32 Greatest footballers in the history of the English Premier League - Part 33
8. Patrick Viera:
Patrick Viera is a professional footballer who is currently playing for the English side Manchester City. Viera is classified as a midfielder but his role is mostly to defend for his team which makes him a holding midfielder, playing just behind the midfield
players. He also performed for the French national team, and he is the former captain of France.
Viera started his career from the youth club of FC Trappes but after staying there for two years only, he was transferred to FC Drouais. He then managed to make a move to the youth academy of Tours but his talent wasn’t really seen and he went out of action
for two years when he finally managed to join a “senior” club Cannes. After playing for Cannes for two years in a row, Patrick Viera was seen as an extraordinary asset in the midfield and the Italian giants Milan decided to buy the youngster. However, the
only season he stayed there saw him on the bench and he only managed to appear in 2 league games throughout the season.
The “disappointed” Frenchman decided to make a move to the English club Arsenal where he managed to come into prominence. He stayed in the North London club for 9 straight years and managed to accomplish almost everything in the English club. However, the
French player could not help the Gunners win the UEFA Champions League title.
Even though he could not win the UEFA Champions League for the North London club, he still helped Arsenal from day 1. His career ranged from 1996-2005 and during this time he helped Arsenal win three Premier League titles; amongst those three, one was unbeaten.
Arsenal did not lose a single match throughout the season and the North London club started to become famous as “invincible,” as no team was able to defeat them throughout the season.
After accomplishing a “local record” of being unbeaten in one season, he managed to win four FA Cups. Later during his time in Arsenal, Viera became the club’s captain and led his team from that time.
After accomplishing everything that a player only dreams about, Patrick Viera decided to leave Arsenal and joined the Italian side Juventus. However, after only one season with the “old ladies,” Viera made a move to the rival club of his former team Milan,
and went on to join Inter Milan. Viera basically left Juventus because of their relegation in the 2006 season, when the club was found guilty of being involved in a match fixing scandal.
Currently, Viera is playing for the English side Manchester City where he is playing alongside some of the best players in the world including the Argentinean striker Tevez, the Spanish winger David Silva and also the upcoming young boys, Barry, Adam Johnson
and Joe Hart. Patrick Viera is also playing alongside his former Arsenal team mate Kolo Toure who is now playing in Manchester City along with his brother Yaya Toure; who the club bought from the Spanish giants Barcelona.
During 2008, a fan poll was carried out in Arsenal and Patrick Viera was voted as the 5th greatest player of Arsenal. The polls were carried out on the official website of the North London Club and the club congratulated all the players who were
named in the polls.
Patrick Viera has 107 appearances for his country France and he was a part of the FIFA World Cup 1998, which they eventually won and he was also a part of the Euro 2000, which France won as well.
Patrick Viera is definitely a legend in the eyes of the English fans, as he performed extraordinary well for the North London side Arsenal. However, he has the worst disciplinary record as a “non English” player in the Premier League. He has earned 10 red
cards during his 9 years with Arsenal.
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