Gianfranco Zola sport association football
Gianfranco Zola  (Italian pronunciation: [dʒaɱˈfraŋko dˈdzɔːla]; born 5 July 1966) is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played predominantly as a forward. He is currently in charge as vice-president of the Lega Pro, the Serie C football league.Zola is often regarded as one of the best Italian forwards of all time, as well as one of the best players ever to play at Chelsea F.C. and in the English Premier League.He spent the first decade of his playing career playing in Italy, most notably with Napoli, alongside Diego Maradona and Careca, where he was able to win the Serie A title, and at Parma, where he won the Italian Super Cup and the UEFA Cup. He later moved to English side Chelsea, where he was voted the Football Writers' Player of the Year in the 1996–97 season. During his time at the club, he won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, two FA Cups, the League Cup, and the Community Shield. In 2003, he was voted Chelsea's greatest player ever. He was capped 35 times for Italy from his debut in 1991, appearing at the 1994 World Cup, where Italy finished in second place, and Euro 1996.
After a stint with Italy under-21s, Zola began his club managerial career with West Ham United of the Premier League in 2008, before being sacked in 2010. He was manager of Watford from July 2012 until he announced his resignation on 16 December 2013. From December 2014 to March 2015 he managed Cagliari in Serie A. He returned to Chelsea as the assistant of new Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri on 18 July 2018, ahead of the 2018–19 Premier League season.Club career
Early career
Born in Oliena, Zola signed his first professional contract with Sardinian team Nuorese in 1984. In 1986, he moved to the Sassari-based team Torres, where he spent three seasons.Napoli
He was noticed by Luciano Moggi in Serie C1 in 1989, he signed for Napoli in Serie A for ₤2 million, making his debut that year. The young and talented Zola scored two goals as understudy to Diego Maradona as Napoli won the Serie A title in 1990, the only league title of Zola's career. Zola scored his first goal against Atalanta, whilst his second goal was scored against Genoa, during injury time, which allowed Napoli to win 2–1 and maintain a two-point lead over Milan, who were Napoli's main title contenders, in second place. Zola was excited by the transfer, and he developed an important friendship with Maradona, who commented "Finally they have bought someone shorter than me!" Maradona would prove to be a big influence on Zola's career. The two would spend hours practising free kicks together after training and Zola later said that "I learned everything from Diego. I used to spy on him every time he trained and learned how to curl a free-kick just like him."Zola helped Napoli to win the Italian Super Cup in 1990, partnering alongside Careca following Maradona's drug ban during the second part of the 1990–91 season, as Napoli finished in a disappointing seventh place. Due to his individual performances, however, Zola was given his debut for the Italy national team under coach Arrigo Sacchi in 1991, winning his first cap against Norway in November. He temporarily inherited Maradona's number 10 shirt the following season under manager Claudio Ranieri, after Maradona parted ways with the club due to his ban, scoring 12 goals in 34 appearances. Upon his departure, Maradona had recommended that the Napoli management focus on Zola's development, stating: "Napoli doesn't need to look for anyone to replace me, the team already has Zola!". In his final season with the club, he managed 12 goals in 33 league appearances, and he also finished the 1992–93 Serie A season as the joint top assist provider in the league, with 12 assists, alongside Francesco Baiano. During his time in Napoli, Zola scored a total of 32 goals in 105 appearances.Serie A: 1989–90ParmaUEFA Cup: 1994–95
European Super Cup: 1993ChelseaFA Cup: 1996–97, 1999–2000
Football League Cup: 1997–98
FA Charity Shield: 2000
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98
UEFA Super Cup: 1998IndividualSerie A Top-assist provider: 1992–93
ESM Team of the Year: 1994–95
Premier League Player of the Month: December 1996, October 2002
FWA Footballer of the Year: 1997
Chelsea Player of the Year: 1998–99, 2002–03
Officer of the Order of the British Empire: 2004
Pallone d'Argento: 2004–05
Chelsea Centenary XI: 2005
Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea": 2005
English Football Hall of Fame: 2006
Premio internazionale Giacinto Facchetti: 2010
Football League Championship Manager of the Month: February 2013
Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2022
athletics competitive physical activity physical competition