Fabio Cannavaro
Encyclopedia
Fabio Cannavaro, Ufficiale OMRI
(born 13 September 1973 in Naples
, Italy
) is a former Italian
footballer considered one of the greatest defenders of all time and was given the name "Muro di Berlino" which means The Berlin wall by Italian supporters. He spent the majority of his career in Italy. He started his career at Napoli
, before spending seven years at Parma
, with whom he won two Coppa Italia
s and the 1999
UEFA Cup
. After spells at Internazionale
and Juventus
, Cannavaro transferred along with manager Fabio Capello
from Juventus to Real Madrid
, with whom he won consecutive La Liga
titles in 2007 and 2008. After returning to Juventus for one season in 2009–10, he joined Al-Ahli. He retired from professional football in 2011 due to an injury troubled season in Al'Ahli.
Cannavaro has also achieved success with the Italian national team
. He was part of the Italy team that won consecutive Under-21 European Championships
in 1994 and 1996. After earning his first senior cap
in 1997 he eventually became captain. Cannavaro led Italy to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup
, and in 2009 overtook Paolo Maldini
as the most capped player in the country's history. He announced his retirement from international football on 25 June 2010 following Italy's failure to qualify for the knock-out stages of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
, having amassed 136 caps and scored 2 goals for the national team.
He won the FIFA World Player of the Year
award in 2006
, making him the first, and so far, only defender to win the award, as well as the oldest recipient. Cannavaro's younger brother Paolo
is also a professional footballer.
. He has an elder sister named Renata, who was married at the age of 15. He also has a younger brother named Paolo Cannavaro
, who plays football as well. As a youngster Cannavaro played for a team from Bagnoli
before being quickly spotted by the scouts of Napoli
, his childhood team.
and would often watch his idols Diego Maradona
and Ciro Ferrara
play. He gained a reputation when, in a training session at Napoli, the young Fabio produced a strong tackle on Maradona, who was then the undisputed star of the club. The rough challenge angered teammates and staff at Napoli; however, Maradona himself defended the promising player and encouraged him to play the way he wanted.
His progress as a player was such that he soon became a member of the first team alongside some of his childhood idols. Cannavaro's debut in Serie A
came on 7 March 1993 in Torino for a game against Juventus
. The post-Maradona Napoli were in desperate need of funds and were soon forced to sell Cannavaro to Parma
, where Cannavaro won the UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia
, and was named the Serie A Defender of the Year
. Cannavaro remained at Napoli until 1995, earning nearly 60 total appearances with one goal.
and Lilian Thuram
, who would not only form one of the tightest defensive units of Europe with Cannavaro, but would also become some of his closest friends in football. Further players featuring in this legendary Parma backline were Luigi Sartor
, Roberto Mussi
and the Argentine Nestor Sensini.
As from 1997, he began to earn call-ups to the national team's senior squad and was consistently one of the best defenders in Serie A, which led to a €23 million transfer to Internazionale
, in 2002, following over 250 total appearances for the club, with 5 goals.
. Along with Francesco Coco
and his former Parma teammate Hernan Crespo
, Cannavaro was supposed to be one of the faces of a new-look Inter led by Hector Cuper.
However, during his spell with the club, they mostly flattered to deceive. He reached the semi-finals of the 2002–03 Champions League and also finished runners-up in Serie A to Juventus. His second season was not as productive and he missed a large chunk of it through injury. After two years with the club, he was sold to Juventus
in a surprising part-exchange deal, after just over 50 appearances and two goals. After he left Italy, Cannavaro often spoke negatively of his spell at Internazionale, comparing the Milan club unfavourably with his other clubs such as Parma and Juventus.
who left for Inter, both players priced €10 million. By coming to Torino, he reunited with his ex-Parma teammates Lilian Thuram
and Gianluigi Buffon
, and together the threesome formed one of the most feared defences in the Serie A
, along with the likes of Gianluca Zambrotta
, Gianluca Pessotto
, Alessandro Birindelli
, Jonathan Zebina
and Federico Balzaretti
. They went on to win two consecutive Scudetti in 2005 and 2006. In the former season he was also paired with club icons Paolo Montero
and Ciro Ferrara
. Cannavaro also won l'Oscar del Calcio
: Migliore difensore, the Football Oscar, for his exceptional debut season at the Turin giants.
