Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola trusts Antonio Conte will “start a new cycle of success” at Stamford Bridge.
Yesterday it was finally confirmed that current Italy boss Conte will take over the Premiership club after Euro 2016.
“He is a great Coach, has done so well in Italy, has some very good qualities, strong character and is the man who can start a new cycle of success for Chelsea, so I hope things go well for him,” Zola told beIN Sports.
Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola trusts Antonio Conte will “start a new cycle of success” at Stamford Bridge.
Yesterday it was finally confirmed that current Italy boss Conte will take over the Premiership club after Euro 2016.
“He is a great Coach, has done so well in Italy, has some very good qualities, strong character and is the man who can start a new cycle of success for Chelsea, so I hope things go well for him,” Zola told beIN Sports.
“He has very strong ideas, very determined and is very disciplined. He will bring all these qualities to Chelsea and hopefully he will be able to integrate into the culture.
“He has already coached in Italy, all these things, the language, they can influence the results, but he will bring self-discipline and determination, as well as tactical awareness and all these things can be good for Chelsea.
“Conte is one of those managers like (Pep) Guardiola, like (Diego) Simeone, like (Jose) Mourinho. They have got the careers to manage big teams. The results will tell us whether it is right or not, but I really hope so.”
Chelsea players are being warned in advance that Conte is a strict disciplinarian, even more so than Jose Mourinho.
“I don’t know what exactly Mourinho did and what Antonio will do. Discipline is a very important quality and it’s important that the players recognise this and they behave properly, because when you are in a group you have to maintain rules in order to have the right environment.
“Antonio knows this very well, he’s been coaching a top club like Juventus for a while and in a way it is similar to Chelsea and I’m sure he’ll find a way to answer the question.”
While Conte is on the way in, Claudio Ranieri is on the verge of winning the Premier League title with Leicester City.
“It’s good that we still have Coaches who are appreciated. I’m happy because the last few years haven’t been good and to see our Coaches appreciated and in good positions is good for us,” continued Zola.
“Ranieri is doing an amazing job, an amazing result. Claudio deserves it. It’s an amazing story for football. At a time when clubs invest millions into it and you see a team like Leicester dominate.
“It’s great because it shows money is not everything and it shows you can achieve results without spending everything.
“Not every club has huge resources and this will encourage them to keep working because it shows you can still get results.”