Birth and Personal Info

• Date of Birth: 23 June 1976

• Birth Place: Dakar, Senegal

• Zodiac Sign: Cancer

• Nationality: French

Stay tuned to read more about Patrick Vieira biography and

Patrick Vieira childhood

.

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Patrick Vieira Early Life

Patrick Vieira grew up in Sicap-Liberte, a small town in Senegal and away from the hustle and bustle of the capital Dakar. His family, including grandfather Alvez from Cape Verde, were held by his mother Rose. His father Jacob, a Gabonese student, left the family very early. In 1984, following in the footsteps of one of his uncles Jean-Pierre, Rose immigrated to France with his two sons Nicko and Patrick, who was eight years old.

The family moved to Trappes and Patrick joined the local football club. In 1985, the family moved to Dreux where his mother found a new job. The young player devoted himself once again to his passion and joined FC Drouais as a junior player. Naturally calm, the teenager was growing up too fast. At the age of thirteen, he was already almost 1.80 m tall and wanted to become a professional footballer. As a playmaker, he was able to play as a striker when his team needed to score.

In this way, he scored in a crucial match against the AAJ Blois in the National Cadets. His performances offered him numerous regional trials and the ambition to go one step further. Nancy and FC Nantes turned up, but it was FC Tours who took Vieira home. When he joined Juventus in the summer of 2005 for €20 million, FC Drouais received €200,000 in training fees.

In 1991, he joined the FC Tours team when he was already 1.88 m tall and weighed 68 kg. Philippe Leroux, his teacher and future head coach at the Ligue du Centre, didn't consider him as a great talent, but his sense of the game quickly became a wonder. During his time in Tours, Patrick Vieira was once observed by Loic Amisse, head of youth development for FC Nantes.

Amisse sent a scouting report about Vieira to Robert Budzynski, the sports director, but the Nantes decided not to recruit him. Leroux appointed him back as a defensive midfielder so that he could express his full potential. Thanks to Richard Bettoni, AS Cannes signed Patrick Vieira. Thanks to Richard Bettoni, AS Cannes signed Vieira.

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Patrick Vieira Profile

He played for Cannes in the French first division for a good two years. In October 1995, he moved to Italy to join

. At "Milan", however, he rarely went beyond the role of a substitute. One reason for this was that a maximum of three foreigners was allowed in a team and Vieira's rivals were top-class with Marcel Desailly, George Weah, Paulo Futre, Dejan Savicevic and Zvonimir Boban.

In addition to Desailly and Boban, the Italian national player Demetrio Albertini was also considered settled at his midfield position. After playing only two league games in Serie A in the 1995/96 season, he was seeking another transfer. Coach Arsene Wenger, who was still employed in

at the time, had already been watching him and offered him the chance of regular appearances after a possible transfer. Vieira initially travelled to Atlanta for the Summer Olympics in July but had to cancel his participation there before the start of the tournament due to a knee injury.

After a minor operation followed by rehabilitation, he then flew to London and signed a contract with Arsenal FC. He was Wenger's first signing and it took effect at a time before Wenger had officially taken over as manager of the Gunners. Stay tuned to read more about Patrick Vieira biography and his Arsenal career.

Arsenal

Vieira's distinctly physical style of play enabled him to adapt well to English football - a fact that was surprising at the time, as non-British players were often considered "too soft". He scored his first goal for Arsenal with a 2-2 injury-time equaliser against Derby County on 7 December 1996. He also impressed with his passing, reminding the London supporters of the famous ex-player Liam Brady.

Vieira was considered a key player for

, who won the double English League and FA Cup in the 1997/98 season. He was a consistent midfielder alongside his French international teammate Emmanuel Petit, strong in the tackle and with good passing skills and vision. Vieira missed only seven competitive games and was particularly in form in the final third of the season.

Another second-place finish in the league came the following year, and although he was more often noticed for receiving warnings (which were not due to "bad intentions"), he was selected in the "Team of the Year" at the end of the 1998/99 season - he also won this award in the following five years. In the meantime, Vieira had also developed into a regular player with the

. He reached the final of the UEFA Cup with Arsenal in the 1999/2000 season. This was lost in a penalty shoot-out on 17 May 2000 and Vieira missed the decisive penalty kick.

After winning the 2000 UEFA European Championship, Vieira made an unfortunate start to the new 2000/01 season with two red cards, then bounced back with two goals in a 5-3 win over Charlton Athletic. His expansive moves through midfield often moved Arsenal's play into the opposition half and he scored another important goal in the 2-1 semi-final win over local rivals

in the FA Cup.

Headlines were made on 17 October 2000 following an incident during a

match against

Roma when the opposing captain Sinisa Mihajlovic racially insulted him by calling him a "black monkey". Four years after the first domestic double success, Vieira won both the Premier League title and the FA Cup for a second time with the "Gunners" in the 2001/02 season. He then succeeded long-time captain Tony Adams following his retirement.

