Patrick Vieira credits Man City with early success as Crystal Palace manager

Patrick Vieira has credited Manchester City with helping him to become a manager following a successful first season in charge of Crystal Palace.

The former midfielder has won plaudits for the way in which his side played last season, having taken over from Roy Hodgson last summer. Vieira guided Palace to a 12th-place finish, as well as taking the south London club to the FA Cup semi-finals.

Vieira turned his hand to management after retiring from playing while at City in 2011. The Blues handed the former France international a role with the club’s elite development squad before he made the move to the United States to manage their sister team New York City.

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After impressing Stateside, Vieira was appointed Nice manager in 2018, and led the French side to a seventh-place finish in his first full season before departing in 2020. His time at Palace has been roundly acclaimed so far, with the former midfielder putting his success down to his spell at the Etihad.

“I was at the end of my career and moving to City, they allowed me to be who I am today as a coach,” Vieira told BT Sport’s What I Wore. “In the way I played for City, and I was at the end of my career, it was a time where City was growing as a football club.

“They offered me a pathway after my career, experience, something to do with them and I never find out what was the thing. They gave me the opportunity to spend two years in every department in the football club and after the two years to find out what I really like because they wanted to keep me part of the City family and be involved.”

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