Gianfranco Zola

 

 

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Chelsea 1998 European Cup Winners Cup Final shirt

Gianfranco Zola played 312 games for Chelsea, scoring 80 goals, arguably none more memorable than the only goal of the 1998 UEFA European Cup Winners Cup Final in a 1-0 victory against Stuttgart. Injury denied Zola a place in the starting line-up at the Råsunda Stadium in Stockholm but, as a second-half substitute he scored the winning goal after barely 30 seconds on the pitch, after receiving a through ball from Dennis Wise. Signed from Parma for £4.6 million November 1996, Zola was twice voted Chelsea Player of the Year, and was also voted Chelsea’s greatest ever player in 2003. In his first season at Chelsea, Zola was voted Football Writers Association Player of The Year, the only player ever to win it without playing a full season in English football and the first Chelsea player ever to win it too.

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