Patrick Vieira Confirms Retirement, Moves ‘Upstairs’ At Man City – Farewell To Bona Fide Premier League Legend
By Chris Wright
Patrick Vieira has confirmed that, at the grand old age of 35, he has decided to call time on his playing days in order to take up a specially created position ‘upstairs’ at Manchester City.
City have announced that as of 2011/12, Vieira will be employed as their ‘Football Development Executive’, meaning that he’ll be charged with mentoring the club’s youngsters and dispensing ‘well-rounded lifestyle education’ – only stub cigars out in the ashtrays provided, that kind of thing.
And so, we say goodbye to a true modern-day legend.
City signed Paddy at a point when his powers were at a low ebb (possibly with one eye on coercing him into a coaching further down the line), with his fading legs meaning that his experience and gamesmanship could only really utilised for brisk run-outs in the early stages of the domestic cups and the odd sporadic ‘last ten minutes’ elsewhere – but it can’t be passed over that, while in his prime at Arsenal, Vieira was, to my mind, the finest crusading midfield lynchpin of the Premier League era, arguably of all time…
Can’t say fairer than that.
Farewell Paddy, thanks for gobbing on Neil Ruddock.
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agreed
Undisputed legend. Why didn’t he join the coaching staff at Arsenal tho…they need him badly.
Sorry, but Roy Keane bossed the game virtually every time they met. Even Phil Neville dominated him in a few games!
And as for the best of all time, are you mad? Duncan Edwards, Bryan Robson, Graeme Souness – all were vastly superior, and none of them would go down like a sack of spuds without any contact like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrdkdQKYTqI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2UvmD13URw
Some midfield warrior…….
Let him get experience at Manchester City, so that when he joins Arsenal he’ll be useful. Than again, look at Kevin Keegan. He never coached for Liverpool and if you don’t check wikipedia, you’d think he never played there.
@Fred Tissue. stop living in the past viera JUST retired, and so like most normal football fans are acknowledging the fact hes retiring, not pointing out that there are better retired players then him. cut him some slack no shit roy keane was a better player. that was then this was now