This is an accepted version of this page
.jpg) Zola in 2018 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gianfranco Zola[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1966-07-05)5 July 1966 (age 59)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Oliena, Italy | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward,attacking midfielder | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1983 | Corrasi Oliena | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1984–1986 | Nuorese | 31 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| 1986–1989 | Torres | 88 | (21) | ||||||||||||||
| 1989–1993 | Napoli | 105 | (32) | ||||||||||||||
| 1993–1996 | Parma | 102 | (49) | ||||||||||||||
| 1996–2003 | Chelsea | 229 | (59) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2005 | Cagliari | 74 | (22) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 629 | (193) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1997[2] | Italy | 35 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| 1990–1997 | Sardinia | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | West Ham United | ||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Italy U16 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Watford | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Cagliari | ||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Al-Arabi | ||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Birmingham City | ||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Gianfranco ZolaOMRI[3]OBE[4] (Italian pronunciation:[dʒaɱˈfraŋkodˈdzɔːla]; born 5 July 1966) is an Italian football executive,manager, and formerfootballer who played predominantly as aforward. He is currently vice-president of theLega Pro, the ItalianSerie C football league.[5]
He spent the first decade of his playing career in Italy, most notably withNapoli alongsideDiego Maradona andCareca where he won the1989–90 Serie A title, and atParma where he won theItalian Super Cup and the1994–95 UEFA Cup. He later moved to English sideChelsea, where he was voted theFootball Writers' Player of the Year in the1996–97 season. During his time at the club, he won the1997–98 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, theUEFA Super Cup, twoFA Cups, theLeague Cup, and theCommunity Shield. In 2003 he was voted the greatest Chelsea player ever.[6] He was capped 35 times forItaly from his debut in 1991, appearing at the1994 World Cup, where Italy finished in second place, andEuro 1996.
After a stint withItaly under-21s, Zola began his club managerial career withWest Ham United of thePremier League in 2008, before being sacked in 2010. He was manager ofWatford from July 2012 until he announced his resignation on 16 December 2013. From December 2014 to March 2015 he managedCagliari in Serie A. He returned to Chelsea as the assistant of new managerMaurizio Sarri on 18 July 2018, ahead of the 2018–19Premier League season.
Born inOliena,[1] Zola signed his first professional contract with Sardinian teamNuorese in 1984. In 1986, he moved to theSassari-based teamTorres, where he spent three seasons.
He was noticed byLuciano Moggi inSerie C1 in 1989, he signed forNapoli inSerie A for₤2 million, making his debut that year.[7] The young and talented Zola scored two goals as understudy toDiego Maradona as Napoli won theSerie A title in 1990, the only league title of Zola's career.[7][8] Zola scored his first goal againstAtalanta, whilst his second goal was scored againstGenoa, during injury time, which allowed Napoli to win 2–1 and maintain a two-point lead over Milan, who were Napoli's main title contenders, in second place.[7] Zola was excited by the transfer, and he developed an important friendship with Maradona, who commented "Finally they have bought someone shorter than me!"[8] Maradona would prove to be a big influence on Zola's career. The two would spend hours practising free kicks together after training and Zola later said that "I learned everything from Diego. I used to spy on him every time he trained and learned how tocurl afree-kick just like him."[8][9]
Zola helped Napoli to win theItalian Super Cup in 1990, partnering alongsideCareca following Maradona's drug ban during the second part of the1990–91 season, as Napoli finished in a disappointing seventh place. Due to his individual performances, however, Zola was given his debut for theItaly national team under coachArrigo Sacchi in 1991, winning his first cap againstNorway in November.[10] He temporarily inherited Maradona'snumber 10 shirt thefollowing season under managerClaudio Ranieri, after Maradona parted ways with the club due to his ban, scoring 12 goals in 34 appearances. Upon his departure, Maradona had recommended that the Napoli management focus on Zola's development, stating: "Napoli doesn't need to look for anyone to replace me, the team already has Zola!".[7] In his final season with the club, he managed 12 goals in 33 league appearances, and he also finished the1992–93 Serie A season as the joint top assist provider in the league, with 12 assists, alongsideFrancesco Baiano.[11] During his time in Napoli, Zola scored a total of 32 goals in 105 appearances.[7]
