Gianfranco Zola was apparently interviewed by Inter Milan just weeks before he took over Birmingham City in December.
The Italian was said to have held talks with the Italian giants following the sacking of Frank de Boer back in November. He was ultimately knocked back in his bid to become the new head coach of the Serie A club and landed his job at St Andrew’s the following month.
As reported by the Birmingham Mail, Italian football journalist James Horncastle revealed talks between the two parties had taken place on the Guardian’s Football Weekly podcast.
“Bizarrely, he was interviewed for the Inter job weeks before getting this one,” said Horncastle.
“He didn’t get that job, understandably so.”
Since taking over from Gary Rowett, the 50-year-old has endured a retched run of results since arriving in the Midlands. Birmingham have won just two games in his 19 games in charge. This has seen the dynamic of their campaign change from a possible promotion push to a relegation scrap.
They now find themselves just five points off the bottom three with just eight games to play and face a crunch clash with fellow strugglers Ipswich Town after the international break.
Zola’s future at St Andrews looks bleak following a dismal run since taking over in December
Birmingham supporters are alarmed by their side’s dramatic slide to the table and even if the Blues avoid relegation, they will be hoping to see a new man in the dugout come the start of next season.
Zola’s managerial career has failed to match his illustrious playing career, where he spent his most memorable years at Chelsea in a seven-year spell.
Unless there is a dramatic turnaround in results, his time at Birmingham will only hinder his chances of getting another high profile job in England.
Zola also endured largely forgettable spells in charge of West Ham United and Watford.
Birmingham fans have had little to cheer about since Zola’s arrival
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