Legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who was in charge at Old Trafford for a record 26 seasons, has opened up about the most annoying player he faced in his time at the club. The 80-year-old managed as well as came up against a host of world-class players, but has picked Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola as the one who loved playing against his Red Devils at a time when no one wanted to face them.
Gianfranco Zola made 310 appearances for Chelsea, scoring an impressive 78 goals and providing 23 assists as he plied his trade at the club from 1997 to 2003. Although Sir Alex Ferguson’s United was dominating English football at that time, the former manager still credits Zola for being a ‘brave’ striker who was difficult as well as annoying to play against. And despite the Chelsea forward managing only 3 goals across the 19 times he faced United, Sir Alex Ferguson confessed he ‘loved watching’ the player, in his recent interview to The Mirror.
Sir Alex Ferguson lauds Zola for his personality and technical ability
Gianfranco Zola has rare group of players who have received applauds from Sir Alex Ferguson. The Scot, who oversaw a staggering 1368 Man United games, leading them to 831 victories has watched a pool of talented players rise to the fame. Lionel Messi, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario, Kaka, Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer are only a few names against whom Sir Alex Ferguson’s United locked horns. The 13-time Premier League winning manager still went ahead with Zola who irked him as he enjoyed playing against his Devils.
The Chelsea striker indeed was a menace to his opponents, as he beat them easily with his superior technical prowess and silky dribbling skills. Signed from Italian side Parma for £4.5 million, he led the Blues to six trophies in his seven year stay at the Stamford Bridge, including a UEFA Super Cup and two FA Cups. Speaking to The Mirror, Sir Alex Ferguson recalled how Zola was ‘unperturbed’ while coming up against United, as he told:
“Now, little Zola, he annoyed me. He was one of those players who was unperturbed about who he was playing against. He always seemed to have a smile on his face and that annoyed me. I said, ‘How can he be enjoying himself playing against United? Nobody else does.’
“He was fantastic. Talented. Beautiful balance. Brave. I remember we played Chelsea in the FA Cup a couple of years ago in the treble. We got them in the early rounds and we drew 0-0 at Old Trafford and I man-marked him. That’s how much respect I had for him. But he was a fantastic player. I loved watching him. He was enjoyable. That was the thing, for me to say that of an opponent tells you how much I admire them.”
After an illustrious career at Chelsea, Zola then moved back to Italy in 2003 with Cagliari Calcio. The striker then hung up his boots in 2007, having racked up 2004 goals across stints at Chelsea, Parma, Napoli and Cagliari. Zola managed to win a total of 8 trophies in his career, out of which 6 came at Chelsea, making him a Blues’ legend. He also made 35 appearances for Italy, scoring 10 goals and representing them at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Post his retirement, Zola entered the managerial world, holding the post at West Ham, Watford, Cagliari, Birmingham, Al Arabi, before making a return to Chelsea as an assistant manager under their former boss Maurizio Sarri. After the former Napoli manager got the sack at Stamford Bridge, Zola too left and has not returned to the managerial fold, taking up punditry duties.