Patrick Vieira explains why he was ‘very happy’ to accept the call from Genoa and begin his Serie A coaching career, while giving Mario Balotelli advice to ‘work for the team.’
His debut against Cagliari kicks off at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, also known as Marassi, at 11.30 GMT.
The Grifone surprised everyone with their decision to fire Alberto Gilardino on Wednesday, bringing in Vieira for his first management role in Serie A.
He is no stranger to this league, having played for Milan, Juventus and Inter during his career, so still speaks fluent Italian.
Vieira pleased to be back in Serie A
“When there is an important club like Genoa that calls, you are very happy. I always had this link with Italy, as my playing career really started here, so to return to Italy as a coach of an important club like Genoa is very pleasing,” Vieira told DAZN.
“It is never easy for the players when there is a change of management, but I found the squad very professional, very concentrated and with the desire to win games.
“I saw a lot of interest to get to know me as a coach and how we want to play. I was really pleased with the psychological state of the players.”
Gilardino was generally focused on a three-man defence, so that is the first thing that Vieira has changed for this afternoon’s encounter with Cagliari.
“The team has already played with this system, the important thing is to understand how to move on the field and find those values that represent the club’s strength. Before a tactical level, it was important to focus on how to bring more out of ourselves, and the players understood that well.”
Inevitably, there was a question about Balotelli after he famously clashed with Vieira when they were working together at OGC Nice, having previously been teammates at Manchester City.
“We are talking about a player with a great deal of experience, who has talent. Now Mario has to work like all the other players to rediscover his form and help the team.
“He has the quality of being able to score goals and always will. He has done well in training to get fit and now has to work for the team.”
Balotelli only joined Genoa as a free agent on October 28 and has made two substitute appearances for a grand total of 22 minutes of football.
He managed to get a yellow card in both those games.
