Former Inter midfielder Patrick Vieira has hinted ahead of tonight’s Derby d’Italia that he would like to manage the Nerazzurri in the future.
Vieira made 91 appearances in four-and-a-half seasons at Inter, winning four Serie A titles and two Italian Super Cups, having left Juventus following the outbreak of the Calciopoli scandal in 2006.
The Frenchman is currently head coach of Ligue 1 side Nice but suggested he had his eyes on returning to Italy later in his career.
“Nice have an interesting project which I’d like to help them put into practice over time,” Vieira told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I love Italy’s footballing culture, though. My dream is to coach the teams I played for.”
Vieira, who also made two appearances for Milan in 1995, then gave his thoughts on tonight’s big match at San Siro, saying he expected it to be ‘a battle’.
“Nobody will want to lose,” he continued.
“There’s a lot of honour up for grabs, both on the pitch and in the stands. Inter perhaps have more to lose but Juventus will be up for the game as well.”
Vieira was also asked about Italian football’s recurring problem with racism and argued nothing has changed since he was playing in Serie A.
“When you have someone like Carlo Tavecchio as FIGC president making certain comments, it’s impossible for anything to change,” he rued.
“There’s a lot of ignorance and very little education in Italy. Clubs have the technology to identify and punish the racists, so if they don’t do it they deserve to have points docked. Fines are pointless.”
