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Vieira
Since his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt in September 1996, a month before the arrival at the club of the celebrated club manager Arsene Wenger, Patrick Vieira has been one of the great forces in football, admired and feted for his competitiveness and tenacity. Vieira has won two 'Doubles' of Premiership and FA Cup in 1998 and 2002, another FA Cup winner's medal in 2003 and Premiership medal in 2004. He won a World Cup winner's medal in 1998 and the European Championship in 2000 for France, for whom he has won over 70 caps. In this autobiography Senegalese-born Vieira candidly addresses the contentious issues Racism in the modern game, in Britain and France in particular. Alex Ferguson and Roy Keane and the love-hate relationship they have with Vieira. Referees - Vieira's opinions, and how reffing has changed. Real Madrid's persistent interest in Vieira - and his move to Juventus. As combative and compelling as the man himself, Patrick Vieira's autobiography will be one of the most talked-about books of the year.
245 pages, Paperback
First published November 17, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 8, 2008
Autobiographies are the bad first dates of the literary world.
You’re stuck in your chair listening to her talk about herself, and talk about herself, and talk about herself, and the best you can hope for is that the restaurant she picked is as good as she made it sound.
So it follows that sports autobiographies are the bad one night stands of the autobiography world.
Every once in a while, though, you have that one night stand where you wish you’d asked for her phone number, or that you’d stayed to make her breakfast.
Vieira: My Autobiography is a bit like that.*You pick it up, blow through it, and you wish you could go back and ask him to tell you more.
Vieira’s story reads like an oral history, which is probably exactly what it is: his story rambled out to a ghostwriter in a series of conversations. But that’s okay. There is no pretense to literary talent, no silly attempts to elevate the prose above conversations about his impressive career in football, which is dominated by his years at Arsenal, and absolutely no attempt to make Vieira more than he is.
So what is Patrick Vieira?
He is a Senegalese born Frenchman, who plays defensive midfield for club and country; he has won a World Cup, a Euro Cup, a Scuddetto, multiple Premiership titles, and the FA Cup; he has captained Arsenal and Les Bleus; and he is a seemingly honest man who either has too much probity or too much naivety to keep his mouth shut when it comes to those he’s played with and against.
And therein lies the great charm of Vieira’s book. Much like the autobiography of Roy Keane, a competitor, incidentally, Vieira admires and respects, Vieira: My Autobiography is filled with opinions about all the great players Vieira has come in contact with. He is as quick to call Ruud van Nistelrooy a “son of a bitch” as he is to call Tony Adams “a towering personality.”
Nor does he pause when he wants to clear up his side of a story, particularly when it comes to his infamous battles with Manchester United, both on the pitch or in the tunnel.
Yet whether he is providing his side of a story or attacking someone personally, Vieira conveys a real sense of integrity, making it very difficult to disbelieve his perspective.
Vieira: My Autobiography is a must for Arsenal fans, but it is worth a read if you are a neutral, and adversary or just interested in football. Vieira gives us a hint of what footballers go through on and off the pitch, and he entertains along the way.
And that works just fine for me.
You’re stuck in your chair listening to her talk about herself, and talk about herself, and talk about herself, and the best you can hope for is that the restaurant she picked is as good as she made it sound.
So it follows that sports autobiographies are the bad one night stands of the autobiography world.
Every once in a while, though, you have that one night stand where you wish you’d asked for her phone number, or that you’d stayed to make her breakfast.
Vieira: My Autobiography is a bit like that.*You pick it up, blow through it, and you wish you could go back and ask him to tell you more.
Vieira’s story reads like an oral history, which is probably exactly what it is: his story rambled out to a ghostwriter in a series of conversations. But that’s okay. There is no pretense to literary talent, no silly attempts to elevate the prose above conversations about his impressive career in football, which is dominated by his years at Arsenal, and absolutely no attempt to make Vieira more than he is.
So what is Patrick Vieira?
He is a Senegalese born Frenchman, who plays defensive midfield for club and country; he has won a World Cup, a Euro Cup, a Scuddetto, multiple Premiership titles, and the FA Cup; he has captained Arsenal and Les Bleus; and he is a seemingly honest man who either has too much probity or too much naivety to keep his mouth shut when it comes to those he’s played with and against.
