Patrick Vieira: The Moments That Made Them
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What makes Patrick Vieira a legendary player?
Hello and welcome to The Rest Is Football with Alan Shearer, Micah Richards and me, Gary Lineker, in our latest episode of Premier League Greats, the moments that made them. We're going to talk about... Could I describe him as one of your heroes? Yeah, you can. That's fine. Probably, both as an Arsenal player and someone that you played alongside at Manchester City, the great Patrick Vieira. Now we're cooking. What a player he was. I mean, football intelligence, power, aggressive, could finish as well, could finish. Little dinks, I remember them, and these long shots. He just had everything, absolutely everything. He had such a presence, you know, in the tunnel, standing up alongside him, you think, wow, look at the size of him.
He could run, he could get up and down. He was brilliant on the ball. That partnership he had with Petit. He was underrated, Petit as well.
How did Vieira's arrival change Arsenal under Wenger?
They were brilliant as a pair, weren't they? But Vieira was a man mountain. He was an incredible player. He's elegant off the field as well, isn't he? Lovely guy, yeah. He's just got that. Swagger. When you meet him, you don't see that hard guy side, do you? That competitiveness. He was horrible in training, though. In training? In training, horrible. He tackles two-footed and everything. Exactly the same. Even with his teammates?
What was the significance of the Vieira vs. Keane rivalry?
Yeah, he was horrible in training. I used to say to him, you're my hero, now I've met you, I don't like you. I say it all the time. He was part of that, obviously, French contingent that arrived under Arsene Wenger and helped to transform our game a little bit in some ways. When he first came, there was, I think it was like 10 Englishmen in the team. Massively changed by Wenger. I had a similar thing at Leicester. We had a guy called Jock Wallace, a Scottish manager, and he brought loads of Scots down. Didn't quite have the same effect as the French had at Arsenal. What did you like about the pre-match back then? That's a random question. No, because I was thinking about, because obviously Wenger bought all this, the way of living.
Pretty much what you wanted. In fact, when I first broke through into the first team, we actually had this thing called a pre-match meal. It was like, what?
How did French players influence the Premier League?
Wow. And I had a steak. Me too. You had a steak before you went to have a steak. I mean, for Christ's sake, you can have steak. I've never had this. I didn't really have too many steaks before that. So why not? Do you not feel heavy on the field? Steak and chips. I didn't feel any different. Really? I mean, yeah, but obviously, well, not much later than that. It became, you know, you'd have a bit of pasta or something, a bit of... That's what I mean.
What were some memorable moments from Vieira's career?
This is why I can't take your era seriously. Steak and chips before a game. He doesn't mention... He didn't mention chips, did he? I can't. I'm sorry. I can't. Chips as well? Yeah, steak and chips. Steak and chips. I had steak, but I didn't have the chips. I don't... Imagine you would have been professional. No, this is my point. You would have had more goals. Obviously. But imagine putting a player now when they've been modicoddled and treated properly and all this.
What was Vieira like off the pitch?
Modicoddled? And then put into our era of steak and chips and out you go somewhere. The fact of like bloated belly. And off you go in a dodgy pair of... We were also told not to work on our upper bodies because it will make you immobile. Nonsense. So therefore, we had no benefit of all the scientific knowledge that they now have in the game. Imagine how fucking good I would have been. You would have been bloody good, eh? How many goals for England? 40? 48 I got. 48? But, you know, I'd be mad. I'd be mad.
How does Vieira compare to other box-to-box midfielders?
I'd have had a cane. I guess. But no, there's serious differences. And that's why it's so difficult to compare players from different eras. So how many goals would you score in this era? Under Wenger, if you had Wenger as a manager, he brings you in, he strips you. How much did you weigh back then? Would you say? Let's go in kg. His body was about 11 stone, but his lugs were about three. Sorry, Gus. Anyway, yes, so what was you about? 70, I was going to say about 75 kg.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What makes Patrick Vieira a legendary player?
0:09–1:08
2
How did Vieira's arrival change Arsenal under Wenger?
1:08–1:38
3
What was the significance of the Vieira vs. Keane rivalry?
1:38–2:36
4
How did French players influence the Premier League?
2:36–3:01
5
What were some memorable moments from Vieira's career?
3:01–3:26
6
What was Vieira like off the pitch?
3:26–3:58
7
How does Vieira compare to other box-to-box midfielders?
3:58–4:44
8
What legacy did Vieira leave in English football?
4:44–28:20