Gianfranco Zola says he is relishing the chance to save his former club from relegation after being appointed coach of Cagliari.
Zola makes a return to his Sardinian roots -- to the club where he started and finished his playing career -- almost a decade after he ended his playing career by leading the club up to Serie A and keeping them in the top flight.
The 48-year-old's new task is an equally challenging one, and he is eagerly looking forward to getting to work back with the Rossoblu .
"It's a great challenge, but I've always liked the rather tricky gambles in life," Zola said in La Gazzetta dello Sport. "I've got the feeling I'm starting from where I left off in 2005 -- with emotion, determination and the conviction that I can contribute immediately to the benefit of Cagliari."
Zola -- who began his club management career with spells at West Ham United and Watford in England -- takes over a side lying inside the bottom three of Serie A with 12 points from 16 games.
They are three points adrift of safety with four of their next five games against sides from the bottom half of the table. His predecessor Zdenek Zeman paid for winning only two of his 12 games at the helm, both spectacular away wins -- 4-1 at Inter Milan and 4-0 at Empoli.
They also held AC Milan, Genoa, Napoli and Sampdoria to draws, but a 3-1 defeat at home to Juventus on Dec. 18 proved to be the final straw with the former Roma coach relieved of his duties earlier this week.
Zola brings with him his former joint-coach of Italy's under-21s and ex-Chelsea teammate, Pierluigi Casiraghi, and he is expected to start work from Monday with just over a week to prepare for the trip to Palermo on Jan. 6.