Gianfranco Zola met at Chelsea’s games against the Reds in an interview with Niv Debrat: “They surprised us tactically and made it very difficult for us”
In the years before Roman Abramovich took over Chelsea, Roman Abramovich was one of the great symbols of the blues. The Italian striker played for seven years on the blue side of London, left in 2003 with the arrival of the oligarch and parted as a club legend. In an interview he gave to Shileh Sport1 in London, Niv Debrat, Zola told about his time in the Blues, the loss to Hapoel Tel Aviv in the UEFA Cup and revealed – what did Diego Maradona do in training that made everyone applaud him? Watch the excerpt from the interview in the player above. Do you regret leaving Chelsea Just before the arrival of RomanAbramovich? “No, because I enjoyed my time here. I wouldn’t change the time I spent with my teammates, it was great from the beginning. Maybe we didn’t win as many titles as in the Abramovich era, maybe I could have been part of it for a while but I was already at an advanced age. Everything has an end, I decided that I want to end my career in my hometown of Cagliari, to help her achieve achievements”.
On the match against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the UEFA Cup, which ended in a red celebration: “The games were very difficult. We were not ready to meet such a ready and fit team. I played in the best leagues, so when you go to Tel Aviv you imagine it will be an easy game. It was far from reality.Mostly tactical. They surprised us with the level of tactics in both games and made it very difficult for us.” On Chelsea’s latest acquisitions: “This is not Paneika. This season is not as successful as everyone expected, including the club, but there is a very young team with lots of young people with potential, they may be the future.”