Patrick Vieira appointed Senegal head coach after eight months out of work

Patrick Vieira has been appointed head coach of the Senegal national team, the country’s football federation confirmed on Tuesday, ending the former Arsenal captain’s eight-month spell out of management since being sacked by Genoa in November 2024.

The 50-year-old succeeds Pape Thiaw, who was dismissed after Senegal lost three of their four matches at the recent World Cup, with defeats against France, Norway and Belgium ending their campaign in the round of 32 against Belgium.

A statement published on the Senegal national team’s official X account read: “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.”

Vieira, who was born in Senegal and capped 107 times by France, inherits a squad navigating one of the most turbulent periods in the country’s football history. Senegal appeared to have won the Africa Cup of Nations in January with a 1-0 victory over hosts Morocco after extra time, but the result was overturned by the Confederation of African Football’s appeals board after Senegal staged a walk-off protest in added time when Morocco were awarded a penalty at 0-0. Morocco were handed a 3-0 forfeit victory and the title, and the case is now set to go before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with a hearing scheduled for 8 October.

As a player, Vieira won three Premier League titles with Arsenal and lifted both the World Cup and European Championship with France, in 1998 and 2000 respectively. His managerial career has taken him to New York City, Nice, Crystal Palace, Strasbourg and Genoa, though none of those spells ended with silverware.

He departed Crystal Palace in March 2023 after two years in charge, moved to Strasbourg later that year, and then spent 12 months at Genoa before his dismissal last autumn. The Senegal role represents his first international appointment and his first job in management since leaving Serie A.