Patrick Vieira

Patrick Vieira (born June 23, 1976 in Dakar,
Senegal) is a France|French football
(soccer)|football midfielder, who currently plays
for Juventus. He captained Arsenal F.C.|Arsenal
and won the Football World Cup|World Cup with
France national football team|France in Football
World Cup 1998|1998.

Born in Senegal in the Cape Verde|Cape Verdian
community, Vieira's family moved to Paris when he
was aged 8; he did not return to Senegal until
2003. Vieira first played for AS Cannes, where he
made his debut at the age of 17 and captained the
team aged only 19. Soon after that, in the summer
of 1995, he was snapped up by Italy|Italian giants
AC Milan, though he mainly stayed in the reserves
and only made two appearances for the first team.

In September 1996, the incoming Arsenal coach
Arsène Wenger asked for him to be bought from AC
Milan before he took up his position. Vieira's
height, stamina and physical strength meant he
settled in England quickly, while his composure
and the quality of his passing meant he became an
integral part of Wenger's stylish attacking side.
While at Arsenal, he made his debut for the France
national football team|French national side, in
1997 against the Netherlands national football
team|Netherlands.

Forming a midfield partnership with compatriot
Emmanuel Petit, Vieira won the Premiership and FA
Cup the Double|Double in 1998, his first full
season at the club. That summer, he was called up
to France's Football World Cup 1998|1998 World Cup
squad. Vieira came on as a substitute for Youri
Djorkaeff in the final against Brazil national
football team|Brazil, and set up Petit for
France's third goal in a 3-0 win.

Vieira's time at Arsenal was beset by disciplinary
problems - in FA Premier League 2000-01|2000-01 he
was sent off twice in two consecutive matches,
though after returning he didn't accrue a card for
28 matches. In all he has been sent off ten times
in his career (nine for Arsenal, once for France).

Vieira would go on to win 2000 European Football
Championship|Euro 2000 with France, as well as a
second Double with Arsenal in 2002. After Tony
Adams (footballer)|Tony Adams's retirement in
2002, Vieira (already vice-captain) became club
captain, since which his temper and associated
disciplinary problems cooled somewhat. Though he
missed Arsenal's 2003 FA Cup final win with
injury, Vieira lifted the trophy jointly with
captain for the day David Seaman.

In FA Premier League 2003-04|2003-04 at Arsenal,
he captained the side on a historic unbeaten
season in the FA Premier League|Premier League,
and in the 2005 FA Cup Final he scored the winning
kick in a penalty shootout (football)|penalty
shoot-out after a 0-0 draw with Manchester United
F.C.|Manchester United. In total, Vieira played
407 times for Arsenal and scored 33 times. For
France, Vieira has appeared 79 times, scoring four
goals as of July 2005.

Vieira's starring performances for Arsenal earned
the attention of several major clubs abroad. In
the 2003 and 2004 offseasons, he was strongly
linked with a move to Spain|Spanish superpower
Real Madrid. The Spanish side reportedly offered
Arsenal £23 million for him, which Arsenal had
agreed to, but after much deliberation Vieira
decided to stay at the club where he made his
name. However, a year later Vieira was finally
tempted away from Highbury. Arsenal accepted a bid
of �20m (£13.7m) from Italian giants Juventus
on July 14, 2005, and Vieira agreed a five-year
contract with the Serie A side the following day.

==Teams==
*AS Cannes (1993-1995)
*A.C. Milan (1995-1996)
*Arsenal F.C. (1996-2005)
*Juventus (2005)-
*France national football team|French national
team (since January 1997)

==Honours==
*FIFA Football World Cup|World Cup
**Appearances: 1998 2002
**Winner: Football World Cup 1998|World Cup 1998
*European Football Championship|European
Championship
**Appearances: 2000 2004
**Winner: 2000 European Football Championship|Euro
2000
*English FA Premier League|Premiership titles (3)
: 1998 2002 2004
*English FA Cup (4) : 1998 2002 2003 2005
*Selected to FIFA 100: 2004
*Carlsberg Player of the Year : 2004