Zola has likened the midfielder to Andres Iniesta.
He told L'Avvenire: "Italy? They would have a '10' and I have always sponsored them as such, I'm talking about Nicol Zaniolo. He has lost his way a bit, but with a great coach like Luciano Spalletti he could rediscover that imagination of talent that I admired at the beginning. However, Italy has a champion, and he is also Sardinian, Nicol Barella.
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"He's our Iniesta. Barella is a great player who improves from season to season, and he is also an intelligent boy.
"There is one thing that unites us: his success has not changed him, he always remains the good boy from Cagliari with his feet firmly planted on this earth."