USMNT Urged To Avoid Pursuing ‘Not Qualified’ Patrick Vieria Following Strasbourg Exit

Patrick Vieira is one step closer to being the USMNT coach, as he parted ways with the Ligue 1 club Strasbourg, despite two more years remaining in his contract. Vieira, notably, showed interest last year in joining the US team and leading them into the US-hosted 2026 World Cup. While the US-Vieira move could potentially even materialize, former Liverpool star and analyst Steve Nicol thinks it would be unwise for the US team to poach Vieira, who currently has an unimpressive CV under his belt.

Steve Nicol and fellow hosts discussed Patrick Vieira’s growing links to the USMNT job in the latest ESPN FC episode. Nicol was asked why he wasn’t very excited about Vieira’s prospects in the US team. “Do you honestly think his[Vieira] CV screams? All I have heard this talk about [Marcelo] Bielsa and Jurgen Klopp…They’ve actually won. They’re winners. Patrick is a winner as a player. In the international stage, he was a winner. But honestly, from a CV point of view, is Patrick the right man for the USMNT? I just don’t. I’m sorry. I don’t see it,” said Steve Nicol.

Steve Nicols’ comments on the French legend are no surprise. Vieira’s achievements as a World Cup-winning player far outshine his achievements as a coach. He has not won a major league, let alone the Champions League or an international title. Others linked to the US role, such as Jurgen Klopp, are perennial winners. Spain’s UEFA Euro-winning boss Luis de la Fuente’s office reportedly contacted the US Soccer Federation for the job. After leaving England, Gareth Southgate is also a veteran the US could vie for. As a manager, Vieira indeed doesn’t stand a comparison to these ace bosses.

However, fellow ESPN pundit Julien Laurens insisted that coaches need not necessarily be serial winners to take up the USMNT job.

Fellow analyst counters Nicol’s take on Patrick Vieira’s potential USMNT job

After nodding to the fact that Patrick Vieira has not won a major trophy in his managerial career, Julien Laurens stated that his stint with weaker clubs such as Nice and Strasbourg deserves merit. Vieira managed Nice- an oblivious French side from 2018 to 2020 and still managed to take them to the UEFA Champions League. He also commended the way Vieira managed to keep the young Strasbourg team from being relegated during the last season, which was filled with a lot of changes, including an ownership change.

To prove his point further, Laurens insisted that the former Chelsea boss, Mauricio Pochettino wasn’t a serial winner. He only won a Ligue 1 title, and that too with an elite PSG team. The ESPN journalist also observed that other USMNT targets, excluding Jurgen Klopp, are not big winners either.

Only time will tell if Vieira will land the US job like he wanted last year. Many fans and analysts want that to happen for the US team. But the USSF will also consider deeply analyzing Vieira’s trophyless CV before taking the next step.