By just about any measure, Patrick Vieira’s first season with New York City FC was a success.
The French manager led NYCFC to a very solid campaign, guiding the second year club to a second-place finish in the East and fourth-place spot in the league table one year after they finished 17th in the league.
On the whole, it was a solid year. But that doesn’t mean Vieira is without regret.
The former Arsenal midfielder, who is in England this week to observe NYCFC’s sister club Manchester City and manager Pep Guardiola, reflected on his first campaign in a piece published in The Telegraphon Saturday, taking the heat for City’s infamous 7-0 home defeat to the New York Red Bulls in May.
“One of the issues is the traveling and I didn’t manage that week when we lost 7-0 to the Red Bulls particularly well regarding the rotation I made,” he said. “That was a real learning process for me. We’d played Portland and Toronto in the days before the game and if I had to do it all again I’d do it in a different way – maybe leave some players at home.
“The tactical approach to the game was also completely wrong on my part. When I watched it back I put the blame more on myself and the staff than the players.”
Find more from Vieira, including his rationale for taking the NYCFC job last winter, in the full piece.
