Christian Vieri Wants to Retire

Sampdoria might now regret signing former Italian international Christian Vieri. After finishing the last season way out the European positions - they also played in the UEFA Cup group stages - Sampdoria decided to strengthen their team for the nest season. Still, their decision of signing Viari seems totally out of this whole picture. Why? Well, because the Italian striker is entering his last years as a professional footballer and that he has just recovered from a pretty serious injury - that kept him outside the field for the last 4 months.

Only weeks after signing with the Genoa side, Vieri made a shocking statement earlier today. Totally out of the blue, the former Italian international announced his fans that he's more thinking of retirement than football: "I don't feel right. I am drained and do not have any enthusiasm". Well, that's not quite what his fans were expecting and, most certainly, not what the Sampdoria supporters are waiting of him.

The word that best describes Vieri's career in the world of football seems to be "diversity". I can't think of any player in the history of the sport to have played for that many teams than Vieri. The Italian striker changed not less than 13 teams along his career. Among those, we find all the Italian "giants" - Juventus, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Lazio - Spain's former first-class team Atletico Madrid and France's former UEFA Champions League finalists AS Monaco.

He was out for the World Cup this summer due to a knee injury that kept him away from the field for the last 4 month. Although he stated that he's looking forward to coming back in Italy and play again, this sudden decision seems to have stunned the whole Italian football. The 33-year old will not play in the European competitions as well, since his team did not manage to qualify for the UEFA Cup last season. If he continues to disappoint his fans like he did in the last couple of years, it is more than likely that Italian coach Roberto Donadoni will not be calling him for the Euro 2008 campaign.