The sun flows through the windows on the picturesque training field of Genoa. Patrick Vieira has just arrived from the training field and enters the room with a big smile.
He has been here since November, but in less than six months he has brought the club from the edge of the relegation to the safety of the center of the table, while also navigating by management during a takeover.
Genoa is the oldest football club in Italy, with a passionate fan base. Although Vieira admits that it was a big decision for him to make the job, he enjoyed the challenge.
“It was a big task,” he tells Sky Sports News. “And of course I took the time to make a decision, but I strongly believed that I had the capacity and the quality to keep this football club in the Serie A.
“I was impressed by their ambition to be relevant on the international stage, on and next to the field. Series A turned out to be a very competitive competition that attracted many Premier League players, such as Scott McTominay, Kyle Walker, Tammy Abraham, to name just a few.
At the age of 48, Vieira has already worked in clubs in four different countries – New York in the US, Nice and Strasbourg in France, Crystal Palace in England and now the Italian Genoa. He admits that each has been a huge learning curve.
“I think in every club where I have been, I had a huge reflection on myself as a coach, as a manager. And today I am another coach, a different manager because those experiences make me think about what I have to do to improve myself, challenge myself and be better.”
Vieira also quickly draws a clear line between his glittering gaming career and coaching, and hopes that he is still in the early stages of this chapter of his football life.
“When I decided to go on that trip, it was important for me to understand how long I wanted to be,” he says.
“And when I decided to coach, I was clearly in my mind that I wanted to do it for a long time. But to do that, you have to build up credibility, you have to build up experience.
“Bee [Manchester] City, I was at the right time at the right time, and they gave me the chance to grow, understand the job and to start with the U21s, the development group, and then to have this kind of professional experience in New York.
“That really helped me to build myself on the basic principles of coaching about the football that I want to play, the coach I want to be, and I am taking steps forward with all the experiences I had so far.”
The Frenchman played most of his career under Arsene Wenger, but also worked with Fabio Capello, Roberto Mancini and Jose Mourinho. All have left their mark on him, but he admits that he is a lot of his own husband.
“I want to be different from them,” he says. “Of course the experiences I had with them will help me to be a better coach.
“But I have my ideas, I have my personality and I want to be myself. I want to feel at ease on the side of the field. I want to express myself with my strength and my ideas. And of course I want to be myself.”
Veira adds: “I think the modern coach should be innovative, learn from himself about what he can improve, about how you want to play the games, the tactical elements you want to use to improve players individually but also collectively.
“I had the chance to coach in France, to coach in England and to be in Italy today. So to learn different cultures, the different languages, different types and profiles of football. So those experiences will help me to be even better.”
It is more than two years since Vieira was last managed in the Premier League. He was fired by Crystal Palace after he did not build on his first season in Selhurst Park when he led them to a 12th placed finish in the competition and a semi -final of the FA Cup.
Vieira, however, supports his former club to jump a surprise in the FA Cup final of this weekend against Manchester City. “They can do it,” he holds full.
“I think if you look at Crystal Palace, the manager, the organization, the way they play, I think this is a team that every team in the Premier League can beat.
“They have the support that will be behind the team, they have the quality and they need what is to win the competition.
“Even if everyone expects Manchester City to win, I think they are the favorites, but Palace can pull something there to win the cup.”