Gianfranco Zola: The Moments That Made Them
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Hello and welcome to The Rest Is Football with Micah Richards, Alan Shearer and me, Gary Lineker, on our latest episode of the Premier League greats, the moments that made them. We've got a diminutive soul, a very likeable chap. We probably all work with a little bit in television. over the years, one of Chelsea's greats. And he came probably in the era just before Chelsea established themselves as a giant in terms of winning trophies. It's one, Gianfranco Zola.
I also think, Gary, he came at a time when maybe that year or the season before when he signed, that it was just starting to turn and bring in the quality foreign players in. Into the Premier League in general. Into the Premier League in general, I think, because it started in 92, but then... Two or three years after that, I think, then we saw real quality coming into it.
Probably because people started to see that the Premier League was looking like it was going to be successful.
Yeah, and speaking of quality, this guy was. I mean, he was... How good we're talking? We're talking one of the very, very best in terms of balance and technique and passing and dribbling ability with the ball. He was fantastic. He was so hard to knock off the ball as well.
He was brilliant. He learned from one of the greats, well, probably the great of his time, of his generation, Diego Maradona.
Really?
Because he was at Napoli with him before. And... I mean, he even taught him free kicks. He'd learned off Diego. Diego actually took him to science. He said, you do this, you do this.
Well, he did a good job teaching him that.
Yeah, he was seen as the kind of, I suppose, following on from Diego. But I mean, big boots to fill. But you could see why, because there were similarities, you know, diminutive and super skillful and deft touch. I mean, obviously, Diego was Diego. But there were a lot of seriously, seriously talented players around. But Zola was, I thought he was really special.
He was, yeah.
Lovely touch. Strong. Was he strong?
When you're trying to knock him off the ball or get him off the ball. Yeah, he was really strong, yeah.
You just about crossed, didn't you, to play against him?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I played against him on that Chelsea team. Yeah, really top player. I played against him in charity things after I retired. And, I mean, I perhaps didn't appreciate when I was playing against him in real games just how good he was. And then I played against him in a charity game and I'm thinking, this guy, my God, no one can get the ball off him. In the charity games, it was like he was such a good player. So intelligent. Touch, touch. Touch was magnificent. Yeah, it was. Just the way he looked after the ball, protected the ball. Yeah.
He'd had quite a bit of a career before he actually came to England because he obviously played at Napoli with Diego and then Parma. And that's where he came to Chelsea from, Parma. He made his debut in 1996. Quite a good year for some people, Alan, that one. If you had a glimpse there before you saw him take it with the right foot, he actually looks like Diego Maradona on that. Doesn't he?
You see that?
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–4:48
2
What moments defined Gianfranco Zola's impact at Chelsea?
4:48–7:16
3
How did learning from Diego Maradona influence Zola's playing style?
7:16–11:09
4
What was Zola's debut season like in the Premier League?
11:09–15:21
5
How did Zola contribute to Chelsea's early successes?
15:21–19:37