In the world of football, when the return of the teams they made famous, such as Tevez, Drogba and Thierry Henry, the sensational effect is self-evident. But Gian Franco Zola is probably an outlier, the Sardinian-born player who never played for Cagliari before 2003, but when he joined this team, he was treated with the same courtesy as any legend returning.
A superstar who came out of Sardinia, Zola has always been considered a hero to local fans, born in the town of Oliena in Sardinia, where he has a strong sense of belonging.
Now, let's follow the trajectory of time to see how vividly this small man, who is known as the closest to Maradona, has had a vivid career.
Farewell to London
Zola once wanted to retire at Chelsea, after all, he was considered the signature player of the Premier League upstart's not very long history. But Abramovich still thought he was old,000, and that summer, Zola regrettably bid farewell to the team he had fought for for years and established a legendary status.
Zora, who fought alongside Maradona
Before heading to Chelsea, Zola was considered the closest man to Maradona's style of play, and they had a lot in common – the same diminutive stature, the same unpredictable free-kicks and the technical prowess. Most importantly, Zola can be said to be Maradona's personal disciple at Napoli, and it is also after Maradona that he won the only league title trophy of his career.
After leaving Napoli, Zola scored more than 50 goals for italy's billionaire Tanzi's Parma team, was the absolute core of the Milk Army, and as italy's main striker for Euro 1996, he was also considered one of the best Italian players of the era. In a 2003 interview with The Guardian, Zola said: "Leaving Chelsea is a difficult decision to make, but I thought well, when I leave here, I can only go to Cagliari, it's time for me to make good on my promise..."
Zola sacrificed so much to join Cagliari that his salary was cut by 90 percent, but he didn't care: "After playing abroad for so many years, I just want to show myself in front of the people of my hometown, I believe I can bring happiness to the people of Sardinia, just like I did in London." ”
When Zola left Parma, she probably thought about returning to Sardinia. But conditions at the time did not allow him to do so, whether it was salary requirements or the size of the team, Cagliari could not compare with the newly rising Chelsea. In fact, Zola's trip to Chelsea at the time caused great controversy – many Italian fans could not understand why the top stars of the world's first league at the time condescended to play for a non-traditional team in the Premier League that had not yet risen at that time. You know, Zola's performance in Parma is impeccable, he has been in the top three of the top scorers for two consecutive years, a silver boot, a bronze boot, and led the team to win the European Super Cup and the UEFA Cup, just turned 30 years old...
But then Zola spent 7 years to prove the correctness of his choice, and at Chelsea, he became the best witness to the rise of this upstart team, and also became the most legendary star in this team. Even a year before leaving Chelsea, he was still able to score almost 20 goals in all competitions, and if it were not for Abramovich's determination to promote the process of rejuvenation, Zola would have had a good ending at Chelsea.
Legendary achievements
Before Lampard and Drogba, Zola was considered the best in Chelsea's history
Cagliari is a typical civilian team that won only one Serie A title in 1970, and the leader at the time was The Italian national team scorer Riva. When Zola came to Cagliari, his goal was to win the title, but he was lowered from serie A standard to Serie B.
The 37-year-old Zola scored four goals in his first warm-up game for Cagliari and showed good form, although the opponent was an unbeatable amateur team and the final score was also 11-0. And in the 3-0 win over Catania, he scored an iconic free-kick. Of course, that season didn't go well for Cagliari, with Ventura sacked for the eighth time after losing 2-0 to Piacenza.
Zola then basically assumed the responsibility of coaching the field, and he led the team to turn things around, especially the 5-1 sweep of the leader Atalanta. In the last 11 matches, Cagliari won 10 games, and finally overtook Palermo and was promoted directly to Serie A as runner-up.
At the age of 38, Zola scored again in Serie A, Cagliari beat Brescia 2-1, Zola scored a penalty steadily, 3072 days after his last goal for Parma, and that season, Zola relied on excellent performances to lead Cagliari all the way to the top, in mid-December they were able to finish fourth, surpassing Inter and Roma, and reached the quarterfinals of the Coppa Italia.
Cover the coffin
Zola led the team to win the UEFA Cup in Parma
Although in that season, Cagliari did not enter the European competition due to lack of stamina, but Zola's performance was surprising, the star less than 1 meter 70 tall, even surrounded by Zebina and Thuram, scored an incredible header against Buffon, in that season, Zola scored 9 goals in 31 appearances, and he reflected the state that could make him continue to play.
However, Zola announced his retirement at the age of 39 because in Cagliari at that time, Zola saw a group of young players with unlimited possibilities, including David Suaso, Mauro Esposito, Massimo Gobi and others, all showing great potential. Zola played the No. 10 position that season mainly with Esposito, Rangela and others, but he also sometimes became a center in the 433 system.
After retiring from the army, Zora returned to live in London, where he also obtained a coaching certificate. In 2006, he was invited by Kasilaci to become the assistant coach of the Italian U21 national team, and after the 2008 Olympic Games, Zola flew solo and then coached West Ham United, Watford and other teams.
It is worth mentioning that in 2014, Zola returned to Cagliari as manager after many years, but was dismissed after 10 games because of poor performance, which also caused dissatisfaction among many Cagliari fans at the time.
Of course, this does not weaken his position in cagliari, although he has only played for this team for two seasons, but as a sardinian native, Zola's prestige here is unimaginable.
After Zola, Cagliari has also emerged leading figures such as Andrea Cossou (a member of the Italian team in the 2010 World Cup), Daniel Conte, Raja Nainggolan (Belgium international), but their charm is still not comparable to Zola's. In terms of sheer ability, Zola has conquered many people, including Chelsea fans who have previously voted him the greatest player in the club's history – a supreme honor for a foreign player.
But in the end, Zola chose the ultimate destination of his hometown, and in the final moments of his career, he still embodied the fascinating art of football, and finally ended his career here with a smile. (Back-up sports / Chen Chuan)