Gianfranco Zola facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Gianfranco Zola
OMRI, OBE

Zola in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Gianfranco Zola
Date of birth	(1966-07-05) 5 July 1966 (age 59)
Place of birth	Oliena, Italy
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s)	Forward, attacking midfielder
Youth career
1980–1983	Corrasi Oliena
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1984–1986	Nuorese	31	(10)
1986–1989	Torres	88	(21)
1989–1993	Napoli	105	(32)
1993–1996	Parma	102	(49)
1996–2003	Chelsea	229	(59)
2003–2005	Cagliari	74	(22)
Total		629	(193)
International career
1991–1997	Italy	35	(10)
1990–1997	Sardinia	2	(1)
Managerial career
2008–2010	West Ham United
2011–2012	Italy U16
2012–2013	Watford
2014–2015	Cagliari
2015–2016	Al-Arabi
2016–2017	Birmingham City
2018–2019	Chelsea (assistant)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Italy FIFA World Cup Runner-up 1994
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Gianfranco Zola, born on July 5, 1966, is a famous Italian football player and manager. He mostly played as a forward, which means he was an attacker who scored goals. He is known for his amazing skills and creativity on the field.

Zola spent the first ten years of his career playing in Italy. He played for Napoli with football legend Diego Maradona, winning the Serie A title in 1990. He also played for Parma, where he won the Italian Super Cup and the UEFA Cup.

Later, he moved to England and joined Chelsea. There, he was named the Football Writers' Player of the Year in 1997. With Chelsea, he won several trophies, including the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, the UEFA Super Cup, and two FA Cups. In 2003, Chelsea fans voted him the greatest player in the club's history.

Zola also played 35 times for the Italian national team. He played in the 1994 World Cup, where Italy finished second. He also played in Euro 1996. After retiring as a player, Zola became a manager for several clubs, including West Ham United and Watford. He also worked as an assistant manager at Chelsea.

Gianfranco Zola's Playing Career

Early Football Days

Gianfranco Zola was born in Oliena, Italy. He started his professional football journey in 1984 with a team called Nuorese. In 1986, he moved to Torres, where he played for three seasons.

Time at Napoli

In 1989, Zola joined Napoli, a big club in Italy's top league, Serie A. He made his debut that same year. As a young player, Zola scored two goals when Napoli won the Serie A title in 1990. This was the only league title he won in his career.

He played alongside the legendary Diego Maradona, who became a great friend and mentor to Zola. Maradona taught Zola many things, especially how to take amazing free kicks. Zola once said, "I learned everything from Diego."

Zola also helped Napoli win the Italian Super Cup in 1990. After Maradona left the club, Zola took over his famous number 10 shirt. In his last season with Napoli, he scored 12 goals and provided 12 assists. He scored a total of 32 goals in 105 games for Napoli.

Playing for Parma

In 1993, Zola moved to another Serie A team, Parma. He quickly became one of the best players in the league. With Parma, he won the UEFA Super Cup in 1993 and the UEFA Cup in 1995.

He almost won another Serie A title in the 1994–95 season, scoring 19 goals. Zola was known for his creative playmaking and goal-scoring ability. He was considered one of Italy's most talented attacking players.

However, in the 1996–97 season, the new manager, Carlo Ancelotti, preferred other players. Zola felt he wasn't playing in his best position. Because of this, he decided to look for a new club and moved to England. He played 102 league games for Parma, scoring 49 goals.

Becoming a Chelsea Legend

Zola's No. 25 Chelsea shirt, on display at the club museum

In November 1996, Zola joined Chelsea in the Premier League. He quickly showed his amazing skills and talent. In his first season, he helped Chelsea win the FA Cup. He scored four goals on the way to the final, including a fantastic curling shot against Liverpool.

At the end of that season, he was named the FWA Player of the Year. He was the first Chelsea player to win this award.

In the 1997–98 season, Zola helped Chelsea win three more trophies: the League Cup, the Cup Winners' Cup, and the Super Cup. In the Cup Winners' Cup final, he came on as a substitute and scored the winning goal in just 30 seconds!

When Chelsea played in the Champions League for the first time in 1999–2000, Zola was a key player. He scored three goals in their run to the quarter-finals. He also won another FA Cup with Chelsea in 2000.

In his final season with Chelsea, 2002–03, Zola had a fantastic year, scoring 16 goals. He was voted Chelsea's Player of the Year again. He scored his last goal for Chelsea with a brilliant lob against Everton. He played 312 games for Chelsea and scored 80 goals.

In 2003, Chelsea fans voted Zola the best player in the club's history. In 2004, he received an OBE award. His number 25 shirt at Chelsea was not used by any other player until 2023, when Moisés Caicedo asked Zola for permission to wear it.

Return to Italy with Cagliari

In 2003, Zola left Chelsea to join Cagliari, a team from his home region of Sardinia. He helped Cagliari get promoted to Italy's top league, Serie A.

He retired from playing football in June 2005, after scoring two goals in his very last professional game against Juventus. His number 10 jersey at Cagliari was retired for one season in his honor. Zola is one of the top free-kick scorers in Serie A history.

International Career with Italy

Zola first played for the Italian national team in 1991, when he was 25 years old. He played in the 1994 World Cup in the United States. In a match against Nigeria, he was unfortunately sent off after only 12 minutes on the field. Italy still won that game and reached the final, but Zola could not play again in the tournament.

