There haven’t been too many footballers like Christian Vieri before or since the Italian-born, Australian-raised striker embarked on his 15-team, 18-year career which saw him play for some of the biggest clubs in Europe and lead the line for the Azzurri at two World Cups.
The 51-year-old never stayed long at a club, with his six-year spell at Inter Milan between 1999 and 2005 the only multi-year spell at any of his clubs.
That came two years after Vieri tried his luck abroad, with Atletico Madrid paying Juventus £12.5million, with the Bologna-born star netting 24 goals in 24 La Liga games. But how did he find the Spanish league, compared to Serie A?
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Viera opens up on his Atletico Madrid spell
“Exactly the opposite,” he tells FourFourTwo. “One is tactical; catenaccio; you cannot concede a goal. La Liga was, ‘Let’s play to win and have fun, focusing on technique and one-two combinations’.
“Those leagues are two different things, like the Sun and Moon.”
Perhaps Vieiri’s best moment in an Atleti shirt was his goal against PAOK, where he curled the ball back in from near the corner flag.
“Maybe the best,” Vieri says when asked to rank this strike. “When I was playing there, I was free mentally – I’d try things and just do whatever came to my mind. That league allows you to do that.
“The fans want to see the nutmegs, the one-two touches, the tiki-taka; they like the spectacular moves, so I would try things, then things would happen.”
Vieri was part of a £45million spending spree in the summer of 1997, as Atleti’s bombastic former owner Jesus Gil looked to make waves. Knowing a fellow big personality when he saw one, Gil was rumoured to have accepted a bet from the Italian that he would give him a Ferrari if he scored a hat-trick against PAOK.
“It’s true, but they had to order the car and when it was delivered, I was already playing for Lazio,” Vieiri recalls. Atletico called me and said, “The Ferrari has arrived – where do you want us to send it?” I said, “It’s OK, you can keep it.”
“I didn’t feel it was right to take the car, because I had left. If I’d stayed, I would’ve taken it, 100 per cent. I bought a Ferrari myself a month later!”
