By Myles Palmer
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SEBASTIAN VIERA looked fantastic for Uruguay when they drew 1-1 against Brazil in Montivideo on March 30.
I wrote about the game here, but didn’t mention him.
But in a fast, intense, bruising game, Viera stood out. He lingered in my mind.
You never judge a player on one performance, and you never judge him in internationals, but Sebastian Viera was a goalkeeper I wanted to see again.
Just as I didn’t fancy Reina in two games I saw him play for Villareal, I DID fancy Viera.
Ideally, Arsene should be looking for a 27-29 year old keeper.
But if he is gonna sign a 22-year old, it should be Sebastian Viera.
He was always gonna be a pro and he was always gonna be a goalkeeper.
He is an academy kid and his father Mario was a keeper who played for Uruguay in the World Youth Cup in 1979.He always wanted to be like his Dad, so he never played in any position except goalkeeper
Viera, like Tevez and Mascherano, is one of the top players to emerge in Latin America since 2003.
In that game in Montivideo, Sebastian Viera just grabbed me. He was tall and rangy and had great hands.
There was something about his body language, his fearlessness, his confidence, that jumped out of the TV screen. You see thousands of players on the box, hundreds of goalkeepers, and a few…… just grab you.
He seemed to have the right physique for the job, the right personality.
He had a physical presence that made him bigger than his size. He reminded me of Schmeichel or Milan’s Rossi.
I doubted if he was as aggressive as those two, but he says, “I’m very confrontational.”
VIERA, of Nacional, looked older than 22.
He had the charisma that being your country’s No.1 keeper often gives you.
Medical at Arsenal this weekend.
I think it’s a big moment, a big signing.
August 6th 2005