Zola – The thrilling inside story

Zola – The thrilling inside story of football’s Numero Uno

Gianfranco Zola, who was born in Oliena, Italy on July 5, 1966, started playing professional football in 1984 for the Sardinian soccer team Nuorese. After spending a couple of years playing for his first team, he signed a contract with Torres, a team based in Sassari. He spent a total of three seasons with Torres.

In 1989, during his final season with the team, Zola was noticed by the legendary Italian football administrator Luciano Moggi, who at that time was associated with Napoli. Moggi noticed the young football sensation in Serie C1. In the same year, he was signed by Napoli for the upcoming season in Serie A; he was paid a sum of 2 million Lire for this signing.

Successful Stint with Napoli
He played his debut match for Napoli in 1989. The immensely talented Zola scored a couple of goals to help Napoli win the 1990 Serie A title. Soon, the team officials started considering him as the perfect substitute of the legendary Argentinean footballer Diego Maradona.

This transfer changed Zola’s professional football career completely. His friendship with Diego Maradona also played a significant role in shaping his career. The Argentinean had a huge influence on him and his playing career. They used to practice free kicks together for hours.

Gianfranco Zola was the main reason why Napoli won the 1990 Supercoppa Italiana. Due to the drug ban of Maradona during the 2nd half of the 1990-91 season, Napoli just managed to get the seventh spot on the league table. However, the individual performance of Zola was again the topic of discussion in the football world.

When the Argentina legend had to end his stint with Napoli due to the ban, he suggested that instead of looking for a substitute, Napoli should concentrate on helping Zola to grow.

In the 1992-93 Serie A season, which happens to be Zola’s final season with Napoli, he made a total of 33 league appearances and scored 12 goals. The total number of goals the Italian football star managed to score during his stint with Napoli is 32 (he made a total of 105 appearances for the club).

After leaving Napoli, Zola started playing for another Serie A team: Parma. He was signed for a whopping amount of 13 billion Lire.

Gianfranco Zola’s stint at Parma was also quite successful, which made him an International football sensation. After spending three seasons at Parma, he was signed by Chelsea in November 1996 for a massive amount of £4.5 million. Zola was one of the main players responsible for the club’s resurgence during the 1996-97 season.