After the 2006 World Cup
, the Calciopoli trial verdicts relegated Juventus to Serie B
. Since Juventus was ineligible to qualify for the Champions League
, Cannavaro decided to leave. "Even if I know this may be hard to believe, I would have stayed at Juventus had they remained in Serie A—even with a 30-point deduction.". He followed Fabio Capello
to Real Madrid
in the summer of 2006. In his two year Scudetto winning stint with Juventus, Cannavaro racked up over 100 total appearances in all competitions. His transfer was met with disappointment from the Juventus fans, who had accepted him as one of their own.
. Madrid paid €7 million for the player. Cannavaro spent three seasons at Madrid
, winning the La Liga
title in 2006–07 and 2007–08, and was named the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year
during his time with Juventus and Real Madrid combined.
Sadly, it was also during his time in Madrid that Cannavaro's decline began to be exposed, especially in the 2008-09 season. He was often seen struggling when faced with pacy opponents such as Lionel Messi
and Fernando Torres
, leading to Real Madrid conceding a lot of goals. On 19 May 2009, it was confirmed that Cannavaro would return to Juventus for the 2009–10 season
on the expiration of his contract with Real Madrid.
, Martin Caceres
, Zdenek Grygera
, Fabio Grosso
, and most notably Giorgio Chiellini
, in front of Gianluigi Buffon
.
Despite the good start to the season for Juve on all fronts, their season soon took a turn for the worse as from autumn. Cannavaro was no stranger to that declining form. Having been injured for a while in late 2009, he struggled for form on his comeback. In March 2010, his relationship with the Juventus supporters, which had already been made fragile by his perceived betrayal of the club when he left for Real Madrid, reached an all-time low. In a Europa League tie against Fulham, Juventus, who had won the first leg 3-1 at home, were leading 1-0 at the Craven Cottage
. However, early in the first half, Cannavaro accumulated two bookings for reckless challenges and was sent off. Reduced to 10 men, Juventus collapsed to a 4-1 loss and crashed to elimination on aggregate. Cannavaro enraged supporters with his sending-off and his role in this humiliating elimination.
The club finished its league season with only a Europa League place, its worst Serie A finish for a decade. Juventus confirmed that Cannavaro wouldn't renew. His performances had become so unreliable that his hometown club SSC Napoli made no effort to sign him, in spite of Cannavaro expressing his wish to rejoin the club on several occasions. He even became a joke among Neapolitan fans who would say that his younger brother Paolo was a more gifted player, but had enjoyed less luck with his career.
. Cannavaro signed a two-year deal.
He made 16 appearances for the Dubai club, with 2 goals. Cannavaro announced his retirement from football in July 2011, due to a serious knee problem. Doctors had told him he could no longer play.
Fabio Cannavaro was appointed as a global brand ambassador and Technical Consultant of Al Ahli Club of Dubai on 25 August 2011.
under coach Cesare Maldini
with Italy's U-21
side, winning two consecutive European Under-21 Championship
titles in 1994 and 1996. In 1996, he participated also at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
He made his debut with the Italian national team
on 22 January 1997, in a friendly
game against Northern Ireland
. The same year, he earned plaudits for his handling of England striker Alan Shearer
in a World Cup qualifying game at Wembley
. Shearer was then considered by the fiercely partisan English crowd to be the best striker in the world, and they thought he would make have fun with the unexperienced Italian defender. Nevertheless, in a dominant display that ranked him among the great Italian defenders such as Claudio Gentile
and Franco Baresi
, Cannavaro managed to keep Shearer quiet during the whole game. Italy won the game 1-0 thanks to a Gianfranco Zola
goal.
He played for his country in the 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010 World Cups
, as well as in the 2000 and 2004 European Championships
.
Cannavaro's first international tournament came at 1998 World Cup
under the mentorship of Bergomi
, Costacurta
and Paolo Maldini
, the squad was coached by Paolo Maldini's father Cesare
. Italy went out in the quarter-finals to hosts and eventual champions France; Cannavaro suffered a cut on his forehead from an elbow by Stéphane Guivarc'h
but played the remainder of the match after receiving treatment. The Azzurri managed to push the game to a 0–0 draw but the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out in favour of the hosts after the teams were tied 0–0.