In 1993, Zola left Napoli and joined fellow Serie A sideParma for₤13 million, due to the poor economic situation of the Neapolitan club.[12] He was initially accused of betraying the club by the fans,[7] although Zola denied this, noting that Corrado Ferlaino had also been forced to sell other important Napoli players such asJonas Thern,Ciro Ferrara andDaniel Fonseca, in order to overcome the club's debts.[12] With Parma, he established himself as one of the league's top players, and he achieved notable domestic and European success; he came close to winning anotherSerie A title, in particular during the1994–95 season, in which he scored 19 goals in a close fought title-race with rivalsJuventus, although he ultimately failed to do so.[13][14][15] In his first season, he scored 18 league goals, and with the club, he won theUEFA Super Cup in 1993, and theUEFA Cup in 1995 with Parma, and he also reached thefinal of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1994, as well as the finals of theItalian Cup and theItalian Super Cup in 1995. It was with the blue and yellow club that he cemented his reputation as one of the best and most talented creative players in Italy, along withRoberto Baggio andAlessandro Del Piero.[13][14][15]
During the1995–96 season, Zola initially experienced competition in the team with Bulgarian forwardHristo Stoichkov, who played the same tactical role as Zola; as a result, Zola would begin to be deployed in the starting eleven with less frequency, losing his place in the squad, despite scoring 10 league goals.[7] During thefollowing season, managerCarlo Ancelotti came to see Zola as a "square peg" unable to fit into his rigid4–4–2 system upon his arrival at the club in 1996.[16] Zola was played out of position in a left midfield role, scoring only 2 goals, as Ancelotti preferred to playHernán Crespo andEnrico Chiesa up-front.[8][17] Zola became frustrated of playing in this role and ultimately made himself available for a transfer, moving to Premier League sideChelsea in November 1996. In total, Zola made 102 league appearances with Parma, scoring 49 goals.[7]
In November 1996, Zola joinedChelsea for £4.5 million as one of several continental players signed byRuud Gullit (including compatriotGianluca Vialli) and was assigned the number 25 jersey. He made his debut in a 1–1 draw withBlackburn Rovers atEwood Park. In his debut season he demonstrated his skill and talent, and put in several notable performances, scoring a series of memorable goals.[18] In February 1997, after spiriting the ball aroundManchester United's defence in thepenalty area before slotting the ball past goalkeeperPeter Schmeichel, he was described by United managerAlex Ferguson as a "clever little so-and-so".[19]
He was a key player in Chelsea's resurgence in the1996–97 season, helping them win theFA Cup with a 2–0 win overMiddlesbrough atWembley Stadium having scored four goals en route to the final, including a 25-yard curling shot againstLiverpool as Chelsea came from 0–2 behind to win 4–2, and a memorable goal of individual skill in the semi-final againstWimbledon, backheeling the ball and turning 180 degrees before slotting the ball into the net.[18][20][21] At the end of the season he was votedFWA Player of the Year, the only player ever to win the accolade without playing a full season in the English league and the first Chelsea player to win it.[22]
In the1997–98 season, Zola helped Chelsea win three more trophies, theLeague Cup, theCup Winners' Cup and theSuper Cup. An injury denied him a place in the starting line-up for the Cup Winners' Cupfinal againstStuttgart at theRåsunda Stadium inStockholm,[23] but he still played an important part in Chelsea's victory, as he came on as a second-half substitute and scored the winning goal after barely 30 seconds.[24] With only his second touch of the game, he struck a through ball fromDennis Wise into the roof of the net to secure Chelsea's third major trophy in a year and the second European trophy in the club's history.[7][25] In the same season, Zola hit his first professionalhat-trick, in a 4–0 victory overDerby County at Stamford Bridge in November 1997.[26]
| "Gianfranco tries everything because he is a wizard and the wizard must try." |
| — Claudio Ranieri reflecting on Zola's back-heeled goal against Norwich in 2002.[27] |
When Chelsea made their first appearance in theChampions League in1999–2000, Zola was a key player throughout the campaign, although he found his chances in the Premier League more limited, owing to managerGianluca Vialli's squad rotation policy. Zola scored three goals in Chelsea's run to the Champions League quarter-finals, including a curling free kick againstBarcelona, and he again won theFA Cup with the club, with his free-kick in thefinal againstAston Villa setting upRoberto Di Matteo's winner. His later years with Chelsea saw his appearances restricted by the new strike pairing ofJimmy Floyd Hasselbaink andEiður Guðjohnsen. During the2000–01 Premier League season, Zola managed 9 league goals.
