Chelsea Hall of Fame: Gianfranco Zola

Gianfranco Zola born 5^th July 1966 in Oliena, Italy would prove to be one of the greatest foreign players to grace the game of football in England, appearing for the West London club Chelsea over 300 times, elevating them to heights they had not seen in years. His love of football and England would also lead him to a career in management within the Premiership with West Ham United and his name will be one that is etched into Premier League history for years to come.

Early Career

Zola began his career in his native Italy, signing his first professional contract with Nuorese 1984. He would get his first big break in 1989 moving to Italian giants Napoli and it was here that the little Italian began to make a name for himself. Playing alongside Argentinean legend Diego Maradona, Zola’s game improved as he began to embrace the creative and technical side of the game, learning arts such as free kick taking from the World Cup winner, an art that would prove to be one of his signatures later in his career. From Napoli Zola joined fellow Serie A club Parma and the young Italian continued to win silverware, helping Parma lift the UEFA Cup in 1995. Ironically it was current Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti who played a big part in Zola’s move to Stamford Bridge, placing Zola available for transfer in 1996 after playing him out of position for months.

A Love Affair with Stamford Bridge

Chelsea snapped up Zola in November of 1996 for £4.5 million and he was given the now iconic number 25 jersey. Zola became an immediate success with the Londoners, scoring a host of individual goals in his first season. A solo effort against Manchester United, in which he rounded much of the Red Devil’s defence at a tight angle before slotting the ball past the Dane Peter Schmeichel  prompted Sir Alex Ferguson to state ‘Gianfranco was an exceptional player for Chelsea, all in all, a clever little so and so’. Furthermore Ryan Giggs would later admit that Zola was the only player in English football that United routinely man-marked, a huge testament to the abilities of the Italian.

Sky Rocketing Chelsea to Success

Before the arrival of Zola, Chelsea had not won a piece of silverware since their victory in the 1990 Full Members Cup. The magic and class of Gianfranco Zola would lead Chelsea to an outstanding 6 honours in 4 years. The first of these came in an epic 1997 cup run. A semi-final saw Chelsea pitted against a very strong Wimbledon side. At 1-0 Chelsea looked anything but comfortable; with the Crazy Gang pressing for an equaliser it looked like it would only be a matter of time until it arrived. Zola however had other ideas. He received the ball on the edge of the Wimbledon box, executed a delightful back-heel that fooled the whole defence before hammering the ball into the bottom corner, sending Chelsea to Wembley. Zola was again instrumental in Chelsea’s 2-0 final victory over Middlesbrough and ended the season picking up the Football Writers Association award, becoming Chelsea’s first to win the award and the only ever player to do so without playing a full season.

This victory would qualify Chelsea to participate in Europe the following year in the Cup Winners Cup. Zola was no stranger to tasting success on the European stage and was again instrumental in a tournament that Chelsea would eventually win, sealing their first European success since 1971. Zola would come off the bench (he didn’t start because of an injury) and score the only goal of the game in a 1-0 victory over German side Stuttgart after being on the pitch for barely 20 seconds. Zola would later provide a free kick which fellow Italian Roberto Di Matteo would score from to win Chelsea the 2000 FA Cup, their second FA Cup success in four seasons.

His form in the league under manager Gianluca Vialli would help send Chelsea into their first ever season in the UEFA Champions League, meaning that Zola had the opportunity to exhibit his skills on the highest club stage of them all. It was a brilliant campaign for Chelsea as they progressed to the Quarter Finals of the tournament, only to be knocked out by European giants Barcelona. Zola would score 3 goals for the Blues’ on this fine run including a stunning free kick against the Spanish side.

The End of the Chelsea Chapter

In the following years Zola would find his opportunities with Chelsea limited due to the emerging striking partnership of Eidur Gudjohsen and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, this is not to say however, that there were any less moments of magic from the Italian. In an FA Cup tie against Norwich City, Zola would produce a goal that will linger in the memory of Stamford Bridge for years to come. Running towards the near post as the corner was swung in; Zola improvised executing a mid-air back-heel, sending the ball into the net; simply breathtaking. Chelsea manager at the time Claudio Ranieri said of the goal, ‘Gianfranco tries everything because he is a wizard, and the wizard must try’.

Zola scored his final goal for Chelsea in an end of season fixture against Everton, an audacious lob from outside of the penalty area, an effort that epitomized Zola’s Chelsea career. Chelsea did their best to convince him not to leave, offering him almost four times as much money to stay, however Zola felt his time at the Bridge was over and headed back to Italy.

In November 2004 he was awarded OBE in a ceremony in Rome and has since been voted as Chelsea’s greatest ever player. Although not officially retired to him, the number 25 shirt has yet to be worn since the Italians departure and you would struggle to find a player whom Chelsea fans deemed worthy of wearing it.

Management

Zola has since become involved in management, injecting his flair and charisma into a young West Ham side. Despite the club currently experiencing financial difficulty, Zola has already shown he has the ability to succeed as a manager, performing impressively last campaign and illustrating his shrewdness in the transfer market with several successful signings. A moment that is likely to stick in the mind of Chelsea fans and Zola himself is his return to Stamford Bridge last season. The term standing ovation is one that is thrown around all too regularly these days however that is exactly what the Italian received as 42,000 people sung ‘La la la la Zola’ in unison; a heart warming moment fully earned by a man who was one of Chelsea’s greatest servants.

Chelsea Appearances and Honours

312 appearances – 80 goals

FA Cup – 1997, 2000

League Cup -1998

European Cup Winners Cup – 1998

European Super Cup – 1999

FA Charity Shield – 2000

Zola’s wonder goal against Norwich