In Euro 2000, it was Les Bleus who once again shattered Italy's dreams. Cannavaro had a strong tournament, playing as centre-back alongside Nesta
, Iuliano
or Maldini
in 3-5-2 formation. The Azzurri reached the final, where they led the then world champions 1–0 going into injury time. Near the end of regular time, Sylvain Wiltord
found the equalizer, and an extra-time golden goal
from David Trezeguet
gave France the title.
At the 2002 World Cup
he was credited with holding the defence together, almost single-handedly after Alessandro Nesta
was injured against Croatia. The injury, along with several mistakes from match officials, dealt a severe blow to Italy's chances of winning the World Cup, as the side relied heavily on the Cannavaro-Nesta partnership in central defence. Marco Materazzi
, who deputized for Nesta, proved to be an ill-fated choice with his nervous performances. Italy went out in the second round, losing to co-hosts and eventual semi-finalists South Korea, again to a golden goal.
Cannavaro had a hard act to follow when he took over as captain from Maldini after the 2002 World Cup, but he quickly won the team over with his constant smile, laid-back Neapolitan approach and inspiring performances. After Maldini's international retirement, he first captained Italy in a match at Napoli and received a standing ovation on the pitch where he sported the local side's colours between 1991 and 1995.
Cannavaro's first international goal was scored on 30 May 2004 against Tunisia
, Italy won 4–0. Euro 2004, which was hosted by Portugal, turned out to be a disappointment. Cannavaro picked up yellow cards during the two draws with Denmark (0–0) and Sweden (1–1), forcing him to sit out the final group game. Italy defeated Bulgaria 2–1, but failed to advance on goal difference.
. His crowning moment was lifting the World Cup on 9 July 2006, the night of his 100th cap. Cannavaro did not receive a single yellow or red card during the 690 minutes he played in the tournament. His defensive performance in the final earned him the nickname of "Wall of Berlin", as the final was played in Berlin.
Along with Buffon, Cannavaro played every minute of every match in the tournament for Italy. Even with usual defensive partner Nesta out due to injury, the Italian defence conceded only two goals throughout the entire tournament: an own-goal against the United States
and a Zidane penalty in the final against France
.
With the injury of defensive partner Alessandro Nesta
Cannavaro somehow managed to hold the defense together, earning him a spot on the All-Star Team at the end of the competition—awarded by FIFA's Technical Study Group—alongside six other Italian teammates, Gianluigi Buffon
, Francesco Totti
, Gennaro Gattuso
, Andrea Pirlo
, Luca Toni
, and Gianluca Zambrotta
. He was runner-up in the race for the Golden Ball, finishing behind French counterpart Zinedine Zidane
; it was a close contest with Zidane polling 2012 points to Cannavaro's 1977.
and was carried off the field on a stretcher. Italy doctor Paolo Zeppilli said: "We have to do tests but it does not look like a minor injury." Tests had shown that he tore ligaments in his left ankle. Right after the examinations, Italian journalists awaited Cannavaro, who told them: "I'm going home," with a melancholic smile on his face. After the day was over, Roberto Donadoni
called up Fiorentina
centre-back Alessandro Gamberini
as his official replacement. Del Piero captained the team in his place. Cannavaro added he will stay with the squad to offer support. This would have been Cannavaro's third Euro tournament.
Cannavaro has also put his plans to retire from the national team after Euro 2008 on hold and added that it had made him more determined to captain Italy through the 2010 World Cup
.
match against Brazil
, Cannavaro equalled Paolo Maldini
's record of being Italy's most capped player. On 12 August 2009, in a friendly match against Switzerland, Cannavaro became Italy's most capped player of all time. He won his 127th cap for his country, beating Maldini's former record of 126.
in South Africa
. The defending champions crashed out of the competition losing to Slovakia after drawing against New Zealand and Paraguay. Following Italy's failure to progress past the group stage, Cannavaro announced his retirement from international football.