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In the2001–02 season, Zola's starting chances became limited, after a summer when Claudio Ranieri showed the door to many of Chelsea's ageing stars such as club captainDennis Wise, goalscoring midfielderGustavo Poyet and French defenderFrank Leboeuf, scoring only 3 goals. Zola was limited to infrequent starts and many substitute appearances due to Ranieri's new policy of decreasing the average age of the Chelsea squad, preferring to play the Icelandic youngster Gudjohnsen with Hasselbaink. Zola did draw attention, however, for his dominant performance when he scored with a notable backheeled effort in mid-air from a corner-kick, in anFA Cup tie againstNorwich City on 16 January 2002.[28][29] ManagerClaudio Ranieri described the goal as "fantasy, magic".[30]
In2002–03, his final season with Chelsea, he enjoyed a renaissance, scoring 16 goals, his highest seasonal tally for Chelsea, and was voted the club's player of the year after helping Chelsea qualify for the Champions League. Zola scored his final goal for Chelsea, a lob from outside the penalty area against Everton, on Easter Monday 2003. He made his final competitive appearance for the club on the final day of the season with a 20-minute cameo against Liverpool, beating four Liverpool players with a dribble late on in the match, gaining applause from both sets of fans in one of the final moments of his career. He played in a total of 312 games for Chelsea and scored 80 goals, scoring 59 goals in 229 Premier League appearances.[7] He subsequently decided to return to Italy during the following season.
Zola was voted as the best ever Chelsea player by Chelsea's fans in early 2003.[6] In November 2004, he was awarded anOBE, Honorary Member of theOrder of the British Empire in a special ceremony in Rome.[4] In 2005, Zola was voted into the Chelsea F.C. Centenary Eleven, occupying one of the two forward roles. No Chelsea player held Zola's number 25 shirt since his departure in 2003 until the number was given toMoisés Caicedo 20 years later in 2023 after he contacted Zola for permission to wear the shirt.[31] Zola was also voted byThe Sun one of the top ten best foreign "artistic" players in Premier League history in 2007, coming in second place behindGeorge Best.[32]
In the summer of 2003, amid rumours of an impending takeover at Chelsea, Zola left Stamford Bridge to joinCagliari, from his nativeSardinia. Within a week Chelsea was acquired by Russian billionaireRoman Abramovich.
