PROFILE

CHRISTIAN VIERI

Profile :

Full Name : Christian Vieri
Born : 12.07.73 Bologna
Serie-A Debut : 15.12.98 Torino 2-0 Fiorentina (H)
International Debut : 29.03.97 Italy 3-0 Moldova (H)

Vieri (Son of a former Torino midfield player) was born in Italy. He can speaks fluent English, having been raised in Australia between age of 3 to 15. Vieri has a French mother and Italian father who was also a professional footballer.

Career + stats :

Vieri has travelled a lot in his career. Once he was called a mercenary, he changed clubs as often as he changed his shirts.

After his early years at Down Under, Vieri returned to Italy at 15 years of age, it was to start his own career with the Tuscany-based teams Santa Lucia and then Prato (Serie C) (1989-90). He didnt play any games in Prato´s first team.

In 1990 he joined his father's old club Torino (Serie A), but played only seven matches (one goal) in three seasons (1990/93).

In november 1992 he moved to Pisa (Serie B) where he played 18 matches and scored two goals.

In 1993 he moved to Ravenna (Serie B) where he played 32 matches and scored 12 goals.

After two years at Serie B he decided that he is ready to play at ultimate level at Italy (Serie A). He moved to Venezia (1994/95). He played 29 matches and he scored 11 goals.

From Venezia to Atalanta (1995/96) at age of 22. This was the year he made his initial breakthrough with Atalanta, 19 matches and 7 goals.

After one great year at Atalanta he finally earned a place at higher level. He moved to Juventus in 1996. His stats were: 23 games and 8 goals at Serie A and 10 games and 6 goals at European Cup. Playing with Juventus he won his first and only one (so far) Scudetto.

After just one awesome year at Juve, he was transferred surprisingly in 1997 to Atletico Madrid of Spain for $16 million. During his one and only season at Spain in 1997/98 he finished as La Liga's top scorer with 24 goals. And at European Cup he played 7 games and scored 5...not bad i must say.

While he played at Atletico, the whole world saw (at least i saw ) a negative side at Vieri : He was dropped for one game and fined an undisclosed sum for insulting former Atletico coach Radomir Antic. Vieri had to change club again from Atletico Madrid to Lazio in August 1998 because he didn't like the new Atletico coach Arrigo Sacchi either.

Joined Lazio in a 48 billion lire ($28 million) five-year deal in August 1998 (the highest transfer figure ever paid for an Italian player). He missed a almost the whole first half of the season through injury, but returned after resting for almost 3 months. Ended the Serie A 1998/1999 season with 12 goals (top scorer at Lazio). Helped Lazio win the 1999 European Cup Winners' Cup, scoring the first goal in their 2-1 win over Mallorca in the final.

Trophies won :

- European Championship under 21 (1994,1996)
- Scudetto (Juventus) in 1996/97
- Cup Winners Cup (Lazio) in 1998/99
- European Super Cup (Juventus) in 1996

Personal stats before Inter :

174 appearances and 77 goals in league level and European Cups + Coppa Italia: 33 matches and 15 goals.

Transfer to INTER :

Finally my dream come true and he was transferred to our beloved team F.C.Internazionale Milano in July 1999 in a world record deal worth 90 billion lire ($50 million) from Lazio, a fee branded "disgusting" by the Vatican. That record has of course now been
beaten, but Inter knew what they were doing when they splashed out that much money...thanks Moratti!! Diego Simeone going the other way as part of the deal which was kind of sad.

Vieri´s thoughts after the transfer was done: "It's the umpteenth time I've moved, but this time I really hope to stick around for awhile. I have a five-year contract with Inter and I really want to fulfill it, because I don't want to move around any more. And I want to win something important with Inter." ..well, he is still here...amazing, he is finally settled.

But his time with the Nerazurri appeared to be limited after he has been publicly heard to call the club president Massimo Moratti 'stupid' at the end of 2000/2001 season, but he's stayed at the club...Moratti
is/was "stupid" ?..well he was right on that one.

Stats at Inter 1999-2002 :

74 games so far at Serie A (Inter) and he has scored amazing 55 goals (0.74 goals per game) In European Cup + Coppa Italia he has played 13 games (before this season) and scored 12 goals (0.92 goals per game)...wow!!

As a player :

Well, what can i say about my hero´s playing style?

I´ll start with his position at field. Vieri's position on the pitch is called 'ariete', or battering ram in the Italian tongue. Even if you don't speak the language, the subtext is fairly obvious. Vieri breaks opponents with his ability to conjure goals out of nothing and his monstrous size. He is a pure match-winner. He has become
one of Italian soccer's nomads and hottest properties. Vieri is undoubtedly one of the greatest strikers of his generation.

He is physically very strong, he owns a very powerful and precise left-footed shot as well as an extraordinary
ability to shadow the ball from opponents.

A striker with the build of a heavyweight boxer, Vieri is known as "the ice giant" because of his impassive nature and imposing physique. Known as a strong, silent type who shuns the limelight, giving monosyllabic answers to reporters' questions.

Unlike a number of other natural finishers, Vieri is also a team player. When Ronaldo recently rejoined him in the Inter frontline, it was noted that Vieri diverted his efforts towards helping the Brazilian find his form and confidence. "The reason I play is not to top any scorers' chart, but to win," he once said. "When I was at Atletico Madrid I won the Pichichi award (given to Spain's top
marksman) yet all the club got was a UEFA Cup place. That does not interest me, I just want to win."

For all his steely exterior, Vieri remains a fragile specimen, with "muscles of silk" according to one doctor. The lethal finisher has never known a season without injury, without a muscle tear or pull. So Inter will be praying that he does not break down now, with the big
striker seemingly at the peak of his powers.

His determination to play is such that last September he refused surgery on an achilles injury because doctors could not guarantee a complete recovery.

What i can imagine about his "flaws" is that he dont fell down very easy. He dont "earn" many penalty kicks, because of that. He aint nothing like example Totti, Inzaghi or Del Piero.

He dont dribble with the ball very good. He is not fast as Recoba. Vieri is a warrior who sometimes seems to be lost in the field, but when he get´s the ball in penalty area, he usually scores. He is excellent header and he scores plenty of goals with his head. He is "just" typical centre-forward...nothing more, nothing less.

He has certainly improved his playing style a lot more. When he was younger, he never helped the defence, but what i´ve seen him at Inter, he even come down to our own penalty area when opposite team has corners or free-kicks.

What more can i say about him? Well...i just love too see him around. I guess i stop it here, because i dont know much more about him.

Tommi Heikkinen