Gianfranco Zola will be doing more than driving a buggy at the Ryder Cup this week. Going by the disclosures of Justin Rose, he has also been tasked with driving home a few messages too.

The former Chelsea and Italy forward has drawn attention in the past couple of days after being spotted in his surreal role as on-course chauffeur to Luke Donald’s vice-captain Francesco Molinari.

The pair became close friends when they both had overlapping spells living in London, but Rose has shared that Zola will have an alternative purpose as a motivator for Team Europe at Bethpage Black.

Rose, a Chelsea fan, said: ‘I think with his energy, and what he can provide, he's here as a fly on the wall. If there's a moment that he observes and can chime in and can understand the pressure or can understand momentum or locker room mentality, then obviously he can relay a really powerful message.

‘Hopefully he has that opportunity because I'd love to hear it.’

Rose added: ‘Obviously he’s a Chelsea legend. Clearly I'm a Chelsea fan. I didn't know he was coming this week, so it was a huge surprise. He was literally one of the first people I bumped into.

‘I was coming around the corner in the hotel to the lifts and bumped into him. I meet a lot of really cool people in my life through the game of golf. But I was like, "Whoa! Wow! Hey, Gianfranco!" I was starstruck which is amazing.’