It was reported that Abramovich tried to buy the entire Cagliari club when Zola refused to renege on his verbal contract with Cagliari, although Zola himself will not confirm it.[33][34] Zola subsequently led Cagliari to promotion to the ItalianSerie A, then renewed his contract for one more year. He retired in June 2005, after ending his career in appropriate style with a double against Juventus in his last professional game. His number 10 Cagliari jersey was withdrawn in his honour for the season after he left but was worn in the 2006–07 season byAndrea Capone.[35] Zola retired as thefifth highest goalscorer of free-kicks in Serie A history, with 20 goals from set-pieces, and currently sits behind onlyFrancesco Totti andRoberto Baggio (both at 21),Alessandro Del Piero (22),Andrea Pirlo (26) andSiniša Mihajlović (28).[36] With 12 goals from free kicks, he is also the joint–third all-time goalscorer from set-pieces in the history of the Premier League, alongsideThierry Henry andCristiano Ronaldo, and behind onlyJames Ward-Prowse (17) andDavid Beckham.[37]
Zola made his debut forItaly aged 25 on 13 November 1991 in Genoa, under managerArrigo Sacchi, in aEuro 1992 qualifier againstNorway which ended 1–1.[10] He appeared at the1994 World Cup in the United States, making one substitute appearance on his 28th birthday in the second round knock-out match againstNigeria in Boston, with Italy trailing 1–0. After only twelve minutes on the field, Zola was controversially sent off, after being judged by the referee to have fouledAugustine Eguavoen.[38][39] Although Italy managed to win the match 2–1 in extra-time and reach the World Cup final, Zola did not regain his place in the side after this suspension.[40]His first two goals came on 25 March 1995, in a 4–1 win againstEstonia in Salerno in aEuro 1996 qualifier.[2][41]
Zola was called up forEuro 1996, and he played in all three group games at the tournament. He set upPierluigi Casiraghi's second goal in the team's 2–1 win in the opening group match againstRussia,[42] but in the team's final group match, he notably missed a potential match-winningpenalty in a 0–0 draw against eventual championsGermany as Italy surprisingly crashed out in the first round.[43] He scored the only goal of the game in an historic 1–0 victory overEngland in a 1998World Cupqualifying match at Wembley, on 12 February 1997.[44] He won his final cap for Italy in the return fixture against England in Rome on 11 October 1997, which ended in a draw.[2][45] He retired from international play after he was not called up for the1998 World Cup by managerCesare Maldini, who had selected Del Piero and Roberto Baggio in his role. Zola finished his international career with a total of 35 caps and ten goals.[2][45]
As aSardinian he could also be eligible for theSardinian national football team, who represented the island on several occasions inNon-FIFA football. Indeed, he played in the first ever official documented appearance of the formation in 1990. TheEngland national football team was inSardinia for a training camp in order to prepare the1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, where, among other things, it would have played two of the three matches of the group stage inCagliari.[46] Therefore, it had been set up a XI formed by the best Sardinian players caught betweenSerie C andAmateurs to face the Lions in their first friendly match. Zola, at that time a player forS.S.C. Napoli, was the only professional player and the most representative one of the squad. TheThree Lions won with a 10–1 score.[47][48] 7 years later he was called for the second match againstCorsica. For this match, all professional players were called (Zola was inParma A.C.) and the Sardinians won 1–0 with a winning goal by Zola.[49]
In his playing career, Zola played 628 games and scored 193 goals in league play. Despite speculation he would play on in the 2005–06 season, Zola decided to leave the game just a week before he turned 39, and took a job as an Italian footballpundit. Rumours were circulating within Australia that Zola was being chased by severalA-League clubs, includingSydney,Melbourne Victory andPerth Glory, about a possible comeback,[50] but Zola quashed such rumours.[51] He did, however, play a charity match in Sydney in December 2006, appearing in bothMarconi Stallions andAPIA colours. Zola also played againstShrewsbury Town in the first match at theirNew Meadow stadium for "A-line Allstars" on 14 July 2007 as part of a kit sponsorship deal between the club and boot manufacturer A-line, who made Zola's boots.[52]
In 2006, Zola started his coaching career, being appointed as assistant manager toItaly U21 manager andPierluigi Casiraghi by theItalian Football Federation.[53] The duo led theazzurrini to the2008 Olympics in Beijing, where they reached the quarter-finals before being defeated 3–2 byBelgium under-21s.
