Hugo Viana: Former Newcastle midfielder able to amplify influence as new Manchester Metropolis director of soccer | Soccer Information

As a footballer, Hugo Miguel Ferreira Viana would let his ft do the speaking.

A shy member of the Sporting Clube de Portugal facet that gained the Portuguese league and cup double in 2002 alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, he grew to become Britain’s costliest teenager when he joined Newcastle for £8.5m.

It eclipsed the £6m price Coventry paid for Robbie Keane in August 1999, and it additionally set a brand new document for a Magpies teenager, surpassing the £5m paid to Nottingham Forest for Jermaine Jenas, then an England U21 worldwide.

Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd declared his delight at signing ‘one of the best younger participant on the planet’ on a five-year contract.

It wasn’t a fantastic declare.

Viana – who will exchange Txiki Begiristain as director of soccer at Manchester Metropolis on the finish of the season – was named Younger European Footballer of the Yr, inspiring Portugal to victory over England Below-21s on the European Championships and he then joined his nationwide workforce within the Far East for the primary of two World Cups.

Viana was tipped to spearhead Newcastle’s Champions League bid for the approaching season below Sir Bobby Robson, however he would make solely 39 Premier League appearances in complete, scoring two league objectives and offering six assists in his 4 years on the membership.

Viana’s greatest contribution in a black and white shirt got here when he scored in one among Newcastle’s most memorable European video games, a victory over Feyenoord which secured the workforce’s progress from the primary group stage regardless of dropping their opening three matches.

Whereas he did not fulfil his potential in England, the Portuguese’s time working with Robson did not go to waste. Even on the age of 19, he turned down gives from Celta Vigo and Liverpool in choice of working with a person of Robson’s stature within the sport.

“Liverpool are obviously a huge club, and I was very confused and unsure about what I wanted to do, but then I spoke to Bobby Robson and after five or 10 minutes, I was clear about Newcastle,” the participant recalled.

“I told him there would not be a big issue with my contract. Mr Robson said he knew me; he’d watched some games at Sporting and in the U21 European Championships.

“He additionally labored at Sporting and is a legend in Portugal, so I felt extra near him and he informed me he would give me time to adapt to life in England with out worrying.”

Viana later described Robson – who was Sporting manager between 1992 and 1994 – as someone who played a very important role in his career, which took him to Valencia and Braga in addition to 29 caps for his country.

Accidents would finally hamper his progress, and Viana introduced his retirement aged 33 in October 2016.

He hung up his boots and turned his focus to excelling behind the scenes within the boardroom. He was made sporting director at Belenenses in Might 2017, however held the submit for simply six months.

It’s the work he has achieved in turning Sporting again right into a Portuguese powerhouse over the previous six years that has earned him his new place at Metropolis.

Moreover the 2 league titles in 2021 and 2024, Sporting’s second-place end in 2022 marked the membership’s third-highest factors tally within the historical past of the Portuguese high flight.

Begiristain has been Pep Guardiola’s right-hand man, remodeling Metropolis into the four-time champions of England.

He grew to become director of soccer in October 2012, having been in the identical place at Barcelona from 2003-10, and was extensively credited with luring compatriot Guardiola to Metropolis 4 years later.

It was Begiristain who backed Guardiola in his managerial huge break at Barcelona, with the pair putting up an in depth friendship as team-mates on the Catalan membership within the early-to-mid Nineteen Nineties.

Tasked with sustaining these requirements and preserving Begiristain’s legacy, Viana should present he’s able to repeating his current success.

Metropolis journey to face Sporting within the Champions League early subsequent month. When Viana takes his seat within the administrators’ field on the Estadio Jose Alvalade, he can have one foot in each camps. Solely the person himself will not see it that manner.

Metropolis wished their new director of soccer in place for the New Yr, however whereas Viana will work at instances alongside Begiristain to make sure a clean handover after the winter switch window, he’ll nonetheless be concerned in a restructuring course of at Sporting, transitioning to a unique mannequin the place there isn’t any director of soccer. Metropolis admire such loyalty.

Sporting are high of the league following eight consecutive victories, and so Viana is set for his departure to not disrupt the present season having steadied a financially unstable membership to complete three consecutive years with a revenue for the primary time ever.

The emphasis has been on creating youth however at Metropolis, he will probably be anticipated to draw the world’s finest gamers – and it’s a problem Viana will relish.

Portuguese journalist Pedro Sepulveda informed Sky Sports activities: “Hugo is going to work with young, talented players but of course when you work on a project like Manchester City, you always have to have the big names. I’m sure he will sign those players, too.

“Hugo is aware of he’s becoming a member of one of many greatest golf equipment on the planet, so he could not say no to this invitation.

“I don’t think Viana has set terms on the arrangement where he has demanded a certain fee to join City. He has good connections with agents when you consider he worked under Jorge Mendes. Considering the environment around him, I really feel this is the right appointment for City.

“The work Sporting have achieved over the previous few years is not solely all the way down to Viana, as supervisor Ruben Amorim deserves quite a lot of credit score however the connection between the 2 is plain.”

