WINNING THE WORLD CUP ONLY GETS ME A FORTNIGHT’S GRACE AS A COACH
THIS is Patrick Vieira’s manor. Back on the French Riviera, just 20 miles up the coastline from where he began his career at Cannes. The Nice manager is at home here.
From the moment he strides through the giant crystal ball entrance of his club’s new, state-of-the-art training complex, Vieira exudes authority.
Later, posing for Sportsmail’s photographer on a red leather chair in the vast atrium, the 6ft 3in Arsenal legend looks every bit the boss of the building.
Just as in his playing days, Vieira commands the respect of his peers, who all shake his hand as he passes them on his way up the spiral staircase. But while this place feels the perfect fit for the Frenchman, he is aware that being a national hero — a man who won the World Cup on home soil in 1998 — brings its own pitfalls.
‘It is a lot of pressure and expectation,’ admits Vieira, dressed smartly in a navy blue blazer and jumper.
‘People expect you to do well because you are a World Cup winner. But being a World Cup winner only gives you one or two weeks’
I enjoyed those games against Roy. We wanted to win at any cost
grace as a coach. My legacy and the confidence of the fans, the players, the people around the football club will come with what I deliver on the pitch — and I want people to talk about me as a coach, not as a player.
‘The player was what I did and what I achieved. I am really proud of that, it is fantastic, but I put it to the side. I use it as an experience to talk to the players or give them advice, but I want people to look at me as a coach.’
Nine years have passed since Vieira, 43, hung up his boots, but his coaching career still feels like it’s in its infancy. He is halfway through his second full season at Nice. After finishing seventh in his first season, they are 11th in Ligue 1 but only four points off the European qualifying places.
Before that, he had two campaigns managing New York City in the MLS, having started out at Manchester City — his last club as a player — as football development executive and then head coach of their Under 21s. Each move has been strategic towards achieving his ambitions.
‘Every step I’ve made prepares me for the future,’ Vieira says. ‘I want to be the best I can be and I will give myself the best chance to achieve that. I want to win trophies. I want to be successful.
‘At City, I spent a lot of time in different departments, so I understand how a club is run. They opened every single door for me to learn the job. Going to New York, I felt the pressure a bit more with getting the results, working with professional players for the first time… it was an unbelievable experience.
‘I came to Nice because it is a place that is still growing and it is a place for me to grow as well. I saw City grow and it is the same here. They have big ambitions and want to play European football on a regular basis.
‘The 18 months have been challenging on the field, off the field, but those experiences make me a better coach. If one day I leave Nice, I would like people to say, “Patrick took this club to a different level”. That’s really important to me.’
The off-field challenge Vieira refers to is the uncertainty created by the club’s change of ownership last year when billionaire Chien Lee sold to Britain’s richest man, Jim Ratcliffe.
Vieira says he feels more settled now he is working under Ratcliffe, even if the founder of chemicals company Ineos is a Manchester United fan who admitted last year he ‘used to hate’ the ex-Arsenal captain, saying, ‘He really was a b ****** !’
Vieira smiles. ‘We talk and laugh about that. That is the love and hate between the Arsenal fan and the United fan. But it is all about the love of the game and his knowledge for the game is unbelievable. He is, as you say in England, a gentleman… even if he is a massive United fan!’ ‘I AM calm but I have moments where I let myself go,’ Vieira says when asked to describe his character as a coach. It is not a surprising admission from a man who was sent off eight times in the Premier League, a record.
‘When I was playing, I was myself on the field and I want to be the same as a coach. I still want to show the passion that I had when I was playing. I want to express myself. I don’t want to pretend to be somebody I am not.’
An inspirational leader as a player, Vieira has always set standards for others to follow, something he has taken into management.
‘When a player doesn’t respect what we put in place, I will let him know. Of course I can shout. When I am not happy I will be really loud, because players need to understand there are things I cannot tolerate.
‘If we want to live well altogether with respect, we need to have rules and we need to respect them. People who don’t respect those rules can be fined, can be out of the team.
‘I am the guardian of the rules, in the same way that I am the guardian of the way we play on the field.’
One player who did not respect Vieira’s rules was the mercurial Mario Balotelli. The Italy striker reported to his first pre-season training under his new manager late and unfit. Six months later, he was sold to Marseille. ‘Mario’s mindset was difficult for a collective sport,’ says Vieira, exercising some understatement.
