Patrick Vieira Named Head Coach of Senegal National Team

Patrick Vieira has been named head coach of Senegal, returning to the country of his birth to lead the national team after their World Cup disappointment this summer.

The former Arsenal captain, who has been out of work since leaving Genoa in November, replaces Pape Thiaw, dismissed following Senegal’s last‑32 defeat to Belgium at the World Cup.

“Mr Patrick Vieira is the new coach of the Senegalese national A team. The date of the official presentation and the next steps in its installation will be communicated at a later date. Welcome to Senegal, coach.”

A decorated playing career now meets a major international test. Vieira, 50, lifted three Premier League titles with Arsenal during the club’s golden era under Arsène Wenger and became a world and European champion with France, winning the World Cup in 1998 and Euro 2000.

His coaching journey has been varied and demanding. He cut his managerial teeth with New York City, then moved to Nice, before spending two years in the Premier League with Crystal Palace. The London club dismissed him in March 2023, and he went on to take charge of Strasbourg, followed by a 12‑month spell at Genoa in Serie A.

Now comes a different kind of pressure: turning a talented Senegal side, still smarting from an early World Cup exit, into a team that can match the ambition and expectation of a football‑obsessed nation.