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Today we dip into the archives to republish a brilliant interview that former West Ham and current Watford manager Gianfranco Zola gave to The Manager magazine way back in 2008. It offers some intriguing insight into the influences and successes the 47-year-old has worked into his managerial style at Watford.
“First of all I like the idea of assembling a team as a manager and making the team play the way that you want. The experience with the Italian Under-21s has been great for me because it inspired me. I didn’t want to be a manager but then when my friend Pierluigi Casiraghi became manager of the Under-21s I worked alongside him and I enjoyed it very much. I enjoyed seeing the players playing with a certain attitude and a certain idea and that’s why I thought I might be able to be a manager somewhere.
“When I was a footballer in England I remember that it was fantastic how the sport was considered and lived and breathed. That made me think ‘oh yes this is a very good opportunity to manage in England and I am going to take it.’ Also I know in this country that if you do well at your job you are going to be well respected.”
“In my job one of the most important things is communication, so for me it is vital that you are able to speak good English so that you can tell the players what you want, and express that.”
“Well it is certainly different for me because, first of all, my role in Italy was a part-time job; and secondly, I was coaching young players and so the expectations from the players were different. Yes I have changed a little but I have tried to keep the same principles because that’s why I am a manager. I want to see my team playing good football, enjoying their football and making it enjoyable for the others.
“Obviously when you speak to a 19- or 20-year-old player you speak to them in a certain way, then when you are speaking to players who are 27-30, who have had so many experiences in their lives, you have to use a different approach. So you need to develop skills like that.”
“Experience abroad is important not even just as a manager but as an individual because the whole experience makes you better. You learn another language, another culture and another way to think. There was a very wise man who said ‘When your brain expands it never goes back to the previous situation’ which means if you give your brain more things to think about and more things to look at it will get better and better and bigger and bigger. Such an experience will make you a better person.”
“Yes, you will experience styles of play and player behaviour, and they are things that will improve your knowledge and experience. The more you know about these things the more possibilities you have to your job in a better way.”
“The most fulfilling thing is that you have 24 players and you need to get the best out of them. In order to do that it pushes you a lot and it’s like you are exploiting the best of yourself. This process of finding things to make them better will eventually make you a better person as well. Obviously I am Italian and I can share all of my knowledge and experiences with the players. I tell you it is a great thing when you feel you are helping somebody else get better.”
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