However, a knee injury meant he missed a number of league games in the 2002/03 season and he was also only able to watch the FA Cup final victory; he was replaced as captain by David Seaman in the 1-0 win over Southampton FC.

Although he had to take a break for the first two months of the 2003/04 season, he subsequently won his third English League title with Arsenal. In the process, he was part of the team known as "The Invincibles", which did not lose a single league game that year. In the summer of 2004, rumours of a possible transfer of Vieira to Real Madrid increased and after he denied the speculation, his sporting performances initially looked somewhat unstable.

He needed a little time to regain his form and although he ultimately won the FA Cup again and set his personal record annual tally with seven goals in the season, he was not selected in the Premier League's "Team of the Year" for the first time in six years.

The clashes between the two captains Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane in the big matches between Manchester United and Arsenal were legendary, as they fought fiercely on and off the pitch. One of the most famous incidents occurred in February 2005, when a fight broke out between the two captains in the players' tunnel at Highbury.

Keane said to the referee Graham Poll "Tell him [Vieira] to shut his fucking mouth!". Patrick Vieira had previously tackled his opponent Gary Neville, whereupon Keane intervened. The altercation was broadcast live on Sky Sports. In 2013, the journalist Gabriel Clarke published the TV documentary "Keane & Vieira - Best of Enemies", in which the two opponents meet and report together on the old enmity. The documentary was broadcast live on Sky Sports.

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Juventus and Inter

On 14 July 2005, Vieira signed a four-year contract with Italian side

Torino for a transfer fee of €20 million, rejoining coach Fabio Capello ten years after his first move to Italy. Wenger's decision to let Vieira go was highly controversial and he justified it by saying that the up-and-coming Cesc Fabregas harmonised much worse with Vieira than with Gilberto Silva and that Fabregas' departure should not be risked.

The 2005/06 season was overshadowed by a manipulation scandal in Italy and "Juve" was punished with a forced relegation to the second division as a result. This led to the departure of numerous key players, including Vieira, who moved on to

in August 2006 for a mere €9.5 million.

He immediately scored two goals for the team coached by Roberto Mancini in the Italian Super Cup against AS Roma and in the following three years he won the Italian Serie A with "Inter". Due to injury problems, however, he was increasingly restricted to the role of a backup player, with rivals such as Olivier Dacourt, Dejan Stankovic and Esteban Cambiasso often preferred to him during this period, and later, under Mancini's successor José Mourinho, he had rivals such as Thiago Motta and Sulley Muntari. In early 2010, Vieira moved back to the English Premier League on a free transfer to Manchester City - where he once again met his ex-coach, Mancini.

Manchester City

Vieira signed a six-month contract in Manchester with the option of a further year.

used the option and extended the contract for a further year at the end of the 2009/10 season. On 14 July 2011, Vieira ended his playing career. He then began working as a coach in Manchester City's youth department. Stay tuned to read more about Patrick Vieira biography and his France career.

France National Team

Vieira made his debut for France in 1997 in a match against the Netherlands. He was part of the France team in the 1998 World Cup and even replaced Emmanuel Petit in the final against Brazil which France won 3-0.

Vieira also played with France in the Euro 2000, which France eventually won. He was also part of France's disappointing performances in the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004. In that tournament, he suffered a major injury.

Vieira played in the 2006 World Cup, where he was a regular for the France that finished runner-up. Vieira was the captain of the national team in several matches for France in the qualifying for Euro 2008, after the withdrawal of Zinedine Zidane, although he was not part of the team that played the championship. Vieira played his last international match in a friendly against Nigeria on June 2, 2009.

On July 7, 2010, Vieira said he had no intention of returning to the national team and that he wanted to play for his team, Manchester City. He retired after playing 107 matches and scoring 6 goals.

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Coaching Career

After retiring from playing football, he joined Manchester City's management staff as a youth coach and as an ambassador for the club in the UK and abroad. On 16 May 2013, he was appointed as Manchester City's reserves coach. From 1 September 2013, he also became coach of the Manchester City Under-19 side. On 9 November 2015, he was announced as the new manager of New York City FC starting the following 1 January.

After winning the play-offs for two consecutive seasons, he left the American club on 11 June 2018 to become the new manager of Nice, thus returning to the French league after 23 years since his previous experience as a player. In his first year, he finished 7th in the league while in the French Cup he was eliminated by Toulouse and in the Coupe de la Ligue he was eliminated in the round of 16 by Guingamp (1-3 on penalties).

At the end of the second season, which ended early due to the COVID-19 outbreak, he led the team to fifth place in the table, which earned them qualification for the Europa League group stage. On 4 December 2020, after five consecutive defeats in Ligue 1 and the Europa League, he was relieved of his duties and replaced by his assistant Adrian Ursea.