His younger brother, Paolo
, is also a defender who currently plays for Napoli
. The two brothers played alongside each other at Parma from 2000 until 2002, when Fabio left for Inter. Although they are no longer playing together, Fabio has expressed interest in ending his career with Paolo in a Napoli shirt.
With his fellow Napoletano Ciro Ferrara
, Cannavaro has helped establish a charity foundation, Fondazione Cannavaro Ferrara, specialising in the procurement of cancer research equipment and surgery for special cases of cancer for a hospital in their native Naples.
and stress. It is not on the banned substance list. This chemical is, in partnership with adenosine triphosphate
(ATP), fundamental to the ability of the body to produce muscular energy. Phosphocreatine is formed naturally within the body, with over 95% of the compound stored within the muscle cells. Approximately 5 oz (120 g) of phosphocreatine is present in the body of a healthy adult; the levels of the compound do not fluctuate to a significant degree. When phosphocreatine stores become reduced, the body replenishes its supply from one of two sources. The first source is amino acids, the muscle- and tissue-building blocks present in all proteins. The liver produces phosphocreatine from amino acids. The body also receives dietary creatine primarily through the consumption of meat. No action was ever taken regarding this incident.
On 8 October 2009, Cannavaro failed a drug test. However, Juventus claimed that the drugs were medicine for a severe allergic reaction to a wasp sting, and not performance enhancing. Because of the urgent nature of the treatment, Cannavaro could not ask for permission to CONI in time, which was done immediately afterwards. Apparently while awaiting the conclusion of formalities involved for CONI with granting this permission, he was subjected to the drug test that eventually gave the positive result. CONI later dropped charges against him.
|1992–93||rowspan="3"|Napoli
||rowspan="14"|Serie A
||2||0||1||0||||||3||0
|-
|1993–94||27||0||2||0||||||29||0
|-
|1994–95||29||1||4||0||3||0||36||1
|-
|1995–96||rowspan="7"|Parma
||29||1||1||0||6||0||36||1
|-
|1996–97||27||0||1||0||2||0||30||0
|-
|1997–98
||31||0||6||0||7||0||44||0
|-
|1998–99
||30||1||7||0||8||0||45||1
|-
|1999–2000||31||2||3||0||9||1||43||3
|-
|2000–01||33||0||7||0||6||0||46||0
|-
|2001–02||31||1||5||0||9||0||45||1
|-
|2002–03||rowspan="2"|Internazionale
||28||0||0||0||12||1||40||1
|-
|2003–04||22||2||3||0||9||0||34||2
|-
|2004–05||rowspan="2"|Juventus
||38||2||0||0||9||1||47||3
|-
|2005–06||37||4||2||0||9||0||48||4
|-
|2006–07||rowspan="3"|Real Madrid
||rowspan="3"|La Liga
||32||0||1||0||6||0||39||0
|-
|2007–08||33||0||1||0||6||0||40||0
|-
|2008–09||29||0||1||0||7||0||37||0
|-
|2009–10
||Juventus
||Serie A
||27||0||0||0||0||0||27||0
|-
|2010–11
|||Al-Ahli Dubai|||UAE League
||16||2||0||0||0||0||16||2
|-
396||14||42||0||89||3||527||17
94||0||3||0||19||0||116||0
16||2||0||0||0||0||16||2
506||16||45||0||108||3||659||19
|}
|-
|1997||12||0
|-
|1998||11||0
|-
|1999||8||0
|-
|2000||14||0
|-
|2001||9||0
|-
|2002||12||0
|-
|2003||10||0
|-
|2004||6||1
|-
|2005||8||0
|-
|2006||15||0
|-
|2007||8||0
|-
|2008||8||1
|-
|2009||10||0
|-
|2010||5||0
|-
!Total||136||2
|}
Real Madrid
Italy national team
Individual
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic
The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic was founded as the senior order of knighthood by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi in 1951...
(born 13 September 1973 in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
) is a former Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
footballer considered one of the greatest defenders of all time and was given the name "Muro di Berlino" which means The Berlin wall by Italian supporters. He spent the majority of his career in Italy. He started his career at Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
, before spending seven years at Parma
Parma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
, with whom he won two Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
s and the 1999
1999 UEFA Cup Final
The 1999 UEFA Cup Final a football match that took place at Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, on 12 May 1999 between Parma A.C. of Italy and Olympique de Marseille of France. Parma won the match 3–0...
UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
. After spells at Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
and Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
, Cannavaro transferred along with manager Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the manager of the England national football team.Capello has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every club he has coached throughout his career...
from Juventus to Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
, with whom he won consecutive La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
titles in 2007 and 2008. After returning to Juventus for one season in 2009–10, he joined Al-Ahli. He retired from professional football in 2011 due to an injury troubled season in Al'Ahli.
Cannavaro has also achieved success with the Italian national team
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
. He was part of the Italy team that won consecutive Under-21 European Championships
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The European Under-21 Football Championship is a football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. It is held every two years. The competition has existed in its current form since 1978. It was preceded by the Under 23 Challenge Cup which ran from 1967 to 1970...
in 1994 and 1996. After earning his first senior cap
Cap (sport)
In sports, a cap is a metaphorical term for a player's appearance on a select team, such as a national team. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of association football...
in 1997 he eventually became captain. Cannavaro led Italy to victory in the 2006 FIFA World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, and in 2009 overtook Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
as the most capped player in the country's history. He announced his retirement from international football on 25 June 2010 following Italy's failure to qualify for the knock-out stages of the 2010 FIFA World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
, having amassed 136 caps and scored 2 goals for the national team.
He won the FIFA World Player of the Year
FIFA World Player of the Year
The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award given annually to the male and female player who were thought to be the best in the world, based on votes by coaches and captains of international teams...
award in 2006
2006 FIFA World Player of the Year
The 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year prize was awarded to the Italian Fabio Cannavaro for the first time. He finished ahead of the retired Midfielder Zinédine Zidane, who won the Golden Ball at the World Cup and the winner of the last FIFA World Player of the Year Ronaldinho in the final round of...
, making him the first, and so far, only defender to win the award, as well as the oldest recipient. Cannavaro's younger brother Paolo
Paolo Cannavaro
Paolo Cannavaro is an Italian football defender who currently plays for Serie A club Napoli. He is the younger brother of Fabio Cannavaro.-Club career:...
is also a professional footballer.
Early career
Cannavaro was born in Naples to Gelsomina Costanzo and Pasquale Cannavaro. His mother worked as a maid, while his father was a bank clerk; his father also played football for provincial side GiuglianoS.S.C. Giugliano
Società Sportiva Calcio Giugliano is an Italian association football club, based in Giugliano in Campania, Campania. The club was founded in 1928. The team's colors are blue and yellow.-External links:*...
. He has an elder sister named Renata, who was married at the age of 15. He also has a younger brother named Paolo Cannavaro
Paolo Cannavaro
Paolo Cannavaro is an Italian football defender who currently plays for Serie A club Napoli. He is the younger brother of Fabio Cannavaro.-Club career:...
, who plays football as well. As a youngster Cannavaro played for a team from Bagnoli
Bagnoli
Bagnoli is a western seaside district of Naples, Italy, well beyond the confines of the original city. It is beyond Cape Posillipo and, thus, looking on the coast of the Bay of Pozzuoli.- History :...
before being quickly spotted by the scouts of Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
, his childhood team.
Napoli
Cannavaro initially served as the club's ball boyBall Boy
Ball Boy is a comic strip in the UK comic The Beano and also the name of the main character. It first appeared in issue 1735, dated 18 October 1975. It features a five-a-side football team that includes:* Ball Boy - the captain of the team, Ball Boy bears resemblances to The Dandy's Owen Goal...
and would often watch his idols Diego Maradona
Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona is a retired Argentine football player and widely regarded as one of the greatest football players of all time. Over the course of his professional club career Maradona played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla and Newell's Old Boys, setting...
and Ciro Ferrara
Ciro Ferrara
Ciro Ferrara is a former Italian footballer and current head coach of the Italy U-21 team. He spent his playing career as a defender initially at Napoli and later on at Juventus. He is also a former manager of Juventus.-Napoli:...
play. He gained a reputation when, in a training session at Napoli, the young Fabio produced a strong tackle on Maradona, who was then the undisputed star of the club. The rough challenge angered teammates and staff at Napoli; however, Maradona himself defended the promising player and encouraged him to play the way he wanted.
