Gianfranco Zola facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Gianfranco Zola
OMRI, OBE

Zola in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth	(1966-07-05) 5 July 1966 (age 58)
Place of birth	Oliena, Italy
Height	1.68 m
Playing position	Forward
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)
National team
1991–1997	Italy	35	(10)
1990–1997	Sardinia	2	(1)
Teams managed
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)
Honours Men's football Representing  Italy FIFA World Cup Runner-up 1994
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Gianfranco Zola is a famous Italian football player and manager. He was born on July 5, 1966. Zola was known for being a very skilled forward, scoring many goals and setting up plays for his teammates. He was so good that he was even given special awards like the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and the Order of the British Empire.

Zola played for many top clubs during his career. He spent ten years playing in Italy for teams like Napoli and Parma. At Napoli, he won the Italian league title in 1990, playing alongside the legendary Diego Maradona. Later, he moved to England to play for Chelsea, where he became a club legend. He won several trophies with Chelsea, including the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. In 2003, Chelsea fans voted him their greatest player ever! He also played 35 times for the Italian national team, helping them reach the 1994 World Cup final.

After retiring as a player, Zola became a football manager. He coached teams like West Ham United, Watford, and Cagliari. He even returned to Chelsea as an assistant coach.

Club Career Highlights

Gianfranco Zola's journey in football began in Italy. He played for several teams before becoming a star.

Starting Out in Italy

Zola started his professional career in 1984 with Nuorese in his home region of Sardinia. In 1986, he joined Torres, where he played for three seasons. These early years helped him develop his skills.

Playing with Maradona at Napoli

In 1989, Zola joined Napoli, a big team in Italy's top league, Serie A. He played alongside the famous Diego Maradona. Zola learned a lot from Maradona, who even said, "Napoli doesn't need to look for anyone to replace me, the team already has Zola!"

Zola helped Napoli win the Serie A title in 1990. This was the only league title of his career. He also helped them win the Italian Super Cup in 1990. During his time at Napoli, Zola scored 32 goals in 105 games.

Success at Parma

In 1993, Zola moved to Parma. Here, he became one of the best creative players in Italy. He helped Parma win the UEFA Super Cup in 1993 and the UEFA Cup in 1995. He also reached the finals of other important competitions.

Zola scored 49 goals in 102 league games for Parma. He was known for his amazing skills and ability to create chances.

Becoming a Legend at Chelsea

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

In November 1996, Zola joined Chelsea in England. He quickly became a fan favorite. In his first season, he showed off his incredible talent, scoring many memorable goals. He helped Chelsea win the FA Cup in 1997. At the end of that season, he was named the Football Writers' Player of the Year. This was a huge award, especially since he hadn't even played a full season!

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

Zola continued to be a key player for Chelsea. He helped them reach the Champions League quarter-finals and win another FA Cup in 2000. Even as he got older, he kept scoring amazing goals. In 2002, he scored a famous backheeled goal against Norwich City, which his manager called "fantasy, magic."

In his last season with Chelsea, 2002–03, Zola scored 16 goals, his highest for the club. He was voted Chelsea's Player of the Year. He played 312 games for Chelsea and scored 80 goals. Chelsea fans loved him so much that they voted him the best Chelsea player ever in 2003. His number 25 shirt was not used by any other player for 20 years after he left, showing how special he was.

Zola playing for Chelsea Legends in 2018.

Returning to Italy with Cagliari

In 2003, Zola decided to return to his home island of Sardinia to play for Cagliari. He helped Cagliari get promoted to Italy's top league, Serie A. He retired from playing in June 2005, after scoring two goals in his very last professional game against Juventus. Zola is one of the top free-kick scorers in Serie A history.

International Career with Italy

Zola played for the Italian national team from 1991 to 1997.

World Cup and Euro Appearances

He played in the 1994 World Cup in the United States. In a game against Nigeria, he was unfortunately sent off, meaning he couldn't play in the next matches. Italy went on to reach the final of that World Cup.

