Chelsea and Napoli icon Gianfranco Zola was recently inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame, which was created in 2011 by the FIGC and Fondazione Museo del Calcio to celebrate athletes, directors, and coaches alike, who have made their mark on the beautiful game in the Peninsula.
Zola was one of the ten recent inductees – the others include Zinedine Zidane, Jose Mourinho, Alessandro Altobelli, and Sinisa Mihajlovic, among others. While speaking of the famed accolade, the former number 10 also took the chance to comment on a host of football topics – from how the football landscape has changed from his playing days to Napoli’s current Scudetto charge.
Italy coach Roberto Mancini recently spoke of the lack of top-class talent coming up in the nation, and Zola has backed the manager’s comments.
“Roberto is right. Once the players came from the street or from the parish, I am one of them. Playing on the street you get used to going outside the box, you are more creative, while in a youth sector you grow up in a more organized and structured environment. After the advent of Arrigo Sacchi in Italy, the focus was more on tactical players than extroverts, this has brought benefits, but creativity has been neglected. I ascertained it by going in England.”
Zola has fond memories of his playing days at Napoli alongside Diego Maradona.
“I was lucky enough to experience that party in Naples, it was extraordinary. I would be extremely happy if the third Scudetto arrives, their people deserve it. I know how important it would be to them.”
The ex-Parma man reserved praise for Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, comparing him to the legendary George Best for his flair on the ball.
“I didn’t know him, and now I have a very high opinion of him. He is a very technical player, but also a team man. He has a great personality and his has been a crescendo, he has never stopped. He reminds me of Best.”
After a heroic stint at Chelsea, Zola ended his career with Cagliari – one season after helping them gain promotion from Serie B. He culminated his club career with 238 goals from 796 appearances.
Read Zola’s full interview here.
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