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Zola unveiled as new West Ham boss
September 12th 2008 03:55
West Ham United have announced the appointment of Gianfranco Zola as the club's new manager.
The 42-year-old Zola, who has agreed a three-year contract, was the unanimous choice of the Board and comes to the Boleyn Ground from the Italian Football Association where he has worked for the past two years primarily within the Under-21 set-up. The Italian is best known for his seven years at fellow English Premier League side Chelsea between 1996 and 2003 where he is still revered to this day.
"I am delighted to be here," he said. "It's a great honour for me to be involved in such an important job. And I can promise, as I said to the board before, that I will do my best. I'm here to help the team to develop as individuals first and then also as a team. That is my duty and I will give all of my knowledge and all my experience to the players. That is my aim and as I said I will do everything I can to do this."
Zola rose to prominence at Napoli in the early 1990s alongside Diego Maradona, who he cited as a major influence on his development. The forward then went on to enjoy further success with Parma while establishing himself in the Italian national team. Then came his time at Chelsea during which he scored 80 goals in 312 appearances. He was voted the Football Writers' Player of the Year in 1997 and is rightly regarded as one of the greatest foreign players to grace the Premier League.
An attacking player with flair in his prime, Zola has already said attacking football will dominate his philosophy and he will try to instill this style of football into his West Ham team when he officially takes over the reign at Upton Park on September 15.
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