Senegal appoint Patrick Vieira as new head coach

Former Arsenal and France captain Patrick Vieira has been appointed head coach of the Senegal men’s national team.

The 50-year-old replaces Pape Thiaw, who was dismissed following Senegal’s last-32 exit at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Born in Dakar, Vieira moved to France at the age of eight before going on to earn more than 100 caps for Les Bleus. He won the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 with France.

The Senegal Football Federation (FSF) said Vieira’s appointment reflects its “desire to strengthen its high-level technical staff” and is “perfectly aligned” with the country’s sporting ambitions.

Details of Vieira’s contract and his start date are yet to be finalised.

His first matches in charge of the Teranga Lions are expected to come next month in the qualifiers for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon).

Vieira joins Senegal after leaving Genoa by mutual consent last November, when the club were bottom of Serie A.

He won eight and drew nine of his 26 matches during the 2024-25 season, guiding Genoa to safety and a 13th-place finish. However, he left after a difficult start to the 2025-26 campaign, winning just twice in 25 matches, with both victories coming in the Coppa Italia.

Distinguished playing career
During his playing career, Vieira won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups with Arsenal, as well as major honours with AC Milan, Inter Milan and Manchester City.

He retired in 2011 and began his managerial career with New York City FC in 2016 before returning to Europe with Nice. He guided the French club to seventh place in Ligue 1 in his first season.

Vieira was dismissed in December 2020 before taking charge of Crystal Palace the following year. He led the Eagles to 12th in the Premier League and the FA Cup semi-finals during the 2021-22 season.

He was sacked in March 2023 following a 12-match winless run.

Vieira subsequently joined Strasbourg, becoming the club’s first manager after its takeover by BlueCo, the company that owns Chelsea. He left the French club by mutual consent in July 2024.

Thiaw’s controversial final
Vieira takes over a Senegal side still involved in a dispute stemming from the 2025 Afcon final against Morocco.

Thiaw was at the centre of controversy in January when he led his players off the pitch after Morocco were awarded a stoppage-time penalty.

The Senegal players eventually returned after a delay of about 17 minutes. Morocco’s Brahim Diaz then had his penalty saved before Pape Gueye scored the winning goal in extra time.

However, Morocco were officially declared the winners in March after the Confederation of African Football’s appeals board overturned the result following Senegal’s walk-off.

Senegal have appealed the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, with the case scheduled to be heard on 8 October.