8 August 2004
Stamford Bridge London
Gianfranco Zola has returned to Chelsea for one last appearance and said a tearful goodbye to the fans who adored him for seven memorable seasons. Chelsea beat Real Zaragoza 3-0 in a friendly in London as new coach Jose Mourinho fine-tuned his plans for the new season, but still found time to give Zola, now with Cagliari, a run-out that was greeted by a huge standing ovation. "It was absolutely fantastic," Zola said. "It was emotional and an incredible response from the crowd." The Italian forward was even given the captain's armband and convinced everyone he would still be able to terrorise English Premier League defences at the age of 38, just as he did in 1996 when he joined from Parma. Zola left Chelsea last year to return to his native Sardinia at around the same time as billionaire owner Roman Abramovich took control of the London club.
Stamford Bridge London
Gianfranco Zola has returned to Chelsea for one last appearance and said a tearful goodbye to the fans who adored him for seven memorable seasons. Chelsea beat Real Zaragoza 3-0 in a friendly in London as new coach Jose Mourinho fine-tuned his plans for the new season, but still found time to give Zola, now with Cagliari, a run-out that was greeted by a huge standing ovation. "It was absolutely fantastic," Zola said. "It was emotional and an incredible response from the crowd." The Italian forward was even given the captain's armband and convinced everyone he would still be able to terrorise English Premier League defences at the age of 38, just as he did in 1996 when he joined from Parma. Zola left Chelsea last year to return to his native Sardinia at around the same time as billionaire owner Roman Abramovich took control of the London club.
