Crystal Palace boss Patrick Vieira claims the USMNT ‘will be successful in the near future’

Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira claimed the USMNT will be successful in the ‘near future’ as he insisted European football fans would be surprised by the passion of American supporters.

The Arsenal legend moved to New York in 2016 to lead New York City FC in his first role outside of academy coaching.

Vieira spent two and a half seasons at the helm of the Big Apple and admitted he was impressed by the passion and dedication of football fans in the United States.

The Frenchman claimed the US national team is on track to achieve success in the near future

“The British or European people would be surprised by the passion of the game and of football in the United States,” he said Crystal Palace’s website. “Even I was really surprised, because we played in different places and the stadiums, the atmosphere.

“People come before or see fans after the game. There is a passion there that grows every year and I think the future looks very bright for American football.”

He insisted that the growing passion for the sport is reflected in the emerging American talent that plays in Europe’s top flights and claimed that success for the US national team is not far off.

Christian Pulisic (left), Tyler Adams (center) and Brendan Aaronson (right) playing in England

He added: “There are now a lot of Americans coming to Europe at a young age and playing the game, trying to learn even more, trying to develop themselves and challenge themselves.

“It’s such a big country that I think they will be successful in the near future.”

Vieira’s position with New York City FC was his first attempt at senior management after coaching at Manchester City’s academy.

He admitted that managing in the MLS comes with its own challenges because of the differences in the way it works compared to European competitions such as the Premier League.

“I wanted to challenge myself to go from youth football to professional football,” he explained. “I wanted to go to a competition where I got more pressure, and I wanted to test the philosophy I wanted to implement.

The Arsenal legend admitted that managing in the MLS brought its own challenges

“Of course, the move to New York City FC was a very good decision because I was surrounded by people who were willing to give me a platform to go to the next level.”

‘It’s a different way of working, because you have to take many elements into account when putting together teams,’ adds Vieira.

‘The salary ceiling is one of them. It forces you as a manager to really think about the priority and quality you want when building the team.

“There are also different levels of players. You have players who came from South America or players who came from Europe and are used to training every day and playing matches every weekend, and you have players who came out of the draft and train three or four times a week.

“So there were different levels of ability of players and it’s not easy for a manager to build a team or build the training session.”

Vieira insisted that the move to New York was a good decision for his career

Vieira revealed that he felt at home in New York thanks to the city’s many sports teams, while saying he enjoyed watching the Yankees in action or the ice hockey at Madison Square Garden.

“I immediately enjoyed it,” he said. “I had some friends who lived in New York for a while, like Youri Djorkaeff who played with me on the French national team.

“He really understood what New York was about and he made me understand the city really well – and what there is to do in the city… New York is a good place to live.

“If you live in New York, you go to Madison Square Garden and watch ice hockey.

‘You go to watch the baseball at the [New York] Playing Yankees, you’re going to see American football. If you like sports in general, you will be very happy to live in the United States.”

Vieria joined Crystal Palace in 2021 and led the Eagles to 12th place in his first season

Vieira left New York in 2018 to take charge of France’s Nice before joining Palace last July.

He led the Eagles to 12th in the Premier League last season, but Palace has endured a rocky start to the current season and is ranked 15th.

However, the team will face Leicester City on Saturday and will try to secure all three points against the dejected club and besieged manager Brendan Rodgers.