Ronaldo Vieira: 'I still support Leeds and didn’t feel like I had to leave… but Sampdoria are a big club'
The Bundesliga isn't the only destination for young English talent. The 20-year-old midfielder was a first-team regular at Elland Road, but he tells Alasdair Mackenzie why he couldn't turn down a move to Serie A
The former Leeds midfielder swapped English football for Serie A and Sampdoria in the summer, following a path previously trodden by the likes of David Platt, Graeme Souness and Liam Brady. He was the latest in a line of young English talents to leave his comfort zone and seek success on foreign soil, but for Vieira it was just the latest chapter in an already eventful life story.
Born in the West African nation of Guinea-Bissau in 1998, Vieira relocated to Portugal with his family at the age of three. He and brother Romario (no prizes for guessing which national team his parents most admired) joined the Benfica academy, before moving to England in 2011 and eventually joining Leeds five years later.
A rising star in the Championship and England’s youth ranks, Vieira's reported £7.7m switch to Italy took some by surprise, but for the 20-year-old it was nothing more than the logical next step in his development.
Trials and tribulations
“I wanted to come here to improve as a footballer and I think every player wants to do that, no matter what age you are. I’m still young and have a lot to learn," he tells FourFourTwo.
"The move was quite quick. They just came with an offer and that’s what happens - when the club receives a good offer, they accept it. I was willing and open to it, so everything went smoothly. I have no bad feelings about Leeds; I’m grateful for what they've done for me, and I think I improved a lot as a player and became more mature there, so I thank them. I’m still supporting them now."
Vieira has made his rise up the football ladder - a journey which has taken him from the i2i development centre at York College to challenging for the European places in Serie A within three years -look effortless. However, the youngster has had his fair share of hard lessons and setbacks along the way, with several clubs turning him down as he chased an opportunity in the professional game.
“I had trials at Hull, Barnsley and Man City but it just didn’t work out," he explains. “Then I had a trial at Leeds – the first one didn’t work out for me, but then a couple of years later I had another one and I was more mature, so it went well. I settled in well and we started from there.
“I always believed in my ability. As a young player going into a trial you get nervous, because you’re coming from nowhere and those guys have already been in the professional setup for a long time. Sometimes the clubs just don’t give you enough time to prove yourself - maybe in the first week or so you’re still a bit nervous, but once you get in you can prove yourself.
“I think that’s what happened with me. At Leeds, I did the first training session and they saw something in me – it all started from there."
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