Sport
Gianfranco Zola Critiques Chelsea’s Decision to Sell Key Players
Chelsea icon Gianfranco Zola has voiced his opinion that the club’s decision to sell three key players was a major factor in their early-season struggles last year.
Chelsea ultimately finished sixth in the Premier League, showing improvement in the latter part of the campaign.
Zola pointed to the sales of Kai Havertz to Arsenal, Mateo Kovacic to Manchester City, and Jorginho to Arsenal in January 2023 as significant setbacks.
He emphasized that these players were integral to the team’s core and leadership.
“Chelsea had a difficult start to the season, mainly because they underwent significant changes. They introduced many young players while losing experienced ones like Jorginho, Havertz, and Kovacic.
These players were the heart and soul of the team, and their absence was deeply felt,” Zola shared with Ladbrokes.
Despite the challenging transition, Zola acknowledged that Pochettino eventually managed to get the team back on track. However, he expressed disappointment over the changes and Pochettino’s subsequent departure.
Zola, who played over 300 games for Chelsea between 1996 and 2003, remains a passionate supporter of the club and its direction.
Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has opened up about a difficult period in his career, revealing that he almost stepped away from football.
Speaking during a recent interview, Bassey shared that he once made a personal promise to himself to quit pursuing football professionally if he failed to secure a spot at a professional club.
“I remember being 15 and going into my final year, and I told myself that if I didn’t get into a professional club, I would quit football. It was that simple,” he said.
“I would just stop pursuing it seriously and only play for fun. Thank God I eventually got a club, because I honestly don’t know where I would be otherwise.”
It has been reported that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fined Egypt $5,000 following their clash with Zimbabwe for failing to manage post-match media obligations.
It was noted that after the match, the Egyptian players ignored the media. This action was said to be a violation of CAF’s media regulations, which led to the fine being imposed.
Head of the Super Eagles, Eric Chelle, shared that the big-name players on the team are not happy about being benched.
He recalled when he took out Samuel Chukwueze during the match against Tanzania.
“Yes, of course, we’ve in this team a lot of big names. They are competitors; they aren’t happy when they go to the bench,” Chelle said at his post-match interview.”
“My job is to make choices, and we’re playing a 4-4-2 diamond, and at this moment I feel we have to protect the wing.”
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