Gianfranco Zola has confirmed he will retire next summer after admitting
he
is "finding it difficult to keep his standards up" at Chelsea.
The former Footballer of the Year has decided that life in the Premiership
has become too much of a strain for him to continually perform at
his own
very high standards, and next May the veteran Italian forward will
retire
from playing.
'I am focused on next season because it is probably going to be
my last as a
player," Zola said. "I am not thinking about leaving this
club to play for
somebody else. I don't want to leave football and Chelsea with a
bad memory,
but at 36 years of age, I am finding it more and more difficult
to keep my
standards up."
Zola,
who joined The Blues in a £4.5million switch from Parma in
November
1996, added: "I know some players continue to go past my age,
but already I
am finding that I have to put in extra training, and the fitness
coach has a
different pre-season preparation plan for me that means I have to
start
earlier than the others."
Zola knows already that there will be heavier demands on him from
the start
of the season, because of the injury to Mikael Forssell, which will
see the
Finland striker unavailable until October.
And with youngster Carlton Cole the only other striker available
to boss
Claudio Ranieri, Zola will be used extensively as cover for the
regular
front pairing of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eidur Gudjohnsen.
Zola still has a two-year option left on his Stamford Bridge contract
after
this season, and it is thought he may be offered a coaching role
when he
finally hangs up his boots next summer.
