The story of ex-Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira, from great player to disparaged coach

In today's football, it is not uncommon for former professional players to become coaches at the end of their careers.

While there are of course coaches who have not previously had a career on the pitch, having had a football career seems to be an important asset for managers, who value the fact that they have been able to see what happens on the pitch before being in charge of a team.

However, while some former players turn out to be excellent coaches, others find it a little harder to manage this rather difficult transition.

Patrick Vieira was a legend in French football, both with the French national team and at club level, but his time as a coach is more difficult. Here's a look back at the former Les Bleus midfielder's two careers.

Vieira began his career at Cannes, the club where he first made a name for himself, before signing for AC Milan, where things never really took off for the Frenchman.

In 1996, he signed for Arsenal, a move that completely changed his career. He stayed with the London club for nine seasons, winning a string of titles.

With the Gunners, he won three league titles, four FA Cups and three Community Shields.

His excellent performances for Arsenal also made him an undisputed starter for the French national team, with whom he won a World Cup and a European Championship.

After Arsenal, he joined Juventus and then Inter Milan, winning 4 consecutive league titles, before moving to Manchester City.

He ended his career with the Citizens in 2011, five years before returning to the limelight, this time as a coach.

He began coaching the New York Red Bulls in 2016 in the MLS. It was a mixed first experience in the USA, with no particular successes.

His first European experience came in 2018 when he joined OGC Nice with the aim of qualifying for Europe.

In his first season, Nice managed to finish 7th in the Ligue 1, with an excellent defence but one of the worst attacks in the league.

In his second season, Vieira led Nice to a 5th place. This good result was wiped out by Nice's complicated start to Vieira's third season, which led to his dismissal.

He moved on to Crystal Palace in 2021, but his chemistry with The Eagles was far from total, with more defeats than wins in his two years at the club.

In 2023, Vieira embarked on a new adventure with French side Strasbourg. His lacklustre start to the season earned him the wrath of the fans, who seemed to want a different style of play to the one offered by the former world champion.

Although he was an outstanding player, Vieira is finding it hard to live up to his former status as a coach, and would love to enjoy the same success as his former team-mate Zinedine Zidane, a three-time winner of the Champions League with Real Madrid.