Former Italy international Gianfranco Zola believes it is far too early to compare Juventus youngster Kenan Yildiz with club legend Alessandro Del Piero, insisting the Turkish star still has a long way to go.
Yildiz has impressed with his performances for the Bianconeri this season, but Softfootball understands that Zola believes comparisons with Del Piero should be avoided at this stage of the youngster’s career. According to the former Chelsea forward, Del Piero was already producing match-winning moments and scoring decisive goals from the moment he broke into the Juventus first team.
Zola praised Yildiz’s development, describing him as a talented player with enormous potential.
However, he stressed that the 19-year-old still has significant progress to make before he can be mentioned in the same breath as one of Juventus’ greatest-ever players.
Zola also admitted he has been impressed by Thiago Motta’s rise as a coach.
The Juventus manager is in his first season in charge after guiding Bologna to UEFA Champions League qualification last term.
Zola acknowledged that Motta’s first coaching spell at Genoa was challenging but said the former Italy midfielder learned valuable lessons from the experience.
He added that Motta has continued to grow steadily and has established himself as one of the brightest coaching talents in Italian football.
