Quotes from Gianfranco Zola

I was head coach before and my main ambition is to return to that. But to work for Maurizio and Chelsea was a great opportunity.

When you are a talented footballer you rely on your abilities to win games. You use your skills without thinking. But in management that doesn't work.

I remember that when I was learning to play football, kicking a ball for example, I used to do it 300-400 times a day at least. There were moments when I got tired but I needed to do it repeatedly because if I wanted it to become a part of me, this was the process I needed to go through.

The memories obviously of playing with Maradona are fantastic memories, he's probably the most important part of my career.

I always had the impression England never came to competitions with freedom of mind. They are so afraid of mistakes.

I learnt many lessons from some tough experiences. One of the biggest was that no matter what happens you need to hold on to your beliefs. And you must stay humble.

I'm lucky to have played for some great managers who can be positive influences on how I work at Watford.

No, I didn't expect Mancini to become a manager, because of the type of player he was - he was an intelligent player, of course, but I didn't think he had the desire to become a manager. But I guess if you speak to some of my team-mates they'd probably say they didn't expect me to either. I certainly didn't expect it.

I went from being a player who had received just a few yellow cards in his career to a red card in a World Cup. It was a devastating moment for me. It was my first game in the World Cup, so I was excited and thankful for the opportunity. Being sent off was a big blow.

Because of players like myself, Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and so many others, the game in England is at such a high level.

I like working with young players.

Chelsea is a very demanding club. They need to be in the Champions League and they need to win trophies because that is what the club has been doing for some time.

They are both fantastic players. But I like Messi. Ronaldo is a fantastic goalscorer but I don't think he is as good as Messi when it comes to creating chances for others.'

Of course you cannot make a Messi or a Maradona. But even players who are not considered very skilful, if you coach them in a certain way you can make them better.

I felt Ancelotti did a good job for Chelsea and, like many fans, we are sorry for what happened to him.

What makes you better is not playing every single game in a modest championship. What makes you better is playing 10 games in a very competitive league.

There are those who think that in order to get respect you have to be some sort of tyrant or overly authoritative. You can be fair to people.

Carlton Cole is no surprise to me anymore. For me, some of the bits he does are unbelievable.

Eden Hazard's definitely at the very top. He's such an unbelievable player. The more I've spent time with him the more I appreciate him as a player, but also as a boy.

Some leaders speak a lot in the dressing room, on the field and others do it with actions contributing important things in games, deciding big games.

Chelsea is where I had the best satisfaction of all, where I was treated the best. This is a special place.

Carlo Ancelotti is a good coach and a good man. I worked with him for just three months at Parma, before I left for Chelsea, although I had worked with him before with the national team. In my first game for the national team I played with him.

When I was making myself known I learnt a lot from him. I definitely regard him as the greatest, although it's difficult to say that and also unfair because there are players from different eras that have been so important and Maradona was one of them, but certainly he was an unbelievable player and I'm so glad I met him.

It's very difficult and unfair probably to compare players from different eras, because they were able to reach excellence in their time and they have to be rewarded for that.