Crystal Palace have appointed Patrick Vieira to succeed Roy Hodgson as the Premier League club's manager.
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Crystal Palace have confirmed the appointment of Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira as the new manager, after Roy Hodgson’s departure. The Frenchman has signed a contract for the next three seasons. Vieira was most recently seen managing Ligue 1 club Nice in France, securing a seventh-place finish in his first season in 2018. This marked one place higher than their previous campaign. The legendary footballer further followed it up with a fifth-placed finish in the 2019/20 curtailed season, securing a Europa League spot in the process.
“I’m delighted and excited that Patrick has agreed to join Crystal Palace as our manager following successfully learning his trade at the City Group, and experiencing positive managerial spells at New York City and then Nice, who he led to the Europa League,” said Chairman Steve Parish as quoted by the football club’s official website.
“We have a lot to do to prepare in the coming weeks and I look forward to working closely with Patrick and Dougie in bringing in some new faces to help us all to a successful season,” he added.
Vieira expressed his excitement after being handed an opportunity to return to the Premier League.
“I am really excited to have this opportunity to return to the Premier League, and manage this great football club, as we begin a new chapter together. It is a project that is really appealing to me, having spoken a lot with the Chairman and Sporting Director about their ambition and plans for the whole club, including the Academy. The club has fantastic foundations in place after many years in the Premier League, and I hope we can make further improvements and continue to drive the club forward,” said the legendary footballer.
“I am also very excited to experience the atmosphere the club’s supporters make at Selhurst Park and away from home too, and I know just how important that can be for the team.”
Vieira played a crucial role in Arsenal’s domestic success between 1997 and 2005 under Arsene Wenger. The club won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups. The Frenchman is considered one of the best players of his generation. He represented the north London club 396 times. Vieira was further named in the Premier League PFA Team of the Year for six consecutive years.
Vieira’s appointment marks the second such move in the last few days, following Fulham’s decision to sign Marco Silva as manager.
“I’m really pleased and proud to be appointed Head Coach of such a historic football club. I want to thank the owner, Mr Khan, Tony Khan and the entire football structure of Fulham Football Club, for the trust shown in us. I’m excited to get started and my message for our fans ahead of this big challenge is we will all be working very hard together to be successful so they can feel proud at the end of the season,” said Silva as quoted by fulhamfc.com.
It will be interesting to note how these two decisions work out for their respective clubs.
