A few minutes after the official announcement of the 25 finalists for Golden Boy 2025, Patrick Vieira took the time to chat with French Football Weekly in the heart of Badia di Sant'Andrea, Genoa's new training center. Guest of honor and master of ceremonies of the day organized by Tuttosportthe Genoa coach provided an enlightened look at this rising generation. Between his admiration for Désiré Doué, and his thoughts on Paris Saint-Germain's work in terms of training, Vieira also shared his own philosophy of supporting young players.
“We see the talent and the work done by PSG»
French Football Weekly: We can say that French football is once again very well represented in this 2025 edition of Golden Boy… How do you explain that French football has produced so many young talents in recent years?
Patrick Vieira: I find that this underlines the quality of the work in terms of training in France or pre-training. And the thing that is really positive is that in France, young players have the opportunity to play in Ligue 1 quite quickly. And that gives a little more motivation. I think that for a young player, it's still something encouraging and something positive. You know you don't work for nothing. This means that upon arrival, you have the possibility of playing in Ligue 1, faster, earlier, than in England, Italy, or even Spain, it also pushes players to have this daily motivation which allows them to progress. But the main strength in France is the quality of the trainers.
FM: This portends a bright new future for the French team after 2026, surely under the leadership of your friend Zinedine Zidane
PV: These are good problems, they are problems of the rich, as they say (laughter, editor's note).
FM: The big favorite is Désiré Doué. Were you surprised by his meteoric rise at PSG?
PV: Désiré Doué is the best young player in Europe. Not only did he score in the Champions League final where he showed all his talent, but he had also progressed a lot in Rennes and continued his progress at PSG. He went through a tough time, but he worked hard and never gave up. Lamine Yamal cannot be nominated this year, so I think Doué will win. He is a young player with a lot of talent. A club must create a good environment to learn, make mistakes and learn lessons. Désiré Doué is the perfect example. I think he is the best of the best in the world.
FM: PSG will also be very well represented at the December ceremony. Zaire-Emery, Doué Mayulu, Mbaye and more recently Ndjantou, PSG is clearly an example to follow?
PV: Yes, but afterwards, there are many who are trained there and many who, unfortunately or fortunately for them, are not at Paris Saint-Germain and who, today, are playing in La Liga and in Italy. I think Paris is such an educational club. When we see the young players who returned to the Club World Cup, it shows the talent and the work that is being done at Paris Saint-Germain. Afterwards, it came to a certain point where it was important for them to play every weekend.
“A young player needs support»
FM: Does your experience as a former French star at AS Cannes help you communicate with young players?
PV: I was lucky enough to have been captain in Cannes, at 19, and this experience serves me today in the fact that I know what a young player needs to be able to develop. In Cannes, I was surrounded by exemplary and professional players. I could really learn from them. I was lucky to have a coach who put me in the deep end straight away without being afraid of the mistakes I could make. And this confidence from the coach made me play with more confidence and that's what allowed me to take the steps. Even during my Arsenal days, I arrived, I was 20 years old, and during a match, I lost the ball, I got a red card and we conceded a goal. But the strength of Arsène (Wenger, editor's note) was to have seen this talent in me and to continue to give me this confidence which really helped me to have a career.
FM: In your opinion, are young players not being thrown “into the deep end” too quickly compared to your generation?
PV: I think it's different because today, we push young players to play much earlier because there is the economic aspect which also comes into account for the clubs, and especially in France. They need to sell the players and to sell them, we have to expose them. And sometimes these young players may not be ready. It is by chaining matches that they develop little by little. A young player, who goes to the professional team early, must continue to develop. That means that he must continue to do a lot of individual work on the technical aspect, on the physical aspect, on the athletic aspect and on the mental aspect. A young player needs support. When you leave the academy for the first team, there are things that are missing, especially when you don't play. If we're not careful, we risk falling behind. And when we chase the delay, it is very complicated to make up for this gap.
FM: As a coach, what strategy do you adopt on a daily basis with young players
PV: I can't say that a lost year can never be made up for, but it's very difficult at this age. For this reason, I think that a young person, when he is in the professional group, if he does not have enough playing time, it is important for him to go and play with the reserve team one, two or three times a month. Playing 90-minute matches is really important for the development of young people. This work, which must be done in addition, is very important. The problem in big clubs where you play two matches a week is that those who are used to playing do more training to keep up. And if it is only this training that is taken into consideration, the young player will not progress and it will become a problem.
FM: Isn't it too complicated to launch young players in Italy, in a championship which struggles to trust the nuggets?
PV: In Italy, we often hesitate to bring young players into play, because the attention is focused on the immediate result. For our part, we must think long term. We must not lose confidence in young people, even if certain decisions are sometimes taken too quickly. There is still a real huge gap in level between the Primavera and Serie A. The playing time of young players means that there is less development. There has been a crisis in this area because there is not much playing time for young players.