On 7 September 2008, it was reported that Zola had been interviewed inRome for the vacant manager's position atWest Ham United and had "impressed the Club's representatives" at the interview. Two days later, he agreed a three-year contract to manage West Ham United, replacingAlan Curbishley, who resigned following differences with the board.He was unveiled as manager on 11 September, despite not having the requiredUEFA A managing licence. Zola, surprisingly for someone closely associated with West Ham's cross-town rivals Chelsea, quickly gained the backing of the fans. Nevertheless, he received applause from Chelsea fans whenever he returned toStamford Bridge as West Ham manager.[54] After a shaky start Zola began to develop a side with a flair not seen in a West Ham side for some years.[55]
Zola also received praise for integrating more youth products into the first team.[56] The likes ofJunior Stanislas andZavon Hines were given their debuts. The duo and first team youngstersJack Collison andJames Tomkins all scored their first goals for the club during his tenure. In April 2009, Zola signed a contract that could have kept him at Upton Park until 2013.[57]
West Ham struggled in the 2009–10 season. Zola's position as manager was put in doubt when he revealed he had not been consulted over a bid forWest Bromwich Albion playerGraham Dorrans and by chairmanDavid Sullivan's announcement that the entire squad was for sale except for midfielderScott Parker. West Ham finished in 17th place, only five points above the relegation places.[58] On 11 May 2010, two days after the end of the2009–10 season, West Ham announced the termination of Zola's contract with immediate effect.[59]Avram Grant was announced as his successor on 3 June 2010, and a week later it was announced that the club had reached a compensation settlement with Zola.[60]
Zola was strongly linked with the managerial position atWatford in 2012, following the club's takeover byUdinese andGranada ownerGiampaolo Pozzo. He was confirmed as Watford manager on 7 July, signing a two-year contract.[61]
In his first season, Zola led Watford to 3rd place and a play-off position, which then saw them progress to the final atWembley. There, they lost 1–0 to 5th place sideCrystal Palace after extra-time.[62] On 16 December 2013, Zola resigned as Watford manager.[63] At the time of his resignation, Watford were 13th in the league, had not won since October 2013 and had lost their last five home games.[64]
On 24 December 2014, Zola was appointed as the new manager ofCagliari followingZdeněk Zeman's dismissal.[65] In his first match in charge, on 6 January 2015, Cagliari lost 0–5 atPalermo withDaniele Conti being sent off in the first half, the result keeping the club in the relegation zone.[66] Two days later he completed his first transfer as manager of the club, taking centre-backAlejandro González on loan from fellow Serie A clubHellas Verona.[67] Zola won his first game on 11 January 2015, a 2–1 win overCesena.[68] After less than three months as Cagliari's manager, Zola was sacked on 9 March 2015, after being unable to escape the relegation zone after 10 matches; following his dismissal, Zeman was reinstated as Cagliari's manager.[69]
On 11 July 2015, Zola was appointed coach of Qatar teamAl-Arabi.[70] After a poorfirst season in theQatar Stars League, he was sacked, having achieved 10 wins from 26 games, losing 11, with the team placing 8th out of 14.[71][72]
On 14 December 2016, Zola was named manager ofEFL Championship clubBirmingham City, replacingGary Rowett who had been sacked earlier that day.[73] At the time, Birmingham sat 7th in the table, outside the playoff positions only ongoal difference.[74] Three days later, the team conceded a late goal to lose his first game in charge 2–1 at home to second-placedBrighton & Hove Albion.[75] They did not win until Zola's 11th match in charge, a 1–0 win overFulham on 4 February 2017.[76] On 17 April, Zola resigned as manager following a 2–0 home defeat toBurton Albion which left the team just three points above the relegation zone with three matches remaining. They had won just twice during his 24-match tenure.[77]
On 18 July 2018, Zola was appointed as assistant first-team coach toMaurizio Sarri at Chelsea.[78] On 4 July 2019, after the arrival ofFrank Lampard as head coach, Zola departed the club.[79]
