Today is an important day for the French people who love football. Two of their greatest players were born on this day—the duo who brought a lot of joy to French people with their unparalleled demeanor on a football pitch.
One is Zinedine Zidane, and the other is Patrick Vieira—and this is a piece surrounding the latter as we already have one written for the former.
Halting the shameless advertisement of articles, Patrick Vieira was perhaps the greatest box-to-box player of his generation. His presence in Arsenal’s and France’s midfield was one of the fuelling reasons why they won so many trophies when he was at the helm.
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Vieira was highly appreciated by his peers too, and these 5 quotes depict just that…
1) One of the few Zlatan has respect for
“We both had that winners’ mindset… If anyone knew that, it was Patrick Vieira. He’s the type who gives one hundred percent in every situation, and I saw how he boosted the entire team. There aren’t many football players I have that kind of respect for.” – Zlatan Ibrahimovic
When Zlatan Ibrahimovic claims to have respect for someone, you know that that particular must be someone incredibly special.
It is not every day that the Swede praises someone other than himself, so when he says that Vieira gave 100 percent in every situation, the French legend did just that—and it was always on display when he played.
2) Not born every day
“If we find, for the future, one player like Patrick it will be incredible. But it’s difficult because a player like Patrick isn’t born every year.” – Roberto Mancini.
Patrick Vieira was a combination of brawn and beauty. He won the ball with his superior physicality and passed it forward with implausible grace. The amalgamation of simplicity and sophistication was just a pure joy to behold.
And Roberto Mancini witnessed it first hand when the French legend for Manchester City before bringing the curtains down on his career. Vieira might have been way past his prime during his time with the Citizens, but he oozed an aura of uniqueness that few possess.
3) Patrick the murderer
“If it had come to a fight, Patrick could probably have killed me”. – Roy Keane.
One of the greatest midfield battles of the previous era was that of Roy Keane and Patrick Vieira. These days, we don’t find such battles taking place in the middle of the pitch. The combined mental strength of these two is far greater than most of today’s players’ character amalgamated.
The football fraternity witnessed a lot of battles between these two. Once, things went beyond the scope rationality, and, hence, in that moment of chaos, judgments were shrouded by a thick nebulous of wrath.
During a brawl in the tunnel, Vieira was so angered that he might as well have killed the United legend if matters ended up in a fracas. At least that is what Keane thinks.
4) Weaker Arsenal without Vieira
“A great all-round midfielder. I used to look forward to playing him because he made every one of us raise our game. Arsenal had a great side, but I firmly believe without him they would’ve been 25 per cent weaker.” – Peter Schmeichel.
Some personalities are born once or twice every generation. Great players can be found in every cycle, but having a strong character along with it is a rare combination.
What made the Frenchman stand out was his absolutely unrelenting method of carrying himself on the pitch. There were no half-hearted tackles or passes cloaked with hesitation—he did everything with absolute assurance.
And it was for this reason that Arsenal were the “invincibles” while he was guarding the defense with his menacing presence.
5) Tottenham are…
“When [Vieira] first came from AC Milan, he didn’t know a word of English. We gave him accommodation, phone, car and an English teacher. I talked to Patrick in fluent French and before a game I asked in French, ‘could you speak a little bit of English to me?’. He nodded and said ‘Tottenham are s**t”. – David Dein.
The extent of the rivalry between the two London clubs is perfectly affirmed here. Patrick Vieira might not have been your daily piece of bread-and-butter as a player, but he was just a usual French guy with no ability to speak English when he arrived in England.
And what are the first words you teach a newly-signed Arsenal player? Well, it is on display on top. It is just like how we taught our friends the bad words of our native tongue first.
Happy birthday, Patrick Vieira! Here’s hoping we can celebrate many more of them!