His progress as a player was such that he soon became a member of the first team alongside some of his childhood idols. Cannavaro's debut in Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
came on 7 March 1993 in Torino for a game against Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
. The post-Maradona Napoli were in desperate need of funds and were soon forced to sell Cannavaro to Parma
Parma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
, where Cannavaro won the UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia
Coppa Italia
The Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
, and was named the Serie A Defender of the Year
Oscar del Calcio
The Oscar del Calcio are awards given by the Italian Footballers' Association to the players, the coach and the referee who has been considered to have performed the best over the previous Serie A season...
. Cannavaro remained at Napoli until 1995, earning nearly 60 total appearances with one goal.
Parma
Cannavaro was sold to Parma in the summer of 1995 and in his first season he was instantly a regular in the first team, scoring once in 29 appearances in the league. He would go on not only to win The UEFA Cup, and the Coppa Italia, with Parma, but he also had several personal accomplishments. It was also in Parma that he met Gianluigi BuffonGianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. He has won the FIFA World Cup and is widely considered by fans and experts to be one of most dominant and successful goalkeepers in history...
and Lilian Thuram
Lilian Thuram
Lilian Thuram is a retired professional football defender and is the most capped player in the history of the France national team, and one of the twenty most capped players of all time.He played at the top flight in France, Italy and Spain for over 15 seasons, including ten in the Serie A with both...
, who would not only form one of the tightest defensive units of Europe with Cannavaro, but would also become some of his closest friends in football. Further players featuring in this legendary Parma backline were Luigi Sartor
Luigi Sartor
Luigi Sartor is a retired Italian footballer. Usually a fullback on either flank, he can also appear as a central defender....
, Roberto Mussi
Roberto Mussi
Roberto Mussi is a former Italian footballer in defender role, centre-back or right-back.-Club career:In his career, Mussi played for U.S. Massese, Parma, Milan and Torino...
and the Argentine Nestor Sensini.
As from 1997, he began to earn call-ups to the national team's senior squad and was consistently one of the best defenders in Serie A, which led to a €23 million transfer to Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
, in 2002, following over 250 total appearances for the club, with 5 goals.
Internazionale
In the summer of 2002, Cannavaro joined Internazionale for a fee reported €23 million. At the time Inter had just lost a Serie A title in dramatic circumstances to Juventus and were in the process of rebuilding following four barren years and the departure of star striker RonaldoRonaldo
Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima , commonly known as Ronaldo, is a retired Brazilian footballer who last played for Corinthians. Ronaldo is widely considered to be the greatest 'pure' striker in the history of the modern game, and by some accounts, in the history of football. Ronaldo was one of the...
. Along with Francesco Coco
Francesco Coco
Francesco Coco is a retired Italian football defender.-Club:Coco spent the majority of his club career with the Milan clubs; first with A.C. Milan between 1993 and 2002 and later with F.C. Internazionale between 2002 and 2007. He also had several loan spells with Vicenza Calcio, Torino F.C. and...
and his former Parma teammate Hernan Crespo
Hernán Crespo
Hernán Jorge Crespo is an Argentine footballer who plays for Parma in the Italian Serie A. Crespo has scored over 300 goals in a career spanning 18 years. His honors include an Olympic Games silver medal, a Copa Libertadores, an English Premier League title and three Scudettos. He was topscorer in...
, Cannavaro was supposed to be one of the faces of a new-look Inter led by Hector Cuper.
However, during his spell with the club, they mostly flattered to deceive. He reached the semi-finals of the 2002–03 Champions League and also finished runners-up in Serie A to Juventus. His second season was not as productive and he missed a large chunk of it through injury. After two years with the club, he was sold to Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
in a surprising part-exchange deal, after just over 50 appearances and two goals. After he left Italy, Cannavaro often spoke negatively of his spell at Internazionale, comparing the Milan club unfavourably with his other clubs such as Parma and Juventus.
