From across the hallway of the Hotel Boscolo in the city of Trento, Gianfranco Zola, now 41, could easily pass as one of the many Italian U21 players that dash off after lunch, waiting to face the Faroe Islands. He’s wearing the same uniform – white polo shirt and blue trousers – and is still in good shape, despite the fact that it’s been two years he since retired at Cagliari. As he greets FourFourTwo, he takes one look at the readers’ questions and immediately asks: “Do you want to do this interview in Italian, English, Spanish… or Chinese? It’s up to you.” We settle for Italian with a few dollops of English thrown in, although doing it in Chinese might have been an interesting experience for everyone involved. Does Franco really speak Chinese? Unfortunately, none of you asked that, so we may never know…

As far as I’m aware, you and Gigi Riva are the only really famous Sardinian footballers. How much of a football culture is there on the island and did you get much stick when you moved between the two rival teams early in your career?
Blake Harris, via email
First of all we’re not the only ones! I could start mentioning some names… Gianfranco Matteoli, who has played in the national team, Pietro Paolo Virdis, another striker who has been an international a number of times, Antonello Cuccureddu, who has won lots of scudetti with Juventus. I reckon all of them were very important players. Regarding the football culture, I have to say that it exists and there’s a big rivalry between Cagliari and Torres, the second team of Sardinia. I’ve played for both of them, first at Torres and then at Cagliari, but I never got any stick for it.

Given your height did you ever contemplate becoming a jockey like your fellow countryman Frankie Dettori?
Chris Benson, Bristol
[Laughs] Well, actually not, because I never had much contact with horses, so I’ve never really had the opportunity to think about it!

You were signed to Napoli by Luciano Moggi, the man at the centre of Italy’s match-fixing allegations. Did he offer you anything to sweeten the deal? A lorry-load of wine, perhaps? What did you make of the whole match-fixing affair?
Steve Pepper, via email
He took me to Serie A when I was playing in the Third Division, and gave me the chance to play alongside Maradona. Imagine that! I don’t think he needed to sweeten the deal. In fact, I should have given him a lorry-load of wine! Seriously though, the recent scandal was incredibly damaging for Italian football. We’ve lost our credibility. When something like this happens, it’s hard to move on just like that, there’s always going to be a scar left and so far I think Italian football has yet to recover.

What did you learn from Maradona? And what’s your funniest story about him?
Graham Rossi, via email
I was very lucky to be his team-mate and get to play with him as well as watch him train every day. The things he did! He was and will always be unique. Off the pitch, I always liked his simplicity. He was Maradona, yet with the team, he seemed just like an ordinary lad like the rest of us. He didn’t behave at all like a star. As for the story, there are many that come to mind [giggles], but there’s one in particular that always makes me laugh. One day when we played against Pisa in the Italian Cup, he made me play in the number 10 jersey and he wore the number 9. For me it was the most beautiful thing I could ever imagine; Maradona letting me play in the number 10. Imagine my confidence, but especially my shock!

You used to have wrong-footed penalties competitions with Maradona. Who won the most? How did he react when you won?
Angus Dunne, Blackpool
I know I agreed to answer all your readers’ questions but this one I just can’t answer… or Diego will be angry! [Laughs] All I can say is that he didn’t enjoy it when he lost, even though he was very strong with his right foot.

Just how good is the Parmigiana cheese and Parma ham in Parma? Did you notice a dip in quality when you moved to London?
Owen Neil, Brentford
Don’t remind me! The difference is not a small one. I believe Parma is the best city for eating in the entire world. In that sense, moving to London did make me suffer a little bit, especially at the beginning. It was OK when I was at home or in the city but the big problem was when we went to play away matches elsewhere in England, as the hotel food was not very good.

As the former holder of Serie A’s free-kick scoring record, who’s better: you or Beckham? Or is there someone else?
Brad Reilly, London
Oh God! This one is difficult. I think I was better from close-range free-kicks and he was better from long-range free-kicks. But there was one that was probably better than both of us: Sinisa Mihajlovic. He would just rack up goals from everywhere: short or long distances, he was equally lethal.

Why did you leave Parma in 1996/97, where you had won trophies, for Chelsea, who had just finished 11th in the Premiership?
Alan Ames, via email
At the time I was having some problems at Parma; I wasn’t playing well and I had personal issues. So when I received an offer from England, I took it. Besides, I was always keen on making an experience abroad and I really needed a fresh challenge. Thanks to Di Matteo and Vialli, I settled quickly and by the time I left Chelsea, England almost felt like home.

How long did it take to learn English?
Marco Brizzi, Rome
About six months. I had two lessons per week and I also recorded them to listen to them at home. Speaking was difficult, but understanding was probably tougher. At first in interviews, I took all the time I needed to say what I wanted, with long silences between phrases like “I think” or “I presume”. A TV show made a compilation of all my “mmms” and “ehmmss” and it was very funny.