He scored his first goals for Italy in 1995 against Estonia. Zola also played in Euro 1996. In a key match against Germany, he missed a penalty kick, and Italy was knocked out of the tournament early.

In 1997, he scored the only goal in a historic 1–0 win against England at Wembley Stadium. He played his last game for Italy later that year. Zola played a total of 35 games for Italy and scored 10 goals.

Gianfranco Zola's Managerial Career

Starting as a Coach

In 2006, Zola began his coaching career as an assistant manager for the Italy Under-21 team. He helped them reach the quarter-finals of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Managing West Ham United

Zola as manager of West Ham United in 2009

In September 2008, Zola became the manager of West Ham United in the Premier League. Even though he was famous for playing for Chelsea, West Ham fans quickly supported him. He helped the team play with more flair and brought young players into the first team.

West Ham struggled in the 2009–10 season, finishing just above the relegation zone. In May 2010, West Ham ended Zola's contract.

Leading Watford

In July 2012, Zola became the manager of Watford. In his first season, he led Watford to a great third-place finish in the league, which meant they could play in the promotion play-offs. They reached the final at Wembley, but lost 1–0 to Crystal Palace in extra time.

Zola resigned as Watford manager in December 2013.

Coaching Cagliari Again

Zola as manager of Cagliari in 2015

On December 24, 2014, Zola was appointed manager of Cagliari, the club he played for before retiring. His first game in charge was a tough 5–0 loss. He won his first game on January 11, 2015, a 2–1 victory. However, after less than three months, Zola was sacked in March 2015, as the team was still in the relegation zone.

Other Coaching Roles

Zola also coached Al-Arabi in Qatar from 2015 to 2016. He then managed Birmingham City in England from December 2016 to April 2017. He resigned after winning only two games during his time there.

From 2018 to 2019, Zola returned to Chelsea as an assistant coach to manager Maurizio Sarri. He left the club in July 2019 when a new head coach was appointed.

Gianfranco Zola's Playing Style

Zola swings in a corner kick for the Rest of the World XI at Soccer Aid 2006.

During his playing career, Zola was known for being a very creative and skillful player. He usually played as a supporting striker or an attacking midfielder. This meant he helped create chances for his teammates and scored goals himself.

He was famous for his amazing dribbling skills, vision, and passing ability. Even though he wasn't very tall, his small size made him quick and agile. This allowed him to change direction quickly and beat defenders easily.

Zola was also a specialist at penalty kicks and free kicks. He was especially good at bending direct free kicks into the goal. People often called him "Magic box" when he played for Chelsea because of his creative and exciting style of play.

Achievements and Recognition

Zola is considered one of the best Italian attacking players of all time. He helped open the door for many Italian players to play outside of Italy. In 2022, he was added to the Italian Football Hall of Fame.

He is also seen as one of the best players in Chelsea's history and in the Premier League. In 2003, Chelsea fans voted him their greatest player ever. In 2006, he was inducted into the National Football Museum's English Football Hall of Fame.

For his sportsmanship and playing ability, Zola received several awards, including the Pallone d'Argento in 2005.

Personal Life

Gianfranco Zola is married to Franca, and they have three children. His son, Andrea, also played football for some time.

Media Appearances

Zola has appeared in the EA Sports' FIFA video game series. He was included in the Ultimate Team Legends in FIFA 14.

There was a long-running rumor that Zola appeared in the music video for Bonnie Tyler's 1983 song "Total Eclipse of the Heart". However, Zola confirmed in a 2012 interview that he was not in the video.

Career statistics

Club

International

Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zola goal.

List of international goals scored by Gianfranco Zola

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	25 March 1995	Stadio Arechi, Salerno, Italy	Estonia	1–0	4–1	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
2				3–0
3	29 March 1995	Republikan Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine	Ukraine	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
4	26 April 1995	Žalgiris Stadium, Vilnius, Lithuania	Lithuania	1–0	1–0	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
5	15 November 1995	Stadio Giglio, Reggio Emilia, Italy	Lithuania	2–0	4–0	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
6				3–0
7				4–0
8	22 January 1997	Stadio La Favorita, Palermo, Italy	Northern Ireland	1–0	2–0	Friendly
9	12 February 1997	Wembley Stadium, London, England	England	1–0	1–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	29 March 1997	Stadio Nereo Rocco, Trieste, Italy	Moldova	2–0	3–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification

Managerial statistics

Honours

Player

Torres

• Serie C2: 1986–87

Napoli

• Serie A: 1989–90

Parma

• UEFA Cup: 1994–95
• European Super Cup: 1993

Chelsea

• FA Cup: 1996–97, 1999–2000
• Football League Cup: 1997–98
• FA Charity Shield: 2000
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1997–98
• UEFA Super Cup: 1998

Italy

• FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1994

Individual

• Serie 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: 1999, 2003
• Pallone d'Argento: 2004–05
• Chelsea Centenary XI: 2005
• Premio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea": 2005

Manager

Individual

• Football League Championship Manager of the Month: February 2013

Orders and special awards

• Officer of the Order of the British Empire: 2004
• English Football Hall of Fame: 2006
• Premio internazionale Giacinto Facchetti: 2010
• Italian Football Hall of Fame: 2022

See also

In Spanish: Gianfranco Zola para niños