Former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once named the opponent who ‘annoyed’ him the most during his 26-year reign at Old Trafford.
Ferguson, 83, saw his United side face some of the best teams European football had to offer – namely Lionel Messi’s Barcelona side, which defeated United in the 2009 and 2011 Champions League finals.
During his 26-year reign as Red Devils boss, the Scot won 13 Premier League titles and competed mainly with Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City for domestic honours.
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And it was a player from one of the aforementioned sides who got underneath Ferguson’s skin more than anyone else, but it may not be who you’d expect.
Given the furious rivalry between Arsenal and United in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s, you may be thinking Ferguson was most annoyed by the likes of Martin Keown or Patrick Viera, but it was, in fact, a much more placid player.
“Now little [Gianfranco] Zola, he annoyed me,” Ferguson told Sky Sports.
“He was one of those players who was unperturbed about who he was playing against.
“He always seemed to have a smile on his face and that annoyed me. I said ‘how can he be enjoying himself playing against United? Nobody else does.’
“He was fantastic. Talented. Beautiful balance. Brave. I remember we played Chelsea in the FA Cup a couple of years ago in the treble. We got them in the early rounds, and we drew 0-0 at Old Trafford and I man-marked him. That’s how much respect I had for him.
“But he was a fantastic player. I loved watching him. He was enjoyable. That was the thing, for me to say that of an opponent tells you how much I admire them.”
Zola, 58, made 312 appearances for Chelsea between 1996 and 2003, a period in which he helped the Premier League side win two FA Cups, one League Cup, a Cup Winners’ Cup and UEFA Super Cup.
He returned to his native Italy - joining Cagliari in 2003 - before embarking on a career in management with West Ham United in 2008.
Spells in charge of Italy U-16s, Watford, Cagliari, Al-Arabi and Birmingham City followed before he returned to Chelsea as an assistant coach to Maurizio Sarri in 2018.
He left in the following year and has since been without a coaching role.
Topics: Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson, Chelsea, Premier League, FA Cup, Football
Luke Davies