44 Facts About Gianfranco Zola

Gianfranco Zola is an Italian football manager and former footballer who played predominantly as a forward.

Gianfranco Zola is currently in charge as vice-president of the Lega Pro, the Serie C football league.

Gianfranco Zola 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.

Gianfranco Zola 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.

Gianfranco Zola was manager of Watford from July 2012 until he announced his resignation on 16 December 2013.

The young and talented Gianfranco Zola scored two goals as understudy to Diego Maradona as Napoli won the Serie A title in 1990, the only league title of Gianfranco Zola's career.

Gianfranco Zola 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.

Gianfranco Zola was initially accused of betraying the club by the fans, although Zola denied this, noting that Corrado Ferlaino had been forced to sell other important Napoli players such as Jonas Thern, Ciro Ferrara and Daniel Fonseca, in order to overcome the club's debts.

Gianfranco Zola was played out of position in a left midfield role, scoring only 2 goals, as Ancelotti preferred to play Hernan Crespo and Enrico Chiesa up-front.

Gianfranco Zola became frustrated of playing in this role and ultimately made himself available for a transfer, moving to Premier League side Chelsea in November 1996.

In total, Gianfranco Zola made 102 league appearances with Parma, scoring 49 goals.

Gianfranco Zola scored three goals in Chelsea's run to the Champions League quarter-finals, including a curling free kick against Barcelona, and he again won the FA Cup with the club, with his free-kick in the final against Aston Villa setting up Roberto Di Matteo's winner.

Gianfranco Zola was limited to infrequent starts and many substitute appearances due to Ranieri's new policy of decreasing the average age of the Chelsea squad, preferring to play the gifted Icelandic youngster Gudjohnsen with Hasselbaink.

Gianfranco Zola did draw attention for his dominant performance when he scored with a notable backheeled effort in mid-air from a corner-kick, in an FA Cup tie against Norwich City on 16 January 2002.

Gianfranco Zola scored his final goal for Chelsea, a lob from outside the penalty area against Everton, on Easter Monday 2003, and made his final competitive appearance for the club on the final day of the season with a 20-minute cameo against Liverpool, beating four Liverpool players during a fantastic dribble late on in the match, gaining applause from both sets of fans.

Gianfranco Zola played in a total of 312 games for Chelsea and scored 80 goals, scoring 59 goals in 229 Premier League appearances.

Gianfranco Zola subsequently decided to return to Italy during the following season.

In early 2003, Gianfranco Zola was voted as the best ever Chelsea player by Chelsea's fans.

In 2005, Gianfranco Zola was voted into the Chelsea FC Centenary Eleven, occupying one of the two forward roles.

In 2007, Gianfranco Zola was voted by The Sun one of the top ten best foreign "artistic" players in Premier League history, coming in second place, behind George Best.

Gianfranco Zola retired in June 2005, after ending his career in appropriate style with a double against Juventus in his last professional game.

Gianfranco Zola retired as the fifth highest goalscorer of free-kicks in Serie A history, with 20 goals from set-pieces, and currently sits behind only Francesco Totti and Roberto Baggio, Alessandro Del Piero, Andrea Pirlo and Sinisa Mihajlovic.

Gianfranco Zola was called up for Euro 1996, and he played in all three group games at the tournament.

Gianfranco Zola won his final cap for Italy in the return fixture against England in Rome on 11 October 1997, which ended in a draw.

Gianfranco Zola retired from international play after he was not called up for the 1998 World Cup by manager Cesare Maldini, who had selected Del Piero and Roberto Baggio in his role.

Gianfranco Zola finished his international career with a total of 35 caps and ten goals.

Rumours were circulating within Australia that Gianfranco Zola was being chased by several A-League clubs, including Sydney, Melbourne Victory and Perth Glory, about a possible comeback, but Gianfranco Zola quashed such rumours.

Gianfranco Zola did play a charity match in Sydney in December 2006, appearing in both Marconi Stallions and APIA colours.

Gianfranco Zola played against Shrewsbury Town in the first match at their New Meadow stadium for "A-line Allstars" on 14 July 2007 as part of a kit sponsorship deal between the club and boot manufacturer A-line, who made Gianfranco Zola's boots.

In 2006, Gianfranco Zola started his coaching career, being appointed as assistant manager to Italy U21 manager and Pierluigi Casiraghi by the Italian Football Federation.

On 7 September 2008, it was reported that Gianfranco Zola had been interviewed in Rome for the vacant manager's position at West Ham United and had "impressed the Club's representatives" at the interview.

Gianfranco Zola received praise for integrating more youth products into the first team.

Gianfranco Zola was strongly linked with the managerial position at Watford in 2012, following the club's takeover by Udinese and Granada owner Giampaolo Pozzo.

On 24 December 2014, Gianfranco Zola was appointed as the new manager of Cagliari following Zdenek Zeman's dismissal.

On 11 July 2015, Gianfranco Zola was appointed coach of Qatar team Al-Arabi.

On 14 December 2016, Gianfranco Zola was named manager of EFL Championship club Birmingham City, replacing Gary Rowett who had been sacked earlier that day.

On 18 July 2018, Gianfranco Zola was appointed as assistant first-team coach to Maurizio Sarri at Chelsea.

On 4 July 2019, after the arrival of Frank Lampard as head coach, Gianfranco Zola departed the club.

Gianfranco Zola was a penalty kick and set piece specialist, who was particularly renowned for his accuracy at bending direct free-kicks; in 2013, Alex Richards of Bleacher Report placed him at number 12 in his list of the greatest dead ball specialists of all time.

Gianfranco Zola is regarded as one of the best Italian creative forwards of all time, and as one of the best players in Chelsea's and the Premier League's history.

Gianfranco Zola is married to Franca and has three children; his son Andrea played for Grays Athletic and has played for West Ham United reserves.

Gianfranco Zola was the subject of a long-running urban legend where it was believed by some people that he appeared in the video for Bonnie Tyler's 1983 song "Total Eclipse of the Heart".

Gianfranco Zola has appeared in a music video for the song "Zola" by Derry band Wonder Villains.

Gianfranco Zola once appeared in an episode of Renford Rejects, where he played a match for the Rejects against the Renford Razors and Martin Keown.