Gianfranco Zola brought a spark of Sardinian invention to English football, illuminating Stamford Bridge in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Small, quick and gifted with the ball at his feet, he unlocked defences with dribbles, disguised passes and precise free-kicks, and was voted Chelsea’s greatest ever player by supporters.
Before England he had learned his trade in Italy, understudying Diego Maradona at Napoli before starring at Parma. With Chelsea he won cups and admiration in equal measure, a forward whose artistry never dimmed his sense of mischief.