Gianfranco Zola backs Carlo Ancelotti to be success in England

Gianfranco Zola has backed Carlo Ancelotti to make a successful switch to Premier League football.

The West Ham United manager played under the Italian for a brief spell at Parma until Ancelotti sold Zola to Chelsea for £4.5 million in the summer of 1996.



The AC Milan coach is top of Chelsea’s list to replace Guus Hiddink, the interim manager, who has insisted he will not continue at Stamford Bridge beyond this season. Yet there are concerns in some quarters over Ancelotti’s limited English and the fact that he has never worked outside Italy.

“He’s an experienced person, he knows football very well and I’m sure he won’t have any problems adapting to this league,” Zola said.
“I know the Premier League is different to [Serie A] but it’s still football and we’re talking about somebody who has played and coached for a long time.

“I know the man, he’s always been a warrior when he was a player. I’m sure if he comes here he’ll want to prove to himself and everybody that he can be a success.”

West Ham, who have failed to score in three of their last five matches, will hope the return of Carlton Cole, who makes the squad which travels to Everton tomorrow, will give their European hopes a boost. Zola also expects Kieron Dyer to be back in full training by next week.

“Carlton is fit, it’s good news for us,” Zola said. “He's in the squad but I'm not sure if he'll start. But goalscoring hasn’t been our main issue throughout the season. We’ve always found some way to get around it, so I’m not too worried about it.”

Zola insisted he relished the challenge of Europe, even though it would come with the burden of extra fixtures. West Ham lie two points behind Fulham in the chase for seventh spot and qualification to the Europa League.

Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, has shown guarded enthusiasm towards the competition, which replaces the Uefa Cup. If Fulham were to qualify, their course to the final is 18 games, placing a considerable strain on his squad. Hodgson has admitted that he would consider pulling out of Europe should the competition harm the club’s progress in the league next season. Zola, though, is less circumspect. “I realise it may be difficult playing in Europe with so many more games to get through, but we are willing to take the risk and I would love to be playing in the competition,” he said.