Chelsea

Gianfranco Zola: 'Maurizio Sarri must be given time at Chelsea'

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 22 July 2018

New Chelsea assistant Gianfranco Zola urges the club to give manager Maurizio Sarri time to implement his ideas at Stamford Bridge.

Gianfranco Zola has urged Chelsea to give new manager Maurizio Sarri time to mould the team in his image.

Sarri was confirmed as Antonio Conte's successor following protracted negotiations earlier this month, and this week appointed club legend Zola as his assistant at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea have become notorious for their high turnover of managers during the Roman Abramovich era - Sarri is number 13 in the past 14 years - but Zola believes that the two parties will be well suited to each other if Sarri is afforded patience by the board.

"As long as the people at the club supports the club, have a little bit of patience with him I'm sure they will get what they are expecting," he told the club's website.

"I like the way his teams play football. They are very organised, very good defensively but also play very good football. I've always liked coaches that promote this type of football.

"I believe this is the type of philosophy this club is looking for at the moment. I think it can be a very good marriage. Maurizio can give the club exactly what it is looking for.

"It's fantastic to be working again for the club. It's wonderful to be working with this coach. I have a lot of excitement and desire to do well in this adventure. I'm looking forward to doing my best and to make sure we keep on giving trophies and satisfaction to the club."

Zola scored 59 goals in 229 appearances for Chelsea during a seven-year stay at Stamford Bridge,