‘The philosophy I wanted to put in place, the togetherness and work ethic I wanted to build, it was difficult for me to work with a player like Mario. It was really difficult for both of us to work together, so we decided to go different ways.’
Vieira’s ruthless approach sounds a lot like Sir Alex Ferguson, a boss he caused to have nightmares during his playing pomp. Yet his inspiration as coach is Arsene Wenger, with whom he won three English titles and three FA Cups.
‘Calmness,’ he replies when asked what was Wenger’s best trait. ‘Even when Arsene was in a difficult period, he remained at the same level. It was not like when we were winning he was higher or when we were losing he was low.
‘That is something I really like and it’s important because as a player it gives you confidence. But all the managers I had, from Wenger to Jose Mourinho to Roberto Mancini, knew the players and knew how to connect with them.’
As for the playing style Vieira prefers, he has taken tips off all his former managers, plus those he shadowed when he started out as a coach, including Pep Guardiola while he was Bayern Munich boss.
‘Pep is about the details he gives to the players, the structure he gives. The way he analyses the game, it is clear for the players, so they know exactly what they have to do against the opposition. He prepares the team the same way that people play chess.
‘But I don’t want to copy Pep because they have different players. I like the way Leicester play under Brendan Rodgers and I like seeing some stuff he is doing and am trying to understand it. But I look, I learn, I exchange with other managers and I adapt with the players I have.
‘I like my teams to play good possession football but go forward with a lot of intensity.’
It seems likely Vieira will one day pit his wits against the likes of Guardiola and Rodgers in the Premier League. Before he was appointed at Nice, he spoke to Arsenal about replacing Wenger. ‘It was just a conversation about my situation, where I am, what is the next step. Nothing came of it.’
Was there another conversation after Unai Emery was sacked in November? ‘No, but there is no place in my mind to have those kind of conversations,’ says Vieira, softly-spoken but forthright. ‘My
focus is here. This project suits who I am and what I want to achieve.
‘This rumour about the Arsenal job is not something that bothered me. I don’t know what the future holds but that is why I don’t want to put my brain somewhere that doesn’t exist. This club knows I want to stay and I know they want me to stay, 100 per cent.’
HEARING that Sportsmail columnist Martin Keown selected him this week as the Premier League’s greatest ever overseas player prompts an outburst of laughter from Vieira. ‘We are really close, maybe that is why,’ he grins. ‘It’s always nice when your name comes out, but I don’t see myself like that. I see myself as one of the really good players, yes, but not the best. For me, Dennis Bergkamp has to be one of them and so does Thierry Henry.’
Arguably, Vieira’s greatest rival, Roy Keane, deserves a mention in the debate. ‘If I’m not in it, I can’t have him in it,’ the Frenchman says before allowing himself a trip down memory lane. ‘I enjoyed those games against him. That’s one of the reasons why people loved the Arsenal-United game so much. It was the confrontation between the two managers, between him and me. There were people who wanted to win at any cost.’
Arsenal and United were battling it out for trophies back then, a far cry from their respective current league places of 10th and fifth. Indeed, the Gunners have not won the title since Vieira left a year after the 2003-04 Invincibles.
‘I’m surprised but the challenge came from other teams. Arsenal stayed at the same level but the other teams kept improving. You don’t have time to go without improving the team. You have to spend, find players that can take you to a different level.
‘But Mikel Arteta spent a lot of time with Pep and the City Group, and he’s doing a really good job.’
Jim Ratcliffe is a gentleman. Even if he is a massive United fan!
Of course, Jurgen Klopp is doing a better job and Vieira can see Liverpool emulating his Gunners by finishing the season unbeaten.
‘They can do it and they can do it with more wins than we had,’ he says. ‘The spirit, the togetherness, the momentum and the belief are all there. They have been unbelievable, but they didn’t just build this team last year, it has taken them five years. When you have time, it is good for a manager.’
The short time managers are given is one of the reasons many greats of the game stay away from the dugout and forge more comfortable media careers instead. It is something the articulate Vieira could have done. However, he has answered a calling. Why?
‘Because I love the game… it is as simple as that,’ he smiles.