4. Gianfranco Zola.
A student of Diego Maradona whilst at Napoli, Zola’s free-kick expertise was phenomenal, scoring a number in a fashion identical to the legendary Argentine.
It wasn’t just free-kicks the young Zola learnt whilst at Napoli though; his trickery and dribbling also became a trademark.
Whilst playing understudy to Diego, Zola earned his first call-up to the national team in 1991, though his international career would never really flourish – his path blocked by another number 10, the great Roberto Baggio.
A place Zola did flourish however was Parma, where he moved to in 1993, becoming part of one of the most exciting success stories of ’90s Serie A folklore. At Parma, Zola was king; the creative genius in an attacking team that won both the UEFA and Italian cup in 1995, whilst almost winning Serie A.
Zola became one of the first pioneers for the foreign boom in the English Premier League, joining Chelsea in 1996. He is one of only a few Italian’s to truly flourish whilst playing outside of Serie A, taking the English league by storm winning the league’s Player of the Year award and establishing himself as a club legend. The diminutive fantasista’s repertoire of tricks and guile was a joy to watch in a more open and attacking league, as he inspired Chelsea to cup silverware both domestically and in Europe.
’90s clubs: Napoli, Parma, Chelsea
‘90s apps/goals: 309/112
‘90s honours: UEFA Cup, UEFA Supercup x 2, UEFA Cup Winners Cup, FA Cup x 2, League Cup, Coppa Italia, Premier League Player of the Year.
