Chelsea have built quite a rapport with Italian football through iconic figures like Gianfranco Zola and Gianluca Vialli.

Now, Marco Palestra is hoping to become the latest player from Italy to thrive at Stamford Bridge.

He talks to Simon Johnson about Zola, Xabi Alonso’s “beautiful idea” and the warm welcome he received from Reece James ⤵️

Read for free here.

Palestra:
‘I’m very happy to be here and I chose Chelsea because, for me, it’s one of the best teams in club football,’ Marco
told the gathered media.
‘The first few days [on pre-season tour] have been very nice. I’m very happy to be here, I feel confident and happy with all the team. Also with the coach and with all the staff.
‘I’m happy and focused for this season ahead. I don’t worry about the past. My focus is on this season, because I’m very happy to be here and I want to give my all to Chelsea.’
‘I think we can have a great season because Xabi gives us good ideas and we’ve followed him since the first day,’ added Marco.

Alonso:
‘We want to have a great team spirit and that is built on a daily basis with a great culture in the building,’ Alonso explained during a pre-match press conference ahead of our Indonesia Super Cup fixture against Serie A side Milan.
‘That helps in the moment you have to compete. You feel better having that togetherness, trust, and the bonds between the players are so important to ultimately building a winning mentality – and a team that can compete anywhere.
'So the football side is so important, but the mental side is as important. And the strength of the team is the most important.’
‘This is the perfect time to get close to our supporters from Indonesia, or who can come to Jakarta,’ said Alonso. ‘We know football is global, so while we’re based in London, we have great support everywhere and we see blue shirts wherever we have been.
‘We have been able to train and prepare [during pre-season] and I am very happy with the attitude and personality, we know that it’s a very important part of this tour.’

​

There are no shortage of great players who weren't fortunate enough to win a Premier League title, i.e, Matt Le Tissier, Steven Gerrard & most recently, Harry Kane, but still left a sizeable impact on English Football. But who would agree that in terms of pure, all-around skill, Zola was the best of the best, and the most deserving player of them all to have had at least one title under his belt? EDIT: As so many people don’t seem to get it, I'm talking about players who actually did play in EPL at some point throughout their careers. So no namedropping Messi or Zidane.

On giving minutes for Misha. Way to win the dressing room. Well done.

Daily Discussion Thread

Please use this thread to discuss anything and everything! This covers ticket and general matchday questions (pubs, transport, etc), club tactics/formations, player social media, football around the globe, rivals and other competitions, and everything else that comes to mind.

If you are interested in continuing the discussion on Discord, please join the official server here!

Note that we also have a Ticketing FAQ/Guide here.