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During his playing career, Zola was primarily used as asupporting striker or as aplaymakingattacking midfielder, due to his ability to create chances and provideassists for teammates; he was also deployed as awinger (although this was not his favoured position, as he did not excel in this role) or even as astriker on occasion.[80]
A creative, technically gifted and selfless right-footed team player, Zola was renowned for his ball control, his skilfuldribbling ability, vision, and passing ability with either foot, as well as his tactical intelligence, ability to read the game and eye for goal.[32][45][81][82][83][84][85] Although he was not physically imposing, his small stature and lowcentre of gravity gave him good balance and allowed him to be extremely quick and agile, which, along with his acceleration, speed, and ball skills, enabled him to change direction with the ball very quickly in tight spaces, and allowed him to beat defenders withfeints in one on one situations.[6][45][86][87]
Zola was also apenalty kick andset piece specialist, who was particularly renowned for his accuracy atbendingdirect free-kicks.[88] In addition to his playing ability, Zola also stood out for his tenacity andwork rate throughout his career,[89][90][91] as well as his professionalism and fair–play.[92][93] However, he was also known to be inconsistent on occasion, although he drew praise from managers and teammates for his ability to be decisive even when he was not at his best,[94][95][96][97] and from pundits for his performances in big games.[98] Due to his creativity, stature, and skill, Zola was given the nickname "Magic box" while playing at Chelsea.[88]
Zola is regarded by pundits as one of the best Italian creative forwards of all time, and is credited for paving the way for Italian players to play outside of thepeninsula; in 2022, he was inducted into theItalian Football Hall of Fame.[90][99][100] He is also considered one of the best players in both Chelsea's[87][101][102] and the Premier League's history;[103] in 2003, he was voted Chelsea's greatest player ever,[6][104] while in 2006 he was inducted into the National Football Museum'sEnglish Football Hall of Fame.[105] In 2017, Craig Burley ofFourFourTwo magazine placed Zola at number 7 in his list of the "100 best foreign Premier League players ever."[98] In 2013, Alex Richards ofBleacher Report placed Zola at number 12 in his list of the greatest dead ball specialists of all time.[106] For his sportsmanship and playing ability, Zola was awarded thePremio Nazionale Carriera Esemplare "Gaetano Scirea" and thePallone d'Argento in 2005[107][108] as well as thePremio internazionale Giacinto Facchetti in 2010.[109]
Zola is married to Franca and has three children; his son Andrea played forGrays Athletic and has played forWest Ham United reserves.[citation needed] Former footballer turned criminalFabrizio Maiello claimed to have targeted Zola as a kidnap target in 1994.[110]
Zola features inEA Sports'FIFA video game series; he was named in the Ultimate Team Legends inFIFA 14.[111]
Zola was the subject of a long-runningurban legend where it was believed by some people that he appeared in the video forBonnie Tyler's 1983 song "Total Eclipse of the Heart". In a 2012 interview, Zola confirmed that he did not appear in the video.[112]
He has, however, appeared in a music video for the song "Zola" byDerry band Wonder Villains.[113]
Zola once appeared in an episode ofRenford Rejects, where he played a match for the Rejects against the Renford Razors andMartin Keown.[114]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Nuorese | 1984–85 | Serie C2 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | ||||
| 1985–86 | Serie D | 27 | 10 | — | — | — | — | 27 | 10 | |||||
| Total | 31 | 10 | — | — | — | — | 31 | 10 | ||||||
| Sassari Torres | 1986–87 | Serie C2 | 30 | 8 | — | — | — | — | 30 | 8 | ||||
| 1987–88 | Serie C1 | 24 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 24 | 2 | |||||
| 1988–89 | Serie C1 | 34 | 11 | — | — | — | — | 34 | 11 | |||||
| Total | 88 | 21 | — | — | — | — | 88 | 21 | ||||||
