Gianfranco Zola to drive European Ryder Cup vice captain Molinari

Former Italy and Chelsea striker Gianfranco Zola is playing an unexpected supporting role at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, serving as the designated buggy driver for European vice captain Francesco Molinari as Team Europe prepares for competition this week in New York. Zola, 59, was seen with the team during practice rounds and in official team photographs circulating on social media.

Team Europe captain Luke Donald named Molinari among his five vice captains, a group that also includes Molinari's brother and several former Ryder Cup stalwarts. Zola, a long-time friend of Francesco Molinari, has been invited into the European backroom and will ferry the vice captain around the notoriously demanding Bethpage Black course. Observers said the pairing should speed communications across the vast layout as Molinari moves between matches.

Zola brings more than celebrity presence. The former forward scored 59 goals in 229 appearances for Chelsea and netted 10 times for Italy during a playing career that ran into the mid 2000s. He later held a series of coaching roles, most recently as an assistant at his old club before leaving professional coaching in 2019. Off the pitch he is...