Gianfranco ZOLA

He made his Serie A debut with Napoli, where he came up through the ranks alongside Diego Armando Maradona. This experience helped him improve his technical skills and make a name for himself as a playmaker. At the end of the season, he won his first league title with the Napoli side.

After joining Parma, he made a name for himself as one of Serie A’s top playmakers. He represented the Italian national team at the 1994 World Cup in the USA, where they finished as runners-up.

The year he joined Chelsea. Over seven seasons with the “Blues”, the “Magic Box” – as he was dubbed by the English fans – scored 80 goals, winning major trophies, including 1 UEFA Cup, 2 UEFA Super Cups, and 1 Cup Winners’ Cup.

He returned to Sardinia to play for Cagliari. His experience was instrumental in helping the club secure promotion to the Serie A. After hanging up his boots in 2005, he began his coaching career, which led him to manage teams such as West Ham, Cagliari, and Chelsea. In 2009, while managing West Ham, he showed great sportsmanship when he publicly defended the referee following the wrongful sending-off of one of his players, reminding everyone that referees can make mistakes and deserve support rather than criticism.