Gianfranco Zola

Gianfranco Zola arrived from Parma in November 1996 for £4.5 million and took the number 25 shirt. He was one of the Italians brought in by Ruud Gullit who changed for ever how England saw Chelsea.

Within months he was FWA Footballer of the Year for 1997, the first Chelsea player to win it and the only player ever to win it without playing a full season in England. Over seven years he played 312 games and scored 80 goals, and was twice voted the club’s Player of the Year (1999, 2003).

On the way to the 1997 FA Cup he curled in from 25 yards as Chelsea came back from 2–0 down to beat Liverpool 4–2, then scored with a back-heel and turn in the semi-final against Wimbledon. A League Cup, the Cup Winners’ Cup, the Super Cup, a second FA Cup in 2000 and the Charity Shield followed.

The most Zola moment may be Stockholm, 1998. Carrying an injury, he started on the bench for the Cup Winners’ Cup final against Stuttgart. He came on in the second half and scored the winner seconds later. In January 2002 he added the outrageous mid-air back-heel from a corner against Norwich.

In 2003 fans voted him the greatest player in Chelsea history. That year he went home to Sardinia and Cagliari, and in 2004 he was made an honorary OBE. He returned to Chelsea in 2018 as Maurizio Sarri’s assistant. For many he remains the most loved foreign player ever to grace the Bridge.

Sources

• Chelsea FC — Team of 120 (twice Player of the Year, the Norwich, United and Wimbledon goals)
• Wikipedia — List of Chelsea F.C. players (312 apps / 80 goals)
• Wikipedia — Gianfranco Zola (1996 transfer, 1997 FWA, 1998 Stockholm final, Norwich 2002, OBE)
• Wikimedia Commons — Zola 2018 (cropped).jpg (photo: @cfcunofficial (Chelsea Debs) London from London, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0)