After a stint with Italy under-21s, Zola began his club managerial career with West Ham United of the Premier League in 2008, before being sacked in 2010.

Due to his individual performances, however, Zola was given his debut for the Italy national team under coach Arrigo Sacchi in 1991, winning his first cap against Norway in November.

[7] In 1993, Zola left Napoli and joined fellow Serie A side Parma for ₤13 million, due to the poor economic situation of the Neapolitan club.

It was with the blue and yellow club that he cemented his reputation as one of the best and most talented creative players in Italy, along with Roberto Baggio and Alessandro Del Piero.

[7] During the following season, manager Carlo Ancelotti came to see Zola as a "square peg" unable to fit into his rigid 4–4–2 system upon his arrival at the club in 1996.

[8][17] Zola became frustrated of playing in this role and ultimately made himself available for a transfer, moving to Premier League side Chelsea in November 1996.

[7] In November 1996, Zola joined Chelsea for £4.5 million as one of several continental players signed by Ruud Gullit (including compatriot Gianluca Vialli) and was assigned the number 25 jersey.

Zola scored three goals in Chelsea's run to the Champions League quarter-finals, including a curling free kick against Barcelona, and he again won the FA Cup with the club, with his free-kick in the final against Aston Villa setting up Roberto Di Matteo's winner.

In the 2001–02 season, Zola's starting chances became limited, after a summer when Claudio Ranieri showed the door to many of Chelsea's ageing stars such as club captain Dennis Wise, goalscoring midfielder Gustavo Poyet and French defender Frank Leboeuf, scoring only 3 goals.

Zola was limited to infrequent starts and many substitute appearances due to Ranieri's new policy of decreasing the average age of the Chelsea squad, preferring to play the Icelandic youngster Gudjohnsen with Hasselbaink.

Zola did draw attention, however, for his dominant performance when he scored with a notable backheeled effort in mid-air from a corner-kick, in an FA Cup tie against Norwich City on 16 January 2002.

[31] Zola was also voted by The Sun one of the top ten best foreign "artistic" players in Premier League history in 2007, coming in second place behind George Best.

[32] In the summer of 2003, amid rumours of an impending takeover at Chelsea, Zola left Stamford Bridge to join Cagliari, from his native Sardinia.

[35] Zola retired as the fifth highest goalscorer of free-kicks in Serie A history, with 20 goals from set-pieces, and currently sits behind only Francesco Totti and Roberto Baggio (both at 21), Alessandro Del Piero (22), Andrea Pirlo (26) and Siniša Mihajlović (28).

[36] With 12 goals from free kicks, he is also the joint–third all-time goalscorer from set-pieces in the history of the Premier League, alongside Thierry Henry and Cristiano Ronaldo, and behind only James Ward-Prowse (17) and David Beckham.

[37] Zola made his debut for Italy aged 25 on 13 November 1991 in Genoa, under manager Arrigo Sacchi, in a Euro 1992 qualifier against Norway which ended 1–1.

[38][39] Although Italy managed to win the match 2–1 in extra-time and reach the World Cup final, Zola did not regain his place in the side after this suspension.

[2][45] He retired from international play after he was not called up for the 1998 World Cup by manager Cesare Maldini, who had selected Del Piero and Roberto Baggio in his role.

The England national football team was in Sardinia for a training camp in order to prepare the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, where, among other things, it would have played two of the three matches of the group stage in Cagliari.

Despite speculation he would play on in the 2005–06 season, Zola decided to leave the game just a week before he turned 39, and took a job as an Italian football pundit.

Two days later, he agreed a three-year contract to manage West Ham United, replacing Alan Curbishley, who resigned following differences with the board.

Zola's position as manager was put in doubt when he revealed he had not been consulted over a bid for West Bromwich Albion player Graham Dorrans and by chairman David Sullivan's announcement that the entire squad was for sale except for midfielder Scott Parker.

[60] Zola was strongly linked with the managerial position at Watford in 2012, following the club's takeover by Udinese and Granada owner Giampaolo Pozzo.

[65] In his first match in charge, on 6 January 2015, Cagliari lost 0–5 at Palermo with Daniele Conti being sent off in the first half, the result keeping the club in the relegation zone.

[71] On 14 December 2016, Zola was named manager of EFL Championship club Birmingham City, replacing Gary Rowett who had been sacked earlier that day.

[73] Three days later, the team conceded a late goal to lose his first game in charge 2–1 at home to second-placed Brighton & Hove Albion.

[75] On 17 April, Zola resigned as manager following a 2–0 home defeat to Burton Albion which left the team just three points above the relegation zone with three matches remaining.

[32][45][80][81][82][83][84] Although he was not physically imposing, his small stature and low centre of gravity gave him good balance and allowed him to be extremely quick and agile, which, along with his acceleration, speed, and ball skills, enabled him to change direction with the ball very quickly in tight spaces, and allowed him to beat defenders with feints in one on one situations.

"[97] In 2013, Alex Richards of Bleacher Report placed Zola at number 12 in his list of the greatest dead ball specialists of all time.

[110] Zola was the subject of a long-running urban legend where it was believed by some people that he appeared in the video for Bonnie Tyler's 1983 song "Total Eclipse of the Heart".