Patrick Vieira, Senegal head coach and a World Cup winner with France, has singled out Villarreal ahead of the 2026 Ballon d’Or gala in London on Monday night.
“I love watching football,” he told Movistar+ España. “In England, Manchester City or Liverpool play very good football because there is a lot of intensity. In Spain I also like watching Villarreal, because they have Senegalese players and they play very good football.”
He added: “Spain, with their great national team, also dominate football right now because of the collective game they play, which is better than the rest.”
The nod places the Yellow Submarine alongside two Premier League benchmarks and underlines both their style and a Senegalese link valued by the Lions of Teranga coach.
Born in Dakar in 1976, Vieira earned 107 caps for France, winning the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000. At Arsenal he lifted three Premier Leagues and four FA Cups, captaining the Invincibles in 2003/04.
His managerial path has included New York City, Nice, Crystal Palace, Strasbourg and Genoa, before taking charge of Senegal in August. On 31 July 2025 his Genoa beat Marcelino’s Villarreal 3-1 in a 45-minute match at Real Oviedo’s centenary event, where Kambwala scored for Villarreal, before the Spaniards later drew 0-0 with the hosts.
“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”
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