Italian soccer great Gianfranco Zola has been named a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, the Italian branch of the United Nation's children's organization announced on Monday .
Zola, 40, has lent his hand to a number of charity initiatives and become a spokesman for fair play since he hung up his boots last year .
Earlier this year he led a Worldwide Fund for Nature campaign in Italian schools .
The diminutive Sardinian rose from humble origins to become one of the most popular figures in world soccer. After stints with Napoli and Parma, he spent seven glorious years with London club Chelsea between 1996 and 2003 .
He then returned to his island home to end his career with Cagliari .
Zola was adored in England as much for his high principles, both on and off the pitch, as he was for his rare soccer skills .
In 2004 he was made an honorary Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE), one of Britain's highest civilian honours .
Zola rose to fame as Diego Maradona's understudy at Napoli, where he won a league title in 1990 .
He then played for Parma for three seasons before joining Chelsea .
He made an immediate impact in the Premier League in 1996 and was named The Football Writers' Player of the Year .
In total he played 312 matches and scored 80 goals for Chelsea, helping the club win two FA Cups, a League Cup, a Cup Winner's Cup and a European Supercup .
In his last year with the London club, fans voted him the team's best-ever player .
In the 2003-2004 season he helped Cagliari to return to Serie A .
The season after, which was destined to be his last, he was consistently excellent as Cagliari comfortably held on to its top-flight status .
Zola played 35 times for Italy after his debut against Norway in November 1991, scoring eight times .
His experience in the Azzurri shirt was bitter-sweet, ranging from a controversial sending-off at the 1994 World Cup to a glorious Wembley goal that put Italy on its way to the 1998 World Cup finals. He was recently appointed technical advisor to Italy's Under-21 squad, assisting his old Chelsea team-mate Pierluigi Casiraghi .
