Chelsea fan Justin Rose admits he was “star-struck” when he discovered Gianfranco Zola is part of Europe’s Ryder Cup backroom team.
Zola is vice-captain Francesco Molinari’s desginated on-course buggy driver throughout the week at Bethpage Black in New York.
The Italian, who is a keen golfer and plays off 1.5, is a long-time friend with his countryman and has been invited into Luke Donald’s backroom team.
His presence came as a surprise to Rose, who is a staunch supporter of the Stamford Bridge club, where Zola was a huge success between 1996 and 2003.
“Obviously he’s a Chelsea legend, clearly I’m a Chelsea fan,” Rose said.
“I didn’t know he was coming this week. So it was a huge surprise, and literally, he was one of the first people I bumped into.
“I was coming around the corner at the hotel to the lifts and bumped into him.
“I meet a lot of really cool people in my life through the game of golf. But I was like, ‘Whoa! Wow! Hey, Gianfranco!’.
“I was star-struck which is amazing.“Football hits differently, especially back at home, and obviously the career he’s had….
“I’ve become more of an engaged football fan in the last decade, I would say. I have a 16-year-old-son who’s mad about his football. So it’s really been a thing we connect with now.”
While Zola’s primary role will be to ferry Molinari around the course, Rose believes he can contribute in other more telling ways.
“I think his energy, what he can provide, I think he’s here just to – let’s call it fly on the wall,” he said.
“But I think if there’s a moment that he observes and can kind of chime in and can understand the pressure or can understand momentum or locker room mentality, then obviously there’s probably going to be something this week where he can relay a really powerful message.
“Hopefully he has that opportunity because I’d love to hear it.”
Zola, who played for Italy at the 1994 World Cup, has been out of football since leaving his role as Chelsea assistant manager in 2019.
He previously had spells as manager of West Ham, Watford, Cagliari, Al-Arabi and Birmingham.
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