Top 66 Gianfranco Zola Quotes

People think because I’m a nice person I’m a weak person. But I don’t think being nice means you don’t know how to take tough decisions.

I’m not an enemy of formations and tactics because they are important – but you get to the point where the whole system loses balance.

I like working with young players.

I want the players to enjoy their football as much as I did in my career and to make it enjoyable for those who come and see it.

When I do something I like to do it well and I believe I’ve got a lot to give.

The Premier League is the biggest on the planet and the challenge is you have to be very good to make it in England.

English football is evolving. It’s no longer the game it used to be. Apart from the larger quantities of money which make it more attractive to foreign stars, the mentality is also different – everybody looks to win games no matter what, even if it means taking risks.

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

It is obviously pleasing to see your name associated with La Nazionale.

I think Ancelotti really likes London and he likes the way football is played over here. That doesn’t surprise me because, after Italy, if you come here, you really enjoy the culture.

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

Every manager, when things don’t go well, they feel bad about it. That, unfortunately, is our job.

I played many times as a player in European competition and I know how it can make a player better to play those kind of games.

I have always followed Scottish football quite closely.

Whatever type of football you want to play, if you don’t have certain principles you’re lost.

If someone can make a team champions, it is Tevez.

When I was playing football it was 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So I said to myself when I stopped that I wanted to dedicate myself to things I’d never done before. I even had a list.

A big club should have big characters and big men. The more strength you have in the dressing-room the better.

Of course you cannot make a Messi or a Maradona. But even players who are not considered very skilful, if you coach them in a certain way you can make them better.

The day you feel like you don’t have anything to prove, it’s better you go to the beach and stay there and take in the sunshine.

Eden Hazard’s definitely at the very top. He’s such an unbelievable player. The more I’ve spent time with him the more I appreciate him as a player, but also as a boy.

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.

Those who have a personality like Balotelli do things that other people maybe wouldn’t. Balotelli sometimes does things that look strange and unbelievable. But maybe for him it’s just a way to feel normal. He doesn’t want to cause problems or upset people.

Some players mature at 18. Others at 28.

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.

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

I am the first one to believe that if a player is happy in what he is doing he performs much more.

My love for the game is massive. That won’t change.

Sometimes players don’t like to be dropped and, when they don’t like something, they react.

When you are a talented footballer you rely on your abilities to win games. You use your skills without thinking. But in management that doesn’t work.

If you want to learn how to paint, go to Caravaggio.

In life you have to be ambitious, you have to look forward all the time.

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

Do I ever lose my temper? Sure, I do it all the time – just ask my wife, she will tell you.

There are those who think that in order to get respect you have to be some sort of tyrant or overly authoritative. You can be fair to people.

Playing football is one thing, but coaching is another.

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.

Everyone has to be the way that they are.

Chelsea is where I had the best satisfaction of all, where I was treated the best. This is a special place.

In football you never know what’s going to make you close to somebody.

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

I was very tired when I left West Ham, but that’s my character really. I gave everything. It can be bad, that, because you need to be at your best when you manage a football team. The players take it on board and see how you are.

In football you need freedom to try things.

Jorginho is not a player that has a lot of physicality and mobility but he is very intelligent and is always in the right place. If you have someone who can help him, he can make a big difference. It’s just about getting the best out of him.

I look back to the 1980s and 1990s, when Italian teams dominated Europe. They had maybe three players from abroad, but they were the best players in the world. That was perfect, because there was always the possibility for young Italian players to get in the team.

I felt Ancelotti did a good job for Chelsea and, like many fans, we are sorry for what happened to him.

Sometimes in football, like in life, you have to step into the wilderness. That’s the way to get better. You have to try new things and be positive.

Sometimes good work is done with passion, enthusiasm – presence can be as valuable as many millions of pounds.

If I felt like I needed to be aggressive all the time, it would have been impossible to be the player that I was. Or John Terry, if he had tried to be a player of finesse, probably he wouldn’t have been the same.

With Jorginho it depends what type of football you want to play. If you want to play possession where you have the ball all the time and you play a lot of passes, there are not many as good as him around. If you ask Jorginho to cover 50 metres of pitch in width and get all the balls back, it’s going to be difficult.

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.

It was great to win that competition and when people ask me what was my best moment in England, I always say winning my first FA Cup.

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

I always had the impression England never came to competitions with freedom of mind. They are so afraid of mistakes.

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.

I’m sure there are some people who still think I’m too much of a nice guy to be a manager but I’m certain that’s not an issue.

It’s not easy to make big players bond together.

I don’t think John Terry would have been the player he was if he hadn’t had Marcel Desailly or Frank Leboeuf in front of him with us at Chelsea.

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.’

I stopped playing football. And life wasn’t easy without football.

Chelsea is a very demanding club. They need to be in the Champions League and they need to win trophies because that is what the club has been doing for some time.

I have always admired the games between Celtic and Rangers. That’s one of the games that you always watch when it’s happening.

Pirlo is one of those players who, as they grow older, their football intelligence is such that they remain vitally important.

I’m a proud man.

I always loved playing an attacking form of flowing football.

You have to be who you are but work hard and make sure that you always give the best of yourself.