FILE - Then-Crystal Palace's head coach Patrick Vieira applauds during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Crystal Palace, at the Old Trafford stadium in Manchester, England, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. France soccer great Patrick Vieira was out as coach of United States-owned top-tier club Strasbourg on Thursday, July 18, 2024, just one month before the Ligue 1 season starts. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson, File)
STRASBOURG, France (AP) — Patrick Vieira left as coach of the French club Strasbourg on Thursday less than one month before the Ligue 1 season starts, making him a candidate to succeed Gregg Berhalter as U.S. national team coach.
Strasburg, owned by the parent company of England’s Chelsea, said in a statement Vieira left by mutual agreement. He was one year into a three-year contract. The French league season opens Aug. 16.
Berhalter was fired last week as U.S. coach after the team’s first-round elimination in the Copa America.
Vieira, 48, was a midfielder from 1993 to 2011 and scored six goals in 107 international appearances, helping France win the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship. He captained the team 21 times.
Vieira won English Premier League titles in 1998, 2002 and 2004 and four FA Cups with Arsenal, where he was the midfield heart of the unbeaten “Invincibles” team of 2003-04.
His playing career included time at Cannes (1993-95), AC Milan (1996), Arsenal (1997-2005), Juventus (2005-06), Inter Milan (2006-10) and Manchester City (2010-11). He won four Serie A titles with Inter and an FA Cup with Manchester City.
Vieira became a development executive with Manchester City in 2011 following his retirement as a player and in 2013 took over as coach of the reserve team. He was hired in November 2015 as coach of Major League Soccer’s New York City, which is controlled by Manchester City’s parent company.
Vieira led the team to consecutive playoff appearances and with the team in second place in the Eastern Conference left in June 2018 for Nice. The club finished seventh in 2019 and fifth in 2020, and he was fired in December 2020 after Nice’s elimination from the Europa League.
He was hired to manage Crystal Palace in July 2021, and the team finished 12th in his only full season. Vieira was fired in March 23 with the Eagles in 12th place following three straight losses, then was hired by Strasbourg that July. He guided the club to a 13th-place finish in the 18-team league during a season in which fans protested against being part of Chelsea’s ownership group.
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