Gianfranco Zola factfile

A look at the Italians record after it was announced he had been sacked as manager of West Ham.

1966: Born in Oliena, Sardinia on July 5.

1984: Signs first professional contract with Nuorese, for whom he scores 10 goals in 31 appearances.

1987: Remains in Sardinia and signs for Serie C outfit Sassari Torres and nets 21 times in 88 games.

1989: Joins Serie A side Napoli, where he serves as an understudy to Diego Maradona.

1990: April - Part of the Napoli side which wins the Scudetto for only the second time in their history.

August - Helps Napoli win the Italian Super Cup with a 5-1 win over Juventus.

1991: November - Called up to the full Italy squad and makes his debut in a friendly against Norway.

1993: Joins Parma after Napoli finish a disappointing 11th in Serie A.

1994: June - Part of Italy's squad for the World Cup in the USA. Italy reach the final but Zola only features in the 2-1 extra-time victory over Nigeria in the last 16.

1995: Plays in both legs of Parma's 2-1 win over Juventus in the UEFA Cup final.

1996: New Parma coach Carlo Ancelotti decides Zola will not fit into his system and he is signed by Chelsea boss Ruud Gullit for £4.5million.

1997: February - Scores the only goal of the game with a superb strike from a narrow angle past Ian Walker to give Italy a 1-0 win over England in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley.

May - Named Football Writers' Association player of the year.

October - Wins the last of his 35 caps against England in a World Cup qualifier in Rome.

1998: Left out of Italy's squad for France '98.

2000: May 20 - Helps Chelsea land the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Aston Villa at Wembley.

2003: January - Overwhelmingly voted Chelsea's best player ever in a fans' poll, ahead of Peter Osgood, Dennis Wise and Jimmy Greaves.

July - Swaps Chelsea for Serie B side Cagliari despite an 11th-hour bid from new Blues owner Roman Abramovich to keep him at the club.

2004: Achieves promotion to Serie A with the Sardinian club.

2005: June - Retires at the age of 38.

2006: Accepts role as assistant to Italy Under-21 boss Pierluigi Casiraghi.

2008: March - Admits he would be interested in managing in the Premier League, preferably with old club Chelsea.

September 10 - Agrees a three-year deal to become West Ham manager.

2009: April 25 - Signs new contract to keep him at Upton Park until 2013.

May - Leads Hammers to ninth-place finish in Premier League.

2010: March 25 - West Ham co-owner David Sullivan slammed the club's performance in their 3-1 home defeat to Wolves as "shambolic" and "pathetic".

March 27 - Zola says he will consider his future after the home loss to Stoke - a sixth defeat in succession.

March 29 - Zola tells the club's website he is "determined to carry on" as West Ham manager.

April 24 - West Ham beat Wigan 3-2 to all but confirm their safety, easing the pressure on Zola.

April 30 - Zola admits he had not been consulted about the club's £4million bid for West Brom's Graham Dorrans, or Sullivan's announcement the entire squad was for sale except Scott Parker.

May 3 - West Ham's safety is confirmed as Hull fail to beat Wigan.

May 9 - Season ends with 1-1 draw against Manchester City.

May 11 - Has contracted terminated by West Ham.