Patrick Vieira

Patrick Donalé Vieira (born June 23, 1976 in Dakar, Senegal) is a French football midfielder who currently plays for Internazionale Milano. He came to prominence during his time at Arsenal between 1996 and 2005, where he won three FA Premier League titles and four FA Cups, and eventually became club captain. He spent a single season at Juventus before joining Inter in 2006, after Juventus were relegated due to their part in a match-fixing scandal. He has 104 caps for France, and was part of their 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 winning sides and is now the team captain.

Club career

Early career

Born in Senegal in the Christian Cape Verdian community, Vieira's family moved to Dreux 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 Italian giants A.C. Milan, though he mainly stayed in the reserves and only made two appearances for the first team.

Arsenal

In September 1996, the incoming Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger asked for him to be bought from A.C. Milan before he took up his position. Vieira was signed for £3.5 million, a figure which would be deemed a bargain in years to come. His 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. Forming a powerful midfield partnership with compatriot Emmanuel Petit, Vieira won the Premiership and FA Cup Double in 1998, his first full season at the club. That summer, he was called up to France's 1998 World Cup squad.

Vieira's earlier years at Arsenal were beset by disciplinary problems - in 2000-01 he was sent off twice in two consecutive matches (the opening matches of the season), though after returning he did not receive another card for 28 matches. In all he has been sent off twelve times in his career (nine times with Arsenal and once each with Juventus, France and Internazionale).

Vieira would go on to win Euro 2000 with France, as well as a second Double with Arsenal in 2002. After Tony Adams's retirement in 2002, Vieira (already vice-captain) became club captain, since which his disciplinary problems cooled significantly. 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 2003-04 at Arsenal, he captained the side on an historic unbeaten season in the Premier League. At the beginning of this campaign he was in and out of the side because of a hamstring injury, with Ray Parlour replacing him in the side. However, Vieira returned for the Champions League match against Lokomotiv Moscow, with the Gunners winning 2-0 and qualifying for the 1st Knockout round. At the end of this season Vieira was heavily linked with moves to Real Madrid and Chelsea who were reportedly ready to offer around £30 million for his services. Then in the 2005 FA Cup Final he scored the winning kick in a penalty shoot-out with his final kick in Arsenal colours, after a 0-0 draw with Manchester United. In total, Vieira played 407 times for Arsenal and scored 34 times.