Patrick Vieira appeared on French radio to clarify his position regarding Didier Deschamps’ omission of Samir Nasri from the France World Cup squad.
The former France international was quoted on ITV’s World Cup coverage launch as saying Deschamps had made a “mistake” in not selecting Manchester City’s Nasri as part of his 23-man squad traveling to Brazil.
Vieira, City’s head of their elite development squad, spoke to RMC Radio to expound on his thought and explain that only a portion of his quote had been properly relayed by the media.
“That is the problem sometimes [when speaking to the media], only half of what you say is taken,” Vieira said.
“What I said was that I was very disappointed for Samir because I see him every day, and he worked hard and sacrificed a lot to be part of the 23-man squad.
“So for him to not be part of it was a little hard for me to understand.
“But in the end, I’m not the coach, I don’t know what considerations Didier made, he’s the coach and I respect his decision.
“I only speak from my standpoint, seeing Samir with my own eyes working everyday, and as far as I am concerned, Samir deserves to be going to Brazil.”
Vieira was a part of the all conquering French side that Deschamps captain to glory on home soil to win the 1998 World Cup before adding the European Championship title two years later.