| Napoli[117] | 1989–90 | Serie A | 18 | 2 | 6 | 1 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 26 | 3 | ||
| 1990–91 | Serie A | 20 | 6 | 7 | 0 | — | 2[d] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 6 | ||
| 1991–92 | Serie A | 34 | 12 | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 38 | 13 | ||||
| 1992–93 | Serie A | 33 | 12 | 6 | 2 | — | 4[c] | 0 | — | 43 | 14 | |||
| Total | 105 | 32 | 23 | 4 | — | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 136 | 36 | |||
| Parma | 1993–94 | Serie A | 33 | 18 | 7 | 3 | — | 9[e] | 1 | 2[f] | 0 | 51 | 22 | |
| 1994–95 | Serie A | 32 | 19 | 7 | 4 | — | 12[c] | 5 | — | 51 | 28 | |||
| 1995–96 | Serie A | 29 | 10 | 1 | 0 | — | 5[e] | 2 | 1[g] | 0 | 36 | 12 | ||
| 1996–97 | Serie A | 8 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 2[c] | 0 | — | 11 | 2 | |||
| Total | 102 | 49 | 16 | 7 | — | 28 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 149 | 64 | |||
| Chelsea | 1996–97 | Premier League | 23 | 8 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 12 | ||
| 1997–98 | Premier League | 27 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 8[e] | 4 | 1[h] | 0 | 41 | 12 | |
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 37 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5[e] | 1 | 1[i] | 0 | 49 | 15 | |
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 33 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 15[j] | 3 | — | 53 | 8 | ||
| 2000–01 | Premier League | 36 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2[c] | 0 | 1[h] | 0 | 43 | 12 | |
| 2001–02 | Premier League | 35 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4[c] | 1 | — | 50 | 5 | ||
| 2002–03 | Premier League | 38 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2[c] | 0 | — | 46 | 16 | ||
| Total | 229 | 59 | 31 | 11 | 13 | 1 | 36 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 312 | 80 | ||
| Cagliari | 2003–04 | Serie B | 43 | 13 | 1 | 1[118] | — | — | — | 44 | 14 | |||
| 2004–05 | Serie A | 31 | 9 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | 37 | 13 | ||||
| Total | 74 | 22 | 7 | 5 | — | — | — | 81 | 27 | |||||
| Career total | 629 | 193 | 77 | 38 | 13 | 1 | 72 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 797 | 238 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Italy | 1991 | 2 | 0 |
| 1992 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1993 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1995 | 8 | 7 | |
| 1996 | 8 | 0 | |
| 1997 | 9 | 3 | |
| Total | 35 | 10 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 March 1995 | Stadio Arechi,Salerno, Italy |  Estonia | 1–0 | 4–1 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying |
| 2 | 3–0 | |||||
| 3 | 29 March 1995 | Republikan Stadium,Kyiv, Ukraine |  Ukraine | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying |
| 4 | 26 April 1995 | Žalgiris Stadium,Vilnius, Lithuania |  Lithuania | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying |
| 5 | 15 November 1995 | Stadio Giglio,Reggio Emilia, Italy | Lithuania | 2–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying |
| 6 | 3–0 | |||||
| 7 | 4–0 | |||||
| 8 | 22 January 1997 | Stadio La Favorita,Palermo, Italy |  Northern Ireland | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 9 | 12 February 1997 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  England | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 10 | 29 March 1997 | Stadio Nereo Rocco,Trieste, Italy |  Moldova | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| Team | From | To | Record | Ref(s) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| West Ham United | 15 September 2008 | 11 May 2010 | 80 | 23 | 21 | 36 | 028.75 | [120] |
| Watford | 8 July 2012 | 16 December 2013 | 75 | 33 | 15 | 27 | 044.00 | [120] |
| Cagliari | 24 December 2014[65] | 9 March 2015[69] | 11 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 018.18 | [72] |
| Al-Arabi SC | 11 July 2015[70] | 27 June 2016[71] | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 038.46 | [72] |
| Birmingham City | 14 December 2016 | 17 April 2017 | 24 | 2 | 8 | 14 | 008.33 | [120] |
| Total | 216 | 70 | 51 | 95 | 032.41 | |||
Torres
Napoli
Parma
Chelsea
Italy
Individual
Individual
Italy squads | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
