| Gianfranco Zola |
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BIOGRAPHY Zola was born at in Oliena , Sardinia . He signed his first professional contract with Sardinian team Nuorese in 1984 . Five years later he signed for Napoli in Serie A . Talented Zola scored two goals as understudy to Diego Maradona as Napoli won the Italian title in 1990 . He helped Napoli to win the Italian Super Cup in 1991 and he made his debut for the Italian National Side under coach Arrigo Sacchi in the same year. In 1993 , Zola left Napoli and joined fellow Serie A side Parma . He won the UEFA Cup with Parma and they were runners-up in Serie A and the Italian Cup in 1995 . It was with the blue and yellow club that he cemented his reputation as a creative genius with unbelievable talent from dead-ball situations. In , European Cup Winners' Cup and Super Cup in 1998 . He helped Chelsea to win FA Cup again in 2000 . Zola's goal after 21 seconds on the pitch in the final of the Cup Winners' Cup against VfB Stuttgart at the Råsunda Stadium in Stockholm was perhaps his finest moment. Only his second touch of the game, he smashed the through ball from Dennis Wise past 'keeper Wohlfahrt into the roof of the net to secure Chelsea's first European trophy in 28 years and only their second in the club's history. Zola scored one of the best free kicks in Premier League history against Tottenham in January 2003 at Stamford Bridge. From a wide position level with the edge of the penalty area and over 25 yards out, he curled the ball high and wide into the top corner at the far post past a hapless Kasey Keller. His back-heel goal versus Norwich in the FA Cup of 2002 was another Zola special. His farewell Chelsea goal came against Everton at Stamford Bridge with an outside-of-the-foot lob from outside the box over Richard Wright. In the summer of 2003, amid rumours of an impending takeover at Chelsea, Zola left CFC to join Cagliari , a club from his native Sardinia . Within a week CFC was purchased by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich. Unable to persuade Zola to renege on his verbal contract with Cagliari, Abramovich attempted to purchase the entire Cagliari club. His offer for the club was rejected. Zola subsequently led Cagliari to promotion to the Italian Serie A . Then he renewed his contract for Cagliari Calcio for one more year. He retired in June of 2005 , after ending his career in appropriate style with a double against Juventus in his last ever professional game. Zola won 35 international caps, scoring 8 goals. He played for his country at the and . Zola last played in World Cup qualifier against England in Rome in October 1997 . His international career is best known to English fans for his goal against England at Wembley. In early 2003 , 'Franco was voted as the best ever Chelsea player by Chelsea's Fans . In November 2004 , he was awarded an OBE - Honorary Member of the Order Of The British Empire in a special ceremony in Rome. In 2005 Zola was voted into the Chelsea FC Centenary Eleven, occupying one of the two "forward" roles. Despite speculation he would play on in the 2005/2006 season, Zola decided to leave the game, just a week before he turned 39. He is currently an Italian football Pundit , though he also comments on European competitions. A true modern-day football genius, Gianfranco paved the way for many other foreigners to join the English game, while still being highly regarded in Italy. He scored 80 goals for Chelsea, including 14 superb free-kicks. Though Chelsea have not officially retired the jersey number, no senior Chelsea player has been assigned Zola's jersey number 25 in the three seasons since his departure. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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