Player Review

I completed the Zola SBC with the small amount of fodder left in my club for around 250k. He is around 550k on the market at the time of writing so I got him for half price and he is more than worth it.

I am an Elite level player whom favours possession based football slowly breaking down the opposition defence. If you are a player who plays more attacking football then you will most likely find even more success than I did.

DISCLAIMER

Zola is a lethal finisher, however, sometimes in the box while the keeper is charging him, his finishing can be bad at times. This is probably due to his low composure. It isn't a huge issue, he may just miss a few sitters from time to time. Overall though he is fantastic.

Also you may be wondering about the stamina issue. As I said I am more of a possession player so I rarely use him to run down the wings or press opposition players. I prefer him to be in position at all times. Due to this I didn't notice any stamina issue at all.

It is fairly obvious Zola has low strength and bad aerial ability. I didn't use him for this so I won't go into depth on this issue, if you need an aerial presence or physical strength, he isn't for you.

REVIEW

I played Zola as a lone striker in a 4231/433 surrounded by players with excellent passing stats. This ensures that he gets terrific service from any part of the pitch. You may be thinking he is best used as a CAM and I agree, however as I already have players with good passing stats around him, I didn't need him to playmake, just needed him to finish opportunities. I utilised over the top through balls and cutback passes from my wingers as the main playstyle. Zola's finishing with either foot is amazing. His long shots are insane, truly. I have scored a lot of power long shots with him from weird angles. His pace might not be the best but it is highly usable, if he can get a yard on the defender there is little chance they are catching him. The over the top through ball method is my favourite to use. Combining his pace and finishing ability from close and long range. As long as there is a clear shot on goal I am confident most of the time he will score or test the keeper. His aerial ability is irrelevant as he is obviously not that type of player so I never even try to score headers with him. His dribbling is probably the best I've used in the game so far. It's cliche to say this but it really does feel like the ball is glued to his feet. If you enjoy close dribbling in the box with players out maneuvering the opposition defence you will love Zola. I am not a player that uses a lot of skills but the main few I use he pulls them off very well, no issues there. His passing is pinpoint, rarely if ever messes a pass up as long as you direct it correctly etc. of course. Sometimes I use him as more of a False-9 to bring my wingers into play more and he fits that role perfectly also. His vision and short/long passing are another excellent asset you can use to help breakdown the opposition defence. Shooting or passing, Zola is tremendously good.