Style of Play

In the France team, with both Didier Deschamps and Claude Makelele, Vieira formed two perfect midfield pairs, the position of which he revolutionised by adding a physical dimension and scope that his large body and size allowed him to perform at a great level. A talented defensive midfielder because of his ability to retrieve the ball at his feet and to launch attacks, he also excelled in leadership, which earned him the captain's armband at almost every club he played for, as well as in the national team.

In 2011, Mauro Camoranesi said that Vieira is the player who "surprised or impressed him more than the others": "What a player! He was so tall and so agile at the same time ".

Reception

Patrick Vieira is widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world and of his generation. With his strong playing style, we put on great shows for his clubs and the national team. However, England, in addition to his great performances, Vieira made his name in the English league with the biggest fine ever imposed at the time (£45,000) and the longest suspension ever imposed on a player: six matches in October 1999.

This was after he had already received four red cards since the start of the season, spat at an opposing defender during a match against West Ham, and insulted a policeman in the tunnel leading to the changing rooms. In 2005, Vieira arrived in Italy with the label of "collector" of red cards, hard on the man. A year later, after leaving for Inter Milan, he was sent off twice in five matches against Inter at the start of the season.

Goal Celebration

As he was a defensive midfielder, Patrick Vieira hasn’t scored many goals during his career, however, we have seen some memorable goal celebrations from him, especially during his time at Arsenal. One of his goal celebrations that we cannot forget and the one that he did mostly when he was at Arsenal, is the Gorilla goal celebration, where he ran to the camera, opening his hands like a Gorilla.

Patrick Vieira outside Football

Patrick Vieira is amongst the footballers who has always committed his life to football and unlike other players who start a business after retirement, he quickly became a coach after retiring from playing professional football. He has worked with ITV as a pundit during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Stay tuned to read more about

Patrick Vieira biography

and his personal life.

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Patrick Vieira Personal Life

In this section of

Patrick Vieira biography

, we want to take a look at his personal life, share some information about his family. Stay tuned to get to know Patrick Vieira better.

Patrick Vieira religion

is Christianity.

Family, Children and Relationships

Patrick Vieira married his wife Cheryl Plaza Vieira in 2005. The couple were dating each other since 2000 when Patrick was playing for Arsenal. His wife is from Trinidad, and before marrying Vieira had a failed marriage which ended in 1995. Cheryl Plaza Vieira is eight years older than Patrick.

According to the latest rumors, Patrick Vieira and his wife has separated. However, this is just a rumor and it has not been confirmed yet.

Philanthropy

In May 2003, he went to Saly, south of Dakar to lay the foundation stone of the Diambars Institute, a training centre created by Bernard Lama and Jimmy Adjovi-Boco of which he is the sponsor. The aim of this foundation is to use his passion for football to promote education among young people. This association has created two high-level football schools, one in Senegal (Saly) and the second in South Africa in preparation for the 2010 World Cup.

In October 2009, Patrick Vieira was appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). He will help the FAO to raise public awareness of the problem of hunger in the world. Vieira became the third footballer to be appointed FAO Goodwill Ambassador after Italy's Roberto Baggio and Spain's Raul.

Legal Issues

Patrick Vieira is one of the few famous footballers with a clean record and there are no records of legal issues to his name on media. Stay tuned to read more about

Patrick Vieira biography

and his career stats.

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Patrick Vieira Career Statistics

In this section of Patrick Vieira biography, we will take a look at his career stats both on the club and international level as a player and also his managerial stats.

Club

During his professional career which started in 1993 in France and ended in 2011 at England, Patrick Vieira has played a total of 651 matches in all competitions for 6 clubs in France, England and Italy. He has also managed to score 58 goals for the clubs he played, which is very good for a defensive midfielder.

International

Patrick Vieira nationality

is French and thus at the international level, Patrick Vieira has represented France on 107 occasions, scoring just 6 goals. He made his debut for France in 1997 and his last international match came out at 2009. He is regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders of the French national team.

Managerial

As a manager, Patrick Vieira has so far managed two teams during his career. His first head coach job was at New York City FC where he managed the team for 90 matches between 2016 and 2018. Of these matches, his team has won 40 matches, drawn 22 games and lost 28 of them.

At Nice, which he was a manager between 2018 and 2020, his team won 35 matches, drawn 22 and lost 32 games in a total of 89 matches. His win percentage of %44.44 in New York was better than his %39.33 in Nice.

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Patrick Vieira Honors

The Frenchman has won many awards and honors during his careers which the most notable of them include English Premier League, FA Cup, Serie A, UEFA European Championship and FIFA World Cup. He has also been included in FIFA World Cup All-star team in 2006 and won UEFA Team of the Year and French Player of the Year among others.

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