Gianfranco Zola will bid to cross successfully the east-west London divide as he takes up his new role as West Ham manager.

Considered the favourite Chelsea player of all time by many Blues fans, he is now in charge of their fierce rivals.

That’s a situation which might not sit comfortably with all supporters of either club, but it is the Hammers who have most to gain.

They have a personable, eloquent gent of the game, who wants to entertain the crowd and encourage younger players.

"My philosophy is to play offensive football," Zola told a news conference as he was named as West Ham’s fifth boss in seven years.

He is the first foreign manager at a club which famously provided three members of England's 1966 World Cup-winning team in Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters.

Ever since, Upton Park has provided a conveyor belt of talent through its Academy, with West Ham graduates Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole and Frank Lampard featuring in England's 4-1 win in Croatia on Wednesday.

Zola, with his experience as assistant coach of the Italy U21 side, will look to develop the next generation – players like Mark Noble, Freddie Sears and James Tomkins.

Among his other early tasks will be to assert control of a dressing room that contains fiery characters such as Craig Bellamy, Lee Bowyer and Lucas Neill.

And as a former Chelsea man, Zola needs to get the sceptical fans on side. Many preferred ex-Hammers Slaven Bilic or Paolo di Canio as the choice to succeed Alan Curbishley.

Getting the backing of supporters may not be as big a task as it first appears.

Just as he did as a player, Zola has timed his run to perfection – inheriting an inviting set of fixtures.

West Brom, Newcastle, Watford, Fulham, Bolton and Hull are West Ham's next opponents.

It is not until 13 December that he returns to Stamford Bridge, where a portrait bigger than the man himself adorns a wall which once formed part of the ground's Shed End.

His picture sits next to one of Joe Cole, a reminder of the talent which has gone from east London to west in recent years.

For a change, the traffic is in the other direction.

But there is a precedent – Ron Greenwood won a title as a player with Chelsea in the 1950s before going on to FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup success as a Hammers manager.

And a certain Bobby Moore had Chelsea as one of his middle names.

No-one at West Ham held it against him. Whether Zola’s Chelsea connection is written off so easily may well become clear in the next six weeks or so...