Zola is a candidate with Marani at the helm of Serie C
The former Magic Box: «Lega Pro must once again become a springboard for our young players»
Gianfranco Zola at the Domus on the occasion of the match against Como (Archive)
He doesn't do it for politics. Gianfranco Zola wants to lend a hand to relaunch Italian football, to re-found it from the grassroots.
With barbaric humility, but also with the same grit he put on the pitch, supported by a technique and a talent that made him the true Magic Box of world football, he accepted without hesitation the invitation to join, as vice president in case of choice, the journalist Matteo Marani at the helm of Lega Pro. He, who emerged from Serie C at the age of 23 with Torres, and who the following year was already raging with Maradona's penultimate Napoli, the one who won the Scudetto in 1990.
He arrived late in Serie A, very late in the Premier League, but at Chelsea they still light up just hearing the name of the player who then, to make a dream come true, decided to end his career with one last feat: bringing Cagliari from Serie B to Serie B. A, leaving it to us. His latest goals? A brace against Juve. After experiences on the bench (with Cagliari and as Sarri's deputy at Chelsea, with the victory of a Europa League) and as a television commentator, now - with all the wisdom of his 56 years - he begins the climb to the managerial career in the world which he gave everything.
Zola, who made him do it?
«I applied because a friend, Matteo Marani, a capable, intelligent and respectable person, asked me to. A friend who can give a lot to Serie C».
Lega Pro has been waiting for structural reforms for years. Will you be able to make them?
«The C could be an exceptional gym for our youngsters. We have to go back to being good at growing our new talents».
The path is fraught with obstacles, don't you think?
“There are problems for sure. It will be up to us to identify them and develop innovative ideas to grow the movement. Serie C must once again become a laboratory and springboard for young players. I am part of a good working group, I make myself available with my skills».
Do you see a collaboration between Lega Pro and the major leagues, i.e. B and A, possible?
«Collaboration between the various Leagues is fundamental. What's more: it's a necessity."
What do you remember about “your” Serie C?
«Definitely the derbies between Cagliari and Torres. I played for the rossoblùs from Sassari, with an extraordinary team that came close to Serie B. An experience that I keep in my heart, also because I had a lot of fun».
In your opinion, can Torres and Olbia aspire to the higher category?
«In the year of the Sardinian derby in Serie C, Ranieri's Cagliari went up, whom I had as coach in Naples and who has now returned to the island where everything, for him, had begun. At the basis of that splendid exploit there was a great deal of work, especially on young people and on the youth sector. I arrived at C2, with the Nuorese, from amateurism, to be exact from Corrasi. And then I went to C1 at Torres. Young players must be the basis for a general restart for Italian football".
The best goal you've scored in Serie C?
«The one at Entella, in the year in which Torres moved up to C1 from C2. Also because it was decisive, in a challenge at the top».
After the experience at Torres she actually took Maradona's place at Naples. How did he do it, beyond his talent?
«That year Diego had not returned to Naples and Careca arrived late. These were the situations that guaranteed me some space. But, if I have to give an answer, I succeeded thanks to luck and a lot of work».
