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12/07/73
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International Debut
It is a good thing he lets his feet do the talking, otherwise the world would know little of Christian Vieri. In fact, the Italian striker's habit of starting a sentence with 'erm', then keeping it as short and simple as possible, has earned him the nickname 'Bobo', meaning stupid. Monosyllabic might be a better description. Still, he should be at his most eloquent at the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/JapanTM, which is really all that matters. The Azzurri's best hopes of winning the upcoming tournament rest on the big Inter Milan centre-forward. Italy boss Giovanni Trapattoni has nothing short of full confidence in Vieri's ability. ""Italy's progress depends on the form of Vieri,"" commented the manager. 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. 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."" If Vieri is a ""winner"", it is a trait the player says he owes to his French mother Nathalie. It is also a word he became familiar with during an Australian (and English-speaking) childhood. When Vieri was four, his parents emigrated so that his father, also a professional footballer, could end his playing days in Sydney. When Christian 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, a third-division club. Three years later, in 1991, he was ready for Serie A, making his debut for Torino. Then came the first of many moves as he transferred to Serie B and Pisa, where he netted just twice in 18 games. Still, the goals, and the moves rolled on: Ravenna (12 goals in 32 appearances), Venezia (11 in 29), Atalanta (7 in 19). Incredibly, he left after only one season to sign for Lazio (12 goals in 22 matches) in 1998, then Inter the next year. And despite talk of new interest from Juventus, he has been at the San Siro ever since. For the moment, though, Vieri's sights are set on the Far East. His determination to play is such that last September he refused surgery on an achilles injury because doctors could not guarantee a complete recovery. Instead, he treated the problem with a steady regimen of thermal mud baths. This desire to showcase his talents on the world stage can be partially explained by his absence from EURO 2000 two years ago, when an eve-of-tournament injury ruled him out.
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Filippo Inzaghi
Christian Vieri
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