My Season With Sarri Was Difficult - Zola

Chelsea legend, Gianfranco Zola has said Maurizio Sarri's time at Chelsea in 2018-19 was difficult but exceptional. When Sarri was appointed Chelsea manager after Conte's sack, Zola was employed to be his assistant and it signified a return to a club he played for. According to Zola, Sarri has a very strong personality and he did his possible best to instill his own ideas in the players. He added that his own role was to teach the Italian and his staff the English culture and he did his best to do just that as assistant manager. His words, “My season with Sarri was difficult, but exceptional in a professional sense. “It's difficult because Sarri has a strong personality, he works very hard and has a high opinion of his own ideas. “It wasn't easy convincing him to use different methods when he had to deal with English football.” “It was exceptional because of the way he planned out his work, the focus on details in preparing for games and careful study of the opposition. “All that represented an enormous learning curve for me. “I tried to help him and his Italian staff to relate to and deal with the English culture, so that was my role. “When he left, he didn't thank anyone in particular, but that's just what Sarri's like. He is a very reserved man.”