Farewell Bobo Vieri?

By: Francesco | May 5th, 2008

There is no denying that Christian (Bobo) Vieri in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s was one of, if not the deadliest striker in the world. The Aussie-born striker was a goalscoring machine, and scored with such ease. He would just power past defenders and put the ball into the net anyway possible. He was one of my favorite players to watch and I’m sure many others enjoyed watching Vieri as well.

However, after Thursday night, I think we may have seen the end of Bobo Vieri playing top level football or even the end of Vieri playing in Serie A. We all know what happened that night:

And it’s not only the missed penalty, but the whole game he played on Thursday. He also has had an up and down season. Sometimes he would be terrible, and other times he would show glimpses of his former self. Prandelli never really put faith in Bobogol, saying that when you reach a certain age you can’t expect to play all the time. There was a part of the season where he was really good, and some people were even calling for his return to the national team as Toni’s back-up. But as the season went on, I think even those people started to keep quiet. Vieri just doesn’t have it anymore, but he still has some options. First let me say, that he will most definitely not retire, he still has a desire to play football, but it is also very clear that he will not be wearing a purple jersey next season. I also don’t think he won’t be dropping down to Serie B.

Option 1: Napoli

Napoli has shown some interest in Vieri throughout the season, and see him as the “new Pampa Sosa”. He would come to Napoli as the experienced veteran who helps the young ones learn, and to sit on the bench and get called in when needed. I don’t think Vieri will go to Napoli. Why? Because, Vieri wants to play, he will not go somewhere just so he can sit on the bench and collect a paycheck. And at Napoli, he would probably get less playing time than he did this season, especially since Napoli is looking to buy more players this summer and they will only be playing in Serie A, so it’s not like he can look forward to playing in the UEFA Cup or something.

Option 2: Tottenham

It seems that Tottenham is also a little interested in Bobo. While Bobo wouldn’t mind a move to the EPL, could he handle it? If he can’t keep up in Serie A, how’s he going to keep up in the EPL, which is 10 times more physical than Serie A. I don’t see this happening at all. Plus at Spurs he would be a bench warmer at all.

Option 3: MLS

Yes, Vieri can follow in the footsteps of David Beckham and make the move across the Atlantic. This is what I think is the most likely option. Think about it: Vieri speaks fluent English, he frequently takes trips to the USA and owns a house in Miami, his girlfriend Melissa Satta is Italian-American, he would be an automatic starter on most MLS teams and is probably better than every other striker in the league bar a select few who have more experience in MLS (JP Angel, Twellman, etc.). I seriously think this would be the best option for Christian Vieri, and a move to MLS may just be what he needs to rejuvenate his career.

Option 4: Another less competitive league

If Vieri had to choose to play in a less competitive league, I think he would go with MLS. But maybe if that didn’t work out he would make a return home to Australia in the A-League? Who knows, but I think it’s unlikely.

So what does everybody think? Does Bobo still have it in him to keep playing in Serie A? Or should he make the move to MLS?

Share your thoughts in the comments.

and just to refresh everyone’s memory, this is what Bobo used to do: