What has happened to Patrick Vieira?

Where did it all start for Patrick Vieira?

If you are a football fan, then you know who Patrick Vieira is. The man was an invincible midfielder, winning duels left right and center, and of course had his infamous 'disagreements' with a certain Manchester United midfielder called Roy Keane. Vieira captained Arsenal for three years during his nine year stint at the club under fellow Frenchman Arsene Wenger, and was soon given a reputation of one of the best midfielders of his generation. Vieira then moved onto Juventus, before joining Inter Milan, winning the title four years in a row, before finishing his career with one year at Manchester City.

Happy 44th birthday, Patrick Vieira:

👕 651 games
🇫🇷 107 caps
⚽ 64 goals
🏆 4 Serie A
🏆 4 FA Cup
🏆 3 Premier League
🏆 3 FA Community Shield
🏆 2 Supercoppa Italiana
🏆 1 FIFA World Cup
🏆 1 UEFA Euro Championship
🏆 1 FIFA Confederations Cup

Invincible captain. pic.twitter.com/zOdflew5Xn

— Squawka (@Squawka) June 23, 2020

Vieira was a serial winner, winning something wherever he went, including a World Cup with his home nation France. Kids idolised him, and he is known as one of the best midfielders football has ever seen. Vieira retired in 2011, and didn't waste any time in making his way up the coaching ladder, and how could you possibly not try coaching when you have worked under some of the best coaches in the game like Arsene Wenger?

Managerial Career

New York City

Two years after his retirement, Vieira returned to football, and went back to Manchester City, where he took charge of the Manchester City academy. It didn't take long for the Frenchman to make his way into the men's game however, as two years later in 2015, Vieira took charge of a fellow City Ownership group club, New York City. He was hired by director of Football Claudio Reyna, who thought Vieira would be a good fit due to understanding how the Ownership group works and from hearing stories from those in Manchester on his tactical expertise. His first season was seen as a success in the United States, where he finished fourth in his first season in 2016, and improved once again in 2017 by finishing second.

His time at New York City spanned over two years, managing 90 games, where he picked up 40 wins and 28 losses. He left New York in 2018, making a move to European Football, managing French Club OGC Nice for one and a half years until December 2020.

Nice

During his years at Nice, Vieira took the club to a seventh place finish, but were knocked out of the Coupe De France in the round of 64 to Toulouse, and also knocked out of the Coupe De La Ligue in the round of 16 to Guingamp, which was seen as a disappointment by the board. Subsequently, into his second season at Nice, Vieira had run into tricky form during the winter, and after five losses in a row, Vieira faced the sack, with Nice announcing that the Frenchman was no longer manager of the football club due to also exiting the Europa League Group stages.

It is fair to say his first managerial stint in Europe didn't go as some would expect, only having a seventh place finish to show for his one and half year stint. He was criticised by fans and pundits for his possession style, with his style deemed to passive to win games.

However, despite his underwhelming spell in France, Vieira would still somehow make his move into England, and into the Premier League, where he would be given a three year contract at Crystal Palace.

Crystal Palace

Vieira was appointed by Crystal Palace in the summer of 2021, and was given a three year contract, replacing English managerial veteran Roy Hodgson. His first game didn't go to plan, losing 3-0 to Chelsea, a warm welcome for one of the former Premier League greats.

Although, his first season wasn't bad at Palace, as he took them to a steady 12th place finish, whilst also making it to Wembley, reaching the FA cup semi finals, before Chelsea beat him once again.

Vieira had Palace playing a different style of football compared to Roy Hodgson did, with Palace playing more attacking and possession based football., and Palace fans enjoyed the change they saw.

Vieira's Palace spell had many ups and downs, including lashing out at an Everton fan at Goodison Park after Everton fans invaded the pitch after the full time whistle.

Although, the excitement for Vieira soon fizzled out, as Palace went on a 12-game winless run, with three consecutive games without a shot on target, leaving the side in a relegation battle. Crystal Palace lost to rivals Brighton, which saw Vieira shown the door, replaced by the manager before him Roy Hodgson.

Patrick Vieira has been SACKED by Crystal Palace.

🦅 Crystal Palace in 2023:
✅ 0 Wins
🤝 5 Draws
❌ 7 Losses

Patrick gets sacked on St Patrick's Day 😳 pic.twitter.com/NlWfpjwIpU

— SPORTbible (@sportbible) March 17, 2023

Still though, Vieira two months after his sacking in 2023, Vieira was appointed by BlueCo ownership to manage Chelsea sister club, Strasbourg. A return to France had the potential to work out, especially with a big budget under American owners.

So Why Did It Go Wrong At Strasbourg?

Vieira's Strasbourg side struggled, going on long winless runs, with fans increasing their hostility, although it wasn't aimed at the Frenchman.

Fans were unhappy with the owners, expressing their anger at being used to develop young players for Chelsea. Although they signed many players, fans weren't happy with the team being full of youth players with potential, as they weren't ready for the Men's game, not having the experience to lead a team to glory by themself.

🚨🔵 It’s over between Strasbourg and Patrick Vieira.

BlueCo-owned club and Vieira decided to part ways, mutual agreement reached today. pic.twitter.com/ktA1Wivw8w

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 18, 2024

Vieira's Strasbourg side reached the quarter finals of the Coupe De France, and finished just thirteenth in the league table. It was an underwhelming period for the manager, and yet again another club where he hasn't necessarily brought excitement or joy to. Vieira lasted one year in Strasbourg, leaving in the summer of 2024 by mutual agreement, with former Hull manager Liam Rosenior taking over, who now look to be qualifying for the Champions League, not bad for a bunch of 20 year old players.

Genoa Doom And Gloom

Vieira started off this season unemployed, but soon found himself in Italy, as he was appointed Genoa manager, replacing Alberto Gilardino.

Things haven't exactly gone to plan at Genoa, with Vieira's possession style not working out, with Genoa in the bottom seven for average possession. They also rank in the bottom six for goals scored and bottom five shot creation actions.

Clearly things haven't worked out for Vieira, and that attacking, possession-orientated style at Crystal Palace is something he hasn't been able to implement in Italy.

Genoa currently sit thirteenth in the Serie A table, with it looking set to be another average season for Vieira. The Italian side did recently get a draw against title contenders Napoli at the weekend, but still do only have just two wins in their eleven matches.

Vieira is under fire again, with many news outlets in Italy reporting that he could be gone once the season is finished. The Frenchman hasn't spoken out on his future just yet, claiming he is focused on finishing the season first.

Patrick Vieira’s time at Genoa appears to be drawing to a close, with growing indications that the Frenchman will part ways with the club at the end of the season.#Vieira #Genoa pic.twitter.com/wCRRSUZxII

— Football Italia (@footballitalia) May 13, 2025

It is sad to see how Vieira's managerial career has panned out, as he could have had a great career, being influenced by such top coaches like Arsene Wenger. He showed good promise at New York City, but has slowly went downhill since, with very unpromising spells at numerous clubs.

If Vieira wants to make it, he needs to change quickly, as his possession style clearly isn't working to his benefit, with most of his tenures ending in midtable finishes with little success.

He was highly rated by everyone as a player, but hasn't been able to translate his playing career into his mangerial career, and could soon be jobless again, and struggle to attract any new clubs.