Vieira: Coaching record, favourite systems, debut results | OneFootball

Patrick Vieira is set to be appointed as the new head coach of Serie A side Genoa as a replacement for Alberto Gilardino.

Here is everything Genoa fans need to know about the former Arsenal captain, his coaching career so far and what to expect from the Grifone under his watch.

Vieira coaching record: New York, Nice, Crystal Palace, Strasbourg

Genoa will be the fifth senior side that Vieira has coached so far.

He began his coaching journey where his playing career ended, at Manchester City with the Elite Development Squad, before moving on to City Group-affiliated New York City FC. The last six years have taken him through Nice, Crystal Palace and Strasbourg.

Patrick Vieira speaks to the media during a press conference at the Allianz Riviera stadium, in Nice, France, 15 June 2020. EPA-EFE/SEBASTIEN NOGIER

Vieira’s most successful spell in terms of points per game has been with New York City FC, where he recorded an average of 1.58 ppg across 90 matches. With Nice, it was 1.42 ppg from 89 games, 1.22 ppg from 74 Crystal Palace matches and 1.26 from his 38 games in charge of Strasbourg.

All clubs and matches combined, Vieira has an average of 1.47 points per game from 365 matches, and a win rate of 40.13%.

Preferred system

Across the four senior sides that Vieira has coached, he has most commonly opted for a form of 4-3-3, although that wasn’t always the case during his most recent job at Strasbourg.

Vieira used a front three fairly consistently with Strasbourg, and a 4-3-3 was also used a fair amount too, but there were also instances where he opted for a 3-4-3 or 3-4-2-1 instead.

Genoa, under Gilardino at least, have usually lined up in a 3-5-2, which means either the players or the coach will have to adapt in terms of formation.

Record on coaching debuts

Vieira has had a mixed set of results on his league debuts with his four previous clubs. His spell in New York began with a 4-3 MLS win over the Chicago Fire back in 2016.

With Nice, he suffered a 1-0 loss at home against Stade Reims, and also lost 3-0 away to Chelsea in his first Premier League game with Crystal Palace.

His Strasbourg reign began in winning form, though, defeating Lyon 2-1 at home in August 2023.

Experience in Serie A

Vieira represented a hat-trick of top clubs during his playing career. Fabio Capello signed him for Milan when he was still a teenager in 1995, following a successful breakthrough with Cannes.

He would make just five first team appearances in a one-year spell for the Rossoneri before being snapped up by Arsenal, where he would go on to captain Arsene Wenger’s famous invincible side.

After nine years in North London, Vieira was allowed to leave and ended up reuniting with Capello at Juventus in a €20m deal in 2005. He then left at the end of that campaign following Juve’s relegation to Serie B as part of the Calciopoli scandal.

He would remain in Italy for another four years, though, signing a €9m deal with Inter before joining Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City on in 2010, where he ended his playing career.

Relationship with Balotelli

Vieira will be reunited with Mario Balotelli for the third time when he arrives in Genoa: The pair have previously played together at Manchester City and worked together again at Nice.

Their time together with Nice did not end well, though, and resulted in Balotelli leaving the club six months after Vieira’s appointment.

Balotelli maintains he never had an issue with Vieira on a personal level, while the coach admitted it was difficult to coach an individual like Balotelli in a team environment.