Vieira boosts Capello's European ambitions

Juventus coach Fabio Capello could barely conceal his delight after the Italian champions bought French international midfielder Patrick Vieira from Arsenal.

"We've achieved our main objective. Vieira is an important player whose technical skill and physical strength will make a big difference in midfield," he said after Juventus completed Vieira's transfer.

"He brings that something extra that all our acquisitions should.

"For a busy season like the next one, we'll need a very competitive squad across the pitch and now we have two excellent players in every position."

Capello had finally got his man. Juve's coach had followed the Frenchman's career longer than most, having brought him to Milan from Cannes in November 1995.

Back then, Capello said he could become as good as former Milan great Frank Rijkaard.

Less than a year later, however, the 20-year-old Vieira departed for Arsenal having played just two Serie A matches.

"He was just a kid and he was closed out by (Demetrio) Albertini and (Marcel) Desailly," recalled Capello. "But you could see that he had quality, otherwise I wouldn't have compared him to Rijkaard."

Vieira's return to Italy reveals the depth of Juventus's ambitions in Europe next season.

The €20 million they eventually splashed out was considerably more than the figures originally mentioned by the Italian media, most of which put the figure around the 15 million mark.

Juventus would not reveal Vieira's salary, but with the total cost of the five-year deal estimated at around €37 million, the deal was one of the most expensive in Juventus's history and represented a high price for a 29-year-old player.

High aspirations

They certainly did not buy Vieira to secure another Serie A championship. With 28 already cluttering up the trophy cabinet, Juventus are easily Italy's most successful club domestically.

Like Arsenal, however, they have often struggled to translate that form on to a wider stage.

Juventus have only twice been crowned champions of Europe - the last time in 1996 with a penalty shoot-out victory over Ajax in Rome.

It was, though, one of four appearances by the club in the final in the last 10 years, while Arsenal have never got past the quarter-final stage.

"It's the demonstration that we always aim high," their vice-president Roberto Bettega said.

"Vieira was the player that, on paper, guaranteed us the possibility to make another qualitative leap."

Capello can look forward to fielding one of the strongest midfields in world football.

It is hard to identify a weak spot with Vieira alongside Brazilian international Emerson in the centre, and former European Footballer of the Year Pavel Nedved and Italy international Mauro Camoranesi in support on the wings.

Of course, there is still a chance that Juventus will be forced to sell players to finance the Vieira deal. Last Thursday, however, as news spread that a deal had been reached, fans of the club believed their team had stolen a march on their rivals all the way across Europe.