Gianfranco Zola reveals why his season at Chelsea with Maurizio Sarri was “exceptional, but difficult, as he has a very high opinion of his own ideas,” and analyses Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli sacking.
The Italy legend has made England his home after many years at Chelsea, as both player and assistant manager to Sarri.
“My season with Sarri was difficult, but exceptional in a professional sense,” Zola told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
Gianfranco Zola reveals why his season at Chelsea with Maurizio Sarri was “exceptional, but difficult, as he has a very high opinion of his own ideas,” and analyses Carlo Ancelotti’s Napoli sacking.
The Italy legend has made England his home after many years at Chelsea, as both player and assistant manager to Sarri.
“My season with Sarri was difficult, but exceptional in a professional sense,” Zola told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“It’s difficult because Sarri has a strong personality, he works very hard and has a high opinion of his own ideas. It wasn’t easy convincing him to use different methods when he had to deal with English football.
“It was exceptional because of the way he planned out his work, the focus on details in preparing for games and careful study of the opposition. All that represented an enormous learning curve for me.
“I tried to help him and his Italian staff to relate to and deal with the English culture, so that was my role. When he left, he didn’t thank anyone in particular, but that’s just what Sarri’s like. He is a very reserved man.”
The return to Italy was not surprising, but his destination of Juventus was a shock to many after his Napoli era.
“Sarri can bring Juve into a new dimension and I believe his experience at Chelsea can be extremely helpful too,” added Zola.
As for Napoli, they are struggling to rebuild after Sarri’s departure, having sacked Carlo Ancelotti this week to bring in Gennaro Gattuso.
“I am very sad, because I remain fond of Napoli and the city. From the outside, it looks as if the situation precipitated because there was a lack of balance. They scored fewer goals than in recent years and conceded more, which made them a more fragile team. Napoli don’t play badly, but their statistics have deteriorated.
“One of Carlo’s greatest qualities is the ability to create empathy within the dressing room, so I don’t think he ever lost control of the team.”
If anything, the friction was between the squad and President Aurelio De Laurentiis, while Ancelotti disagreed with the patron over a training retreat.
“I have always been against punitive training retreats, as they do nothing but irritate players and use up a lot of mental energy that could be spent elsewhere,” added Zola.
“De Laurentiis is like that, he doesn’t stay with anyone for long, but he does deserve credit for taking Napoli back to a high level. Now Rino Gattuso can return some the balance that the team lost in the first few months of this season.”
Zola’s hometown club Cagliari are flying high in fourth place at the moment, so are they really the Leicester City of Serie A?
“Leicester are not a fairy-tale, they are a reality. The same goes for Cagliari, as the club has been building for some time with a museum, social initiatives and handing the honorary presidency to Gigi Riva is a splendid move.”