Vieira sparked trio's return

Sunday 27 November, 2005

Patrick Vieira has confirmed that he was the catalyst behind Zinedine Zidane, Lilian Thuram and Claude Makelele’s international comebacks.

The France and Juventus midfielder explained on Sunday's edition of Telefoot that his summer transfer from Arsenal to the Stadio Delle Alpi ultimately proved decisive. “We all wanted them to come back,” Vieira said.

“When I arrived at Juventus I started to see Lilian Thuram every day and we talked about things. I also get on well with Zizou and Claude. That’s how things started.

"But they all wanted to come back and that’s the most important thing,” he added.

Vieira was the France skipper before the trio’s return, but has since handed the armband back to Zidane.