Vieri: I have finally found my ideal club

Vieri looked likely to move on in the summer, but a phone call from Inter supremo Massimo Moratti convinced him that he was needed at the Giuseppe Meazza.

The prolific Italian international has acquired something of a reputation as a journeyman, after moving from Atletico Madrid in Spain to Lazio and then onto Inter in three seasons.

However, Vieri, in an interview with planetfootball, states that he has settled properly at last - bought a house in Milan - and wants to win things in the shirt of the Nerazzurri.

"I have no intention of changing team again." Vieri said. "When I was young I wanted new experiences so to fulfil this I regularly changed teams.

"Now I have found my ideal team; my ideal city. I will stay here for many seasons. I even bought a house here!"

Vieri was shocked that the crowd turned against him for a spell, after returning from long-term injury he struggled to find his form, but things have improved.

"It is true that I had a difficult time. It was one period, exactly a year ago, that I had the problems.

"I missed a few opportunities to score goals in important games and they [the fans] whistled me.

"It was not fair because I had just returned after an injury."

Speaking about high-flying Inter's chances this season, with the Nerazzurri currently topping Serie A, Vieri admits that their form has surprised even him, but that you cannot write off the other top sides.

"We are strong, but frankly at the beginning of the season I didn't believe we would be.

"People say Inter, Roma and Juve for the title, but I would add also Milan - they could still arrive. Roma are very strong and Juventus never die."

Vieri is a big fan of team-mate Alvaro Recoba, because, as he says, "he always gives me the ball!"

However, it is a Juventus player that catches his eye more than anyone else.

"David Trezeguet is the best young striker around in the world," asserts the Azzurri star. "When I was his age I was not as strong.

"On top of this he has already won the World Cup and the European Championship."

Vieri, if fit, will be one of the first names on Italian coach Giovanni Trapattoni's squad list for the World Cup, but he remains coy when asked about who he would like to partner.

"First I must be selected myself," he laughs. "Everything else is not my problem."