Could Viana be reunited with Amorim at City?

Focus this worldwide break has been on the way forward for Guardiola at Metropolis with the Catalan’s present contract expiring in the summertime. Begiristain’s departure from the Etihad has raised additional questions on whether or not Guardiola will delay his keep in Manchester.

Naturally, with the change in director of soccer coinciding with that date on the finish of June 2025, there have been inevitable solutions that Metropolis could not finish their raid of Sporting with Viana.

“If Guardiola does decide to leave, I’m pretty sure the first manager Hugo Viana is going to present to the board will be Ruben Amorim,” added Sepulveda.

“But I would also say that I don’t think they have brought in Viana because they think it is the easiest way of attracting him.

“Amorim has a €20m launch clause in his Sporting contract, so I believe they’ve centered extra on the work of Viana over a time period.”

In March 2020, it was he who took a punt on untested Amorim’s €10m Braga buyout clause. He had already thought-about bringing him to Sporting months earlier as their B workforce supervisor.

It will show a masterstroke because the membership ended their two-decade-long look forward to a home title. The connection has been a powerful success, with Sporting the present champions.

The likes of Manuel Ugarte and Pedro Porro have been offered for enormous revenue and the membership introduced a document income of €246.7m final time period.

Amorim has mentioned of their relationship: “Viana has proved, over and over, that he can do magic. We have to remember that we fight against clubs that are stronger than us financially, so we have to put much more effort, we have to present our project and show our track record in the transfer market.

“All of the coaches needs to be fortunate sufficient to work with Hugo Viana. Not solely due to his competence however due to the loyalty he has with the coaches.

“It’s like he’s a family member and he’s always ready to help the manager and the club. His role has been crucial. I speak for myself when I say Viana is essential. He plays a fundamental role and does his job like no one else.”

The Portuguese is claimed to cover from the highlight – described in his homeland as ‘the shadow man’ – however there isn’t any mistaking the influence he has had since returning to Sporting as director of soccer in 2018.

Alongside the Ugarte and Porro transfers, the 41-year-old was behind different key gross sales together with Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Nunes, Nuno Mendes and Joao Palhinha.

The event of Viktor Gyokeres right into a prolific goalscorer now revered throughout the continent following his arrival from Coventry final summer season has solely strengthened Viana’s status throughout Europe. Goncalo Inacio, Ousmane Diomande, Morten Hjulmand and Geovany Quenda have all flourished below his watch.

As he embarks on his first journey exterior of his homeland, the Viana-Amorim partnership might properly re-emerge as early as subsequent summer season if Guardiola does name time on his Metropolis tenure.

What has been mentioned about Viana?

Sporting president Frederico Varandas mentioned: “We believe a lot in the work process, when I talk about this recognition, I’m not just talking about the manager. Hugo Viana is a fundamental piece and I’m very proud of this structure.”

Former Porto striker Domingos Paciencia informed A Bola: “I think his work is in line with what has been happening at Sporting. The merit, of course, does not just belong to Hugo, but also to an entire structure, but his role is fundamental because he is always aware of what you can do in advance [to get ahead of clubs].

“He has that ability and he also has the ability in the selection criteria when it comes to choosing players, and the fact that he, himself was a player, he also understands their point of view, which is very important.”

Former Portugal defender Rui Fonte informed Radio Renascenca: “With the resources he will have, he could do a brilliant job, considering what he’s done here with merit, due to the relationship he built with the president and Ruben [Amorim].

“And now, with so many resources at his disposal [at City], he will be able to do even more. Something rare was built here and if he manages to do it again, to have this harmony with the president and the coach, he will already be halfway to success.

“Competence is not only for the gamers and coaches. Right here we do rather a lot with little. I had the chance to see different realities and it displays our work. Additionally they begin to have a look at the individuals who lead, not simply the gamers and coaches.”

Viana prepared for huge step up at Man City

Portuguese football journalist Pedro Sepulveda:

“It’ll be an enormous problem for Viana. He is 41 years outdated, he is nonetheless younger for this sort of function. He made an enormous work in Sporting.

“He sold players like Bruno Fernandes, Manuel Ugarte, Nuno Mendes, Manuel Ugarte and Pedro Porro but I would say it’s easy to sell these kinds of players when they are in their prime.

“However it’s vital to say he offered gamers from Sporting to Leicester Metropolis like [Abdul] Fatawu for €17m, Mateus Fernandes to Southampton for €15m and [Youseff] Chermiti to Everton for €14.5m.

“These players did not have that many minutes in the first division in Portugal so, huge work from Viana to get these kinds of sales for Sporting.

“At Sporting, he had little cash however an enormous margin for failure. Now it is going to change. At Metropolis, he’s going to have extra money however zero margin to fail.”

Watch Wolves vs Man Metropolis this Sunday reside on Sky Sports activities Premier League and Sky Sports activities Important Occasion from 1pm, kick-off 2pm.