Chelsea 1 Stuttgart 0 by Gavin Willacy WE'D HAD seventy minutes of mediocrity, often lapsing into ineptitude, as Chelsea and Stuttgart combined to put on one of the worst European finals in recent years. The huge majority of fans in Stockholm were ground into subdued quiet by the nonsense they were witnessing, when Chelsea assistant-manager Graham Rix decided enough was enough. On came Gianfranco Zola for Tore Andre Flo and just over thirty seconds later, the little Italian had scored the goal that won Chelsea the European Cup Winners' Cup, four years after Zola was on the losing Parma side, beaten in the final by Arsenal. It wasn't his first touch that was when he lost the ball, very much in the spirit of the game, and it bounced away to Dennis Wise but his second was supreme. Spinning off into space down the centre of Stuttgart's defence, Wise picked him out perfectly with a forward chip and Zola's first time drive past the 'keeper from around the penalty spot was efficient and lethal. Leaning to his left, he half-volleyed the ball over Austrian international Franz Wohlfahrt with his right-foot, angled perfectly inside the far post. Flo had been Chelsea's best player in a below-par first half, regularly threatening down the left and looking as good on the floor as any bean-pole striker has. But he faded after the break, along with the games' other bright sparks, Dennis Wise and Gustavo Poyet. So much so, that there were no complaints when Rix made his first change. Something had to be done and Zola, who had been nursing a groin injury in the last few days, was Rix's choice. But few could have predicted the speed of Zola's impact, nor the level of performance he would put in during that closing half hour, after such a disappointing season. His first touch was magnificent and his confidence bubbling as he found space and dragged Stuttgart's defenders across the narrow Rasunda Stadium pitch in a manner which complemented player-manager Gianluca Vialli's industry and class. Vialli was so far and away the best player on the field that it made a mockery of the fact that he was not even in Ruud Gullit's first choice team earlier this season, let alone that he will not be in Italy's World Cup squad next month, regardless of his 33 years. After the opening ten minutes, fans could have been mistaken for thinking they were in for a cracker. Roberto Di Matteo wasted a fantastic chance on five minutes, dragging a shot wide from only ten yards. Four minutes later, Stuttgart's Bulgarian striker Krasimir Balakov hesitated after being set-up by the lively Nigerian forward Jonathan Akpoborie, who caused Steve Clarke problems throughout the first half. Chelsea's notoriously shaky defence, with Michael Duberry and Frank Leboeuf struggling at its heart, were looking susceptible to any aerial attack by the German side but the threat soon wilted and Chelsea's midfield took a grip on the game. They stopped Stuttgart playing through them with an eager pressing game, but failed to provide the service in front of goal that the magnificent Vialli and Flo would have savoured. Instead, they beavered away on the flanks as Wise, Di Matteo and Poyet worked the middle, allowing young Danny Granville, in for the injured Graeme Le Saux and one of only three Englishmen in the side, to romp up the left regularly in the second half. The England Under-21 international had a chance to open the scoring himself but delayed too long and was forced to cross instead. Captain Wise thundered volleys just past the post from outside the box either side of half-time, as Chelsea were prevented from creating chances close in on Stuttgart's goal. Contrarily, German striker Fredi Bobic, such an rugged English-style centre-forward, wasted a couple of good early chances to put Stuttgart ahead and Ed De Goey saved superbly at full stretch from Balakov in the 19th minute as the Blues cracked down the middle. But once Vialli's side had gone ahead, there was little to suggest Stuttgart could regroup and push for an equaliser. Even when Dan Petrescu was outrageously sent-off by the otherwise impressive Italian referee Stefano Braschi for a dangerous tackle on Murat Yakin, Chelsea rode out the last six minutes with little threat from the weary Germans, who appeared resigned to defeat as soon as Zola hit the net. They were also reduced to ten men when Gerhard Poschner the fourth red card in this month's two European finals - as Stuttgart sent everyone, including Wohlfahrt, forward. But it was not enough and as Chelsea claimed their third cup triumph in less than one incredible year, and became the first 'English' team to win the competition twice.

ZOLA: THE GREATEST MOMENT OF MY LIFE   CHELSEA hero Gianfranco Zola revelled in his match-winning late appearance in Stockholm and called it the greatest moment of his life. Having made an amazing recovery from a groin strain that sent him to Italy for treatment only 18 days ago, despairing that he was out for the rest of the season, Zola was thrilled to score the only goal but was so full of self-belief, he thought he was going to start the game. ''This is the greatest moment of my life," he said. ''This is amazing, I can hardly believe it. To be honest I was surprised to find I wasn't playing because I have worked so hard to get myself fit. Perhaps I was a little bit frustrated but I was able to turn that into a positive because when I came on I was tuned-in and spot-on. ''I'm really happy with that entrance. I so wanted to get on at least for a few minutes. It was great that I could and even better to score the winner.'' Zola was treated by specialist Mimmo Pezza and paid tribute to his intensive work on the injured groin: ''I deserved it for the passion and work I have done in the last 18 days but without Mimmo I could not have been here. ''I had a lesion in my muscle that was two centimetres long. It was impossible for me to be fit but he somehow made it possible. ''It was quite incredible for me and when I scored I couldn't control myself,'' said Zola, who returned from Rimini only last Friday. ''I tried, but it was impossible. I know it must have looked absolutely horrible but at that moment I just couldn't control my actions or my movements. ''Just 18 days ago I saw all my dreams turning to nothing. Suddenly today I was in the match, came on and scored and won Chelsea the Cup. ''It's something I can hardly believe. I have had a lot of beautiful moments in my career but this is probably the best. I've never had sensations like it.'' Player-manager Gianluca Vialli has now turned his attentions to the Premiership after a decent holiday. Vialli was delighted to add a second Cup Winners Cup to his incredible collection of European trophy triumphs. "We have to share the credit between the chaps," he said. "They were all superb and I am so pleased. I am 'over the moon'! "I will still be player-manager next season and we will not stop here. We must keep improving. Our aim is to win the Premiership and we would love to tackle the Champions League next. We are good enough for it and fingers crossed we can get there. Our next step is the Premier League. "The players are very excited and I was very pleased with them. I was just sorry for those who were on the bench or in the stand." But Stuttgart coach Joachim Low was far from happy, blasting his side for losing concentration when Zola came on. ''After (Thomas) Schneider went off, the defence was all at sea for a few moments. Zola found himself unmarked and took advantage to score. And that mistake cost us the match,'' he said. ''It's all the more galling as we could, and should, have scored in the first half.'' CHELSEA: De Goey, Petrescu, Leboeuf, Clarke, Poyet (Newton 80), Vialli, Wise, Duberry, Di Matteo, Granville, Flo (Zola 71) Subs Not Used: Hitchcock, M Hughes, Myers, Charvet, Morris Sent Off: Petrescu (84) Booked: Wise VfB STUTTGART: Wohlfahrt, Berthold, Yakin, Hagner (Ristic 79), Haber (Georjevic 75), Balakov, Bobic, Schneider (Endress 55), Akpoborie, Soldo, Poschner Subs Not Used: Ziegler, Becker, Lisztes, Stojkovski Sent Off: Poschner (90) Booked: Akpoborie Att: 30,216 Ref: S Braschi (Italy)

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