And therein lies the great charm of Vieira’s book. Much like the autobiography of Roy Keane, a competitor, incidentally, Vieira admires and respects, Vieira: My Autobiography is filled with opinions about all the great players Vieira has come in contact with. He is as quick to call Ruud van Nistelrooy a “son of a bitch” as he is to call Tony Adams “a towering personality.”
Nor does he pause when he wants to clear up his side of a story, particularly when it comes to his infamous battles with Manchester United, both on the pitch or in the tunnel.
Yet whether he is providing his side of a story or attacking someone personally, Vieira conveys a real sense of integrity, making it very difficult to disbelieve his perspective.
Vieira: My Autobiography is a must for Arsenal fans, but it is worth a read if you are a neutral, and adversary or just interested in football. Vieira gives us a hint of what footballers go through on and off the pitch, and he entertains along the way.
And that works just fine for me.
May 27, 2017
Vieira was a magnificent player and an outstanding captain. He is not a writer, and whilst something might be lost in translation, this autobiography is hard work, even if you lived the events discussed and shared the experiences in the stands. It is strange that often the better the player, the worse the biography. On that basis Vieira was the best of players.
May 19, 2019
Vieira: My Autobiography is a must read for Arsenal fans and it does make a decent memoir if you are just interested in football. As much I liked reading it, the timeline of all the events he described were incoherent in literary sense of view. I couldn't help wanting more to his story - way more than he provided. I hope he does a follow-up memoir, now that he's retired and give us a more candid look at his career.
September 4, 2015
Any reader of sports autobiographies will know that a great sportsperson will not always make an interesting writer. Their life may have been one of passionate ups and downs, but their writing powers evade them when putting this onto paper. It does not help either if a book has to be translated from a foreign language and potentially losing some of the nuances. This is what may have happened to Patrick Vieira with ‘Vieira: My Autobiography’, a book that systematically drains the life out of the reader and the pleasure out of football.
Written back in 2005 when Vieira was still playing, the book immediately feels like one of those biogs that won’t be warts and all. Ever the professional, Vieira decides to keep on good terms with all the potential teammates he may still have. This is not always a huge issue, pleasant people can write great stories – see Jackie Chan. However, this is not a great story. Vieira plods through his football career describing specific seasons and games in a bland monotone. To make matters worse, in the updated version he also talks about his French career in more depth. You essentially get the slightly dull side of his story twice as he mentions playing for Arsenal when with France and vice versa.
Life is injected sporadically into the book when he mentions a player he was friends with or one that he disliked, but most of the time he keeps the reader at arm’s length. A follow up is needed now that he has retired. A slightly more candid look at his career would be far more interesting that this book that feels as safe as Arsenal defence during the season of The Invincibles.
Written back in 2005 when Vieira was still playing, the book immediately feels like one of those biogs that won’t be warts and all. Ever the professional, Vieira decides to keep on good terms with all the potential teammates he may still have. This is not always a huge issue, pleasant people can write great stories – see Jackie Chan. However, this is not a great story. Vieira plods through his football career describing specific seasons and games in a bland monotone. To make matters worse, in the updated version he also talks about his French career in more depth. You essentially get the slightly dull side of his story twice as he mentions playing for Arsenal when with France and vice versa.
Life is injected sporadically into the book when he mentions a player he was friends with or one that he disliked, but most of the time he keeps the reader at arm’s length. A follow up is needed now that he has retired. A slightly more candid look at his career would be far more interesting that this book that feels as safe as Arsenal defence during the season of The Invincibles.
October 6, 2014
I really enjoyed this read, as an arsenal fan I wished we did more to keep Vieira, especially after reading how we made him feel surplus. A good read for a football fan, I particularly enjoyed his look back at when he was a young boy coupled with going back and helping Africa.
September 24, 2007
Great account of his life as a footballer, but I wanted more. Thoughts, worries, opinions... We see much of them on the field, but don't know what goes on in their heads.
June 19, 2009
Amazing insight to a great footballer! I have a signed copy thanks to my son!!!!
April 17, 2011
it was okay. Very insightful, although some parts kept repeating itself.
September 30, 2013
Not very well written. Expected a lot more anecdotes on his French national team exploits, the world cup and EU wins, and the Korea world cup disaster. Disappointed.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews