There was a point where he was touted to be in the frame for the Arsenal job, but today Patrick Vieira has made his first foray into the world of European club management at OGC Nice.
The Ligue 1 side have confirmed that Vieira has taken over from Lucien Favre, who steered the Eagles to an eighth-place finish in the French top tier last season before departing for Borussia Dortmund.
🚨 Officiel !
Patrick Vieira est le nouvel entraîneur de l’@ogcnice.#BienvenueCoachVieira
.https://t.co/3VADOEAyf6— OGC Nice (@ogcnice) June 11, 2018
After cutting his teeth with the Man City reserves, Vieira has spent the past two-and-a-bit seasons manning the fort at New York City FC over in MLS, where he has overseen a marked improvement in fortunes.
As well as streamlining the squad drastically, the Frenchman has guided NYCFC to incrementally better league positions in every season he was in charge, from 17th to 4th to – as things stand, with 15 games played – second in the Eastern Conference.
Good stuff. A smart coach with a clear talent for it, here’s wishing Vieira the very best in his new role.