What Is Gianfranco Zola Doing at the Ryder Cup? How Chelsea Legend Landed Team Europe Role

What is Gianfranco Zola doing at the Ryder Cup? That is a question many sports fans were asking after seeing Team Europe’s squad photo this week.

Zola was standing at the edge of the line-up. For those too young to know… Zola is not a golfer, but one of Italy and Chelsea’s greatest-ever footballers. He ranked sixth in the 1995 Ballon d’Or vote — two places higher than current Chelsea star Cole Palmer achieved this year.

But the 59-year-old, adored for his artistry in the Premier League during the late 1990s and early 2000s, has been given a surprising job at Bethpage Black in New York.

Gianfranco Zola spotted at 2025 Ryder Cup

Zola was seen cruising around Bethpage earlier this week, steering a buggy.

The former forward was not there as a regular fan though. Zola had Europe vice-captain Francesco Molinari in the passenger seat of his vehicle.

What is Gianfranco Zola doing at the Ryder Cup?

Zola has been drafted in as Molinari’s official driver for the week. His job is to transport his fellow Italian quickly around the course so he can observe different groups and report back to captain Luke Donald.

In short, the Chelsea legend will spend three days shuttling Molinari between holes, keeping him close to the action without needing to worry about the logistics of getting around Bethpage’s demanding layout.

How did Gianfranco Zola and Francesco Molinari become friends?

The connection goes back to 2009, when Molinari was based in London and Zola was managing West Ham United. The golfer and the football coach struck up a friendship that has lasted more than 15 years.

Even after Molinari moved to the United States, the pair stayed in close contact. “He is a good friend of mine and there was no other choice,” Molinari said of Zola when asked why he had chosen him to drive his buggy.

Which football team does Francesco Molinari support?

Molinari is a football obsessive and, like many Italians, grew up supporting a Serie A side. Born in Turin in 1982, he decided to follow Inter Milan rather than the local powerhouse Juventus, impressed by Giovanni Trapattoni’s title-winning team of 1989.

Later in life, he picked up a second allegiance in England. During Zola’s spell at West Ham, Molinari was living in London and found himself drawn to the Hammers. “Zola is a really nice guy, so I got attached to West Ham when he was managing there,” he explained.

Today, Molinari is both an Inter and West Ham fan — a blend of loyalties that reflect his Italian roots and his close bond with Zola.

How good is Gianfranco Zola at golf?

Zola is more than a celebrity hanger-on. Since hanging up his football boots, he has become a highly capable amateur golfer, playing off a single-figure handicap.

He has regularly featured in charity pro-ams and high-profile events, including the Icons of Football series in Thailand. While he won’t be swinging a club at the Ryder Cup itself, Zola’s passion for the sport makes him a natural fit inside the ropes this week.

He was an even better footballer though…

As much as Zola enjoys golf, it will never eclipse his achievements with a ball at his feet.

The diminutive forward first made his name in Serie A with Napoli and Parma before moving in 1996 to Chelsea, where he became one of the most celebrated players of the Premier League’s early foreign era.

In seven seasons at Stamford Bridge he scored 80 goals and won two FA Cups, a League Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, dazzling fans with his vision and skill.

Zola finished his career back home with Cagliari, before later coaching the club as part of a managerial career that also included spells in charge of West Ham, Watford and Birmingham City.

As a player, Zola represented Italy 35 times, appearing at the 1994 World Cup and at Euro 1996.

For Chelsea supporters, he remains a true icon — voted the club’s greatest-ever player in 2003. His Ryder Cup role may seem unusual to some, but it just adds another colourful chapter to the remarkable life of one of football’s most loved figures.