On 14th August 1996, Patrick Vieira joined the red side of London and left on the 14th July 2005. As we approach the 19th year since he joined and the 10th year since the date he left, I take a look back at the Frenchman’s career.
His professional career started on the south coast of France, at Cannes. He joined at 17-years-old and broke through to the first team instantly, stamping his authority at just 19 as he was named club captain. His performances were so impressive that he signed for Italian giants AC Milan in 1995. Hoping to make an impact, for what he had at Cannes, seemed like a complete and utter waste of an opportunity, as he only made 2 appearances for the Rossoneri’s.
After just one season, England came calling with a handful of clubs interested, but only one caught his eye, Arsenal. For what he did during his time at the club, his price tag of £3.5 million is seen as one of the bargains of the modern era of football.
Like many players who have joined the club, Arsene Wenger was crucial in the transfer and getting things over the line. Vieira said on his arrival “I am delighted to be joining Arsenal at the same time as Mr Wenger becomes their coach. Being able to speak French to him will make life a lot easier for me”.
Wenger made the central midfielder captain in 2002 and things seemed to fall in to place from there; he was dominant in the middle of the park as well as having a strong ongoing relationship with the fans and his colleagues. However, things started to turn pear-shaped as his attitude on the pitch changed. The famous tussle between Patrick Vieira and Roy Keane saw him land a £20,000 fine from the FA for not leaving the field of play after being sent off. On and off the pitch, Patrick was in trouble as he got a £2,300 fine for not contributing enough to the ‘No to Racism’ campaign.
The Frenchman managed to keep his head down until the beginning of the 2003/04 season. He had captained Arsenal to the FA Cup the season before and things looked on the up. The squad was strong and looked in unity with each other, the start of an era.
A Vieira-lead Arsenal side went the whole league season undefeated and won the league comfortably, even sweeter that they clinched the title at bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur’s ground, where Vieira gave Arsenal an early lead, before drawing 2-2, a result that was enough to secure the Premier League title.
Much to the fans disappointment, Wenger had to make a bold move whether to choose current captin Vieira or Cesc Fabregas, the up and coming star. With Gilberto Silva also part of the midfield, Wenger felt that he couldn’t partner both Vieira and Fabregas together as they didn’t work, whereas Gilberto worked with both of them. The manager made a bold move and chose for Vieira to leave and his last kick of the 2004/05 season and his Arsenal career won the club the FA Cup in a penalty shootout against bitter rivals, Manchester United. His career didn’t end there. From Arsenal, Vieira signed for Juventus on a 5-year deal, costing £13.75 million.
In the 2005/06 Champions League campaign and Vieira’s first season for Juventus, the Italian side drew Arsenal in a dramatic quarter final. The first game was at Highbury and in an emotional return for Vieira, Arsenal won the game 2-0, with Vieira’s successor in the midfield, Cesc Fabregas opening the scoring and fellow compatriot Henry making it two. Arsenal went on to the reach the final, where they faced Barcelona and lost 2-1.
From Juventus, Vieira travelled back to the other side of Italy to Milan, to play for Inter, in a move that commanded a fee of roughly 9.5 million Euros. Vieira ended his career in England at Manchester City, playing his final game against Stoke in the FA Cup final, a 1-0 win at Wembley.
Not only was Vieira a fantastic servant to club football, he also had a long and outstanding career for the France national team. He was in the 1998 squad when they won the World Cup and from there, became a national team legend. He assisted fellow Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit for his only goal of the tournament in a 3-0 victory. Vieira was then a part of the 2000 European Championship France squad and was key leading up to their triumph.
Vieira was in and out of the squad after that, but when Zinedine Zidane retired after the 2006 World Cup final, he was named the captain of the side. He was influential in the Euro 2008 Qualifiers and the finals themselves, but France went out in the group stages, bottom of the group with 1 point. Still captain leading up to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Vieira was left out of the squad, which signalled his retirement from international duty.
Vieira had an extremely successful career, winning 21 trophies for 5 different sides, including a World Cup, 3 Premier League titles and 4 Serie A’s. Also bagging himself 17 individual awards, including a Player of the Season in the 2000/01 Premier League season.
Patrick Vieira: Arsenal legend.
