Gianfranco Zola Quotes

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Gianfranco Zola

Profession : Athlete

Birth : July 5, 1966

In football, even when you do your best on the pitch, you can win or lose. That is the nature of the game.

Gianfranco Zola

During my time away from football I was with Milan and Barcelona during training. The most impressive thing about Barcelona was how humble they all are. The humility of the players and staff was fantastic.

Gianfranco Zola

A pianist practices for up to 10 hours a day. Then, when he takes to the stage, you see the harmony. Having such an elegant touch is a natural gift, but it's the daily training which allows you to perform that miracle and create feeling, even if you were born tone-deaf.

Gianfranco Zola

Maradona? You couldn't match him, but you could learn a lot from him. I did not play much, but I did learn plenty from him at Napoli. He was the best striker in the world and I was so lucky to have played with him. Some of the things he used to do you couldn't even dream about. It was absurd.

Gianfranco Zola

Some players mature at 18. Others at 28.

Gianfranco Zola

I went from being a player who had received just a few yellow cards in his career to a red card in a World Cup. It was a devastating moment for me. It was my first game in the World Cup, so I was excited and thankful for the opportunity. Being sent off was a big blow.

Gianfranco Zola

Carlo Ancelotti is a good coach and a good man. I worked with him for just three months at Parma, before I left for Chelsea, although I had worked with him before with the national team. In my first game for the national team I played with him.

Gianfranco Zola

They are both fantastic players. But I like Messi. Ronaldo is a fantastic goalscorer but I don't think he is as good as Messi when it comes to creating chances for others.'

Gianfranco Zola

The memories obviously of playing with Maradona are fantastic memories, he's probably the most important part of my career.

Gianfranco Zola

When I was making myself known I learnt a lot from him. I definitely regard him as the greatest, although it's difficult to say that and also unfair because there are players from different eras that have been so important and Maradona was one of them, but certainly he was an unbelievable player and I'm so glad I met him.

Gianfranco Zola

It's very difficult and unfair probably to compare players from different eras, because they were able to reach excellence in their time and they have to be rewarded for that.

Gianfranco Zola

Sometimes you need to get bored but when you get bored you persist in what you're doing and you get better.

Gianfranco Zola

I remember that when I was learning to play football, kicking a ball for example, I used to do it 300-400 times a day at least. There were moments when I got tired but I needed to do it repeatedly because if I wanted it to become a part of me, this was the process I needed to go through.

Gianfranco Zola

Working for a top club with a top coach has been good for me.

Gianfranco Zola

I was head coach before and my main ambition is to return to that. But to work for Maurizio and Chelsea was a great opportunity.

Gianfranco Zola

Chelsea is in my heart and I was so proud to achieve so much for the club.

Gianfranco Zola

Some leaders speak a lot in the dressing room, on the field and others do it with actions contributing important things in games, deciding big games.

Gianfranco Zola

Eden is the type of player who can make a big difference when he comes on, even for 20 minutes.

Gianfranco Zola

It is a pleasure for whoever loves football to enjoy watching Hazard.

Gianfranco Zola

It is not true that Sarri did not defend, indeed all of his work starts from there. But it's a different way to defend, in a much more advanced area of the pitch.

Gianfranco Zola