Zola also played in Euro 1996. He set up a goal in Italy's first game. However, in a crucial match against Germany, he missed a penalty kick, and Italy was knocked out of the tournament early.

He scored an important goal against England in a World Cup qualifying match at Wembley Stadium in 1997, helping Italy win 1–0. Zola played 35 games for Italy and scored 10 goals.

Playing for Sardinia

Zola also played for the Sardinian national football team. He was the only professional player in their first official game in 1990. Seven years later, he scored the winning goal in a match against Corsica.

Life After Playing Football

After retiring as a player, Gianfranco Zola became a football expert on TV. He also played in charity matches around the world.

Managerial Career

Zola decided to use his football knowledge to become a manager.

Coaching Italy's Youth Team

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

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 English Premier League. Even though he used to play for their rivals, Chelsea, West Ham fans quickly supported him. He helped the team play with more flair and brought young players into the first team. He managed West Ham until May 2010.

Leading Watford

In July 2012, Zola took over as manager of Watford. In his first season, he led them to a great third-place finish in the league, which meant they played in the play-offs for promotion to the Premier League. They reached the final at Wembley Stadium but lost a close game. Zola resigned from Watford in December 2013.

Short Stint at Cagliari

Zola as manager of Cagliari in 2015.

Zola returned to manage Cagliari in December 2014. However, his time there was short, and he left in March 2015.

Coaching in Qatar and Birmingham

After Cagliari, Zola managed Al-Arabi in Qatar for a season. Then, in December 2016, he became the manager of Birmingham City in England. He resigned in April 2017 after a difficult period.

Assistant Coach at Chelsea

In July 2018, 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.

Player Profile: Zola's Style of Play

Gianfranco Zola was a truly special football player. He was often called a "supporting striker" or an "attacking midfielder." This meant he played just behind the main striker, helping to create goals and score them himself.

Skills and Abilities

Zola was famous for his incredible ball control and "dribbling" (running with the ball). He could change direction very quickly, making it hard for defenders to catch him. He had great vision, meaning he could see passes and plays that others couldn't.

He was also a "set piece specialist," especially good at taking "direct free-kicks." He could bend the ball with amazing accuracy into the goal. Even though he wasn't very tall or strong, his quickness and skill made him a nightmare for opponents.

Zola was also known for his hard work and fair play. He was a true professional. Because of his creative and magical style of play, Chelsea fans nicknamed him "Magic Box."

Personal Life

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

Zola in Media

Zola has appeared in the FIFA video game series. He was even included in the "Ultimate Team Legends" in FIFA 14.

There was a funny rumor for a long time that Zola appeared in the music video for Bonnie Tyler's song "Total Eclipse of the Heart." But Zola himself confirmed in 2012 that he was not in the video! He has, however, appeared in a music video for a song called "Zola" by a band called Wonder Villains. He also appeared in an episode of the TV show Renford Rejects.

Career Statistics

Club

International

International goals

Scores and results list Italy's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	25 March 1995	Stadio Arechi, Salerno	Estonia	1–0	4–1	Euro 1996 qualifier
2.				3–0
3.	29 March 1995	Republikan Stadium, Kyiv	Ukraine	2–0	2–0	Euro 1996 qualifier
4.	26 April 1995	Žalgiris Stadium, Vilnius	Lithuania	1–0	1–0	Euro 1996 qualifier
5.	15 November 1995	Stadio Giglio, Reggio Emilia	Lithuania	2–0	4–0	Euro 1996 qualifier
6.				3–0
7.				4–0
8.	22 January 1997	Stadio La Favorita, Palermo	Northern Ireland	1–0	2–0	Friendly
9.	12 February 1997	Wembley Stadium, London	England	1–0	1–0	1998 World Cup qualifier
10.	29 March 1997	Stadio Nereo Rocco, Trieste	Moldova	2–0	3–0	1998 World Cup qualifier

Manager

Honours

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
• 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

See also

In Spanish: Gianfranco Zola para niños