Juventus
After a two-year stint, he signed for Juventus on the summer transfer window deadline day. The deal also involved the exchange of reserve goalkeeper, Fabian CariniFabián Carini
Héctor Fabián Carini Hernández is a Uruguayan football goalkeeper who plays for C.A. Peñarol in the Primera División from Uruguay.- Career :...
who left for Inter, both players priced €10 million. By coming to Torino, he reunited with his ex-Parma teammates Lilian Thuram
Lilian Thuram
Lilian Thuram is a retired professional football defender and is the most capped player in the history of the France national team, and one of the twenty most capped players of all time.He played at the top flight in France, Italy and Spain for over 15 seasons, including ten in the Serie A with both...
and Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. He has won the FIFA World Cup and is widely considered by fans and experts to be one of most dominant and successful goalkeepers in history...
, and together the threesome formed one of the most feared defences in the Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
, along with the likes of Gianluca Zambrotta
Gianluca Zambrotta
Gianluca Zambrotta is a world cup winning Italian footballer who currently plays as a full back for Serie A club Milan.Zambrotta was decorated as Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2000 and he was made an Officer of the same order in 2006.-Como:Zambrotta began his...
, Gianluca Pessotto
Gianluca Pessotto
Gianluca Pessotto is a former football player who spent the majority of his career with Juventus F.C., where he currently serves as team manager...
, Alessandro Birindelli
Alessandro Birindelli
Alessandro Birindelli is a retired Italian footballer. Equally at ease as right or left defender, he is best known for his 11-year spell with Juventus, winning several accolades and appearing in nearly 300 official games.-Early years:...
, Jonathan Zebina
Jonathan Zebina
Jonathan Zebina is a French footballer playing for Stade Brestois 29. He plays as a right back and occasionally as a centre back, though he started out as a striker....
and Federico Balzaretti
Federico Balzaretti
Federico Balzaretti is an Italian footballer who currently plays as a left back for Serie A club Palermo and Italy national football team.-Club career:...
. They went on to win two consecutive Scudetti in 2005 and 2006. In the former season he was also paired with club icons Paolo Montero
Paolo Montero
Paolo Rónald Montero Iglesias is a former Uruguayan footballer who played as a central defender or left back. He has been described as "skillful on the ball and calm under pressure", and a "wonderfully talented and intelligent footballer"...
and Ciro Ferrara
Ciro Ferrara
Ciro Ferrara is a former Italian footballer and current head coach of the Italy U-21 team. He spent his playing career as a defender initially at Napoli and later on at Juventus. He is also a former manager of Juventus.-Napoli:...
. Cannavaro also won l'Oscar del Calcio
Oscar del Calcio
The Oscar del Calcio are awards given by the Italian Footballers' Association to the players, the coach and the referee who has been considered to have performed the best over the previous Serie A season...
: Migliore difensore, the Football Oscar, for his exceptional debut season at the Turin giants.
After the 2006 World Cup
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
, the Calciopoli trial verdicts relegated Juventus to Serie B
Serie B
Serie B, currently named Serie bwin due to sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It is contested by 22 teams and organized by the Lega Serie B since July 2010, after the split of Lega Calcio that previously took care of both the...
. Since Juventus was ineligible to qualify for the Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
, Cannavaro decided to leave. "Even if I know this may be hard to believe, I would have stayed at Juventus had they remained in Serie A—even with a 30-point deduction.". He followed Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello
Fabio Capello is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the manager of the England national football team.Capello has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every club he has coached throughout his career...
to Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
in the summer of 2006. In his two year Scudetto winning stint with Juventus, Cannavaro racked up over 100 total appearances in all competitions. His transfer was met with disappointment from the Juventus fans, who had accepted him as one of their own.
Real Madrid
In Real Madrid, Cannavaro was given the number 5 shirt that was previously worn by former Madrid player and French international Zinedine ZidaneZinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...
. Madrid paid €7 million for the player. Cannavaro spent three seasons at Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, winning the La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
title in 2006–07 and 2007–08, and was named the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year
FIFA World Player of the Year
The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award given annually to the male and female player who were thought to be the best in the world, based on votes by coaches and captains of international teams...
during his time with Juventus and Real Madrid combined.
Sadly, it was also during his time in Madrid that Cannavaro's decline began to be exposed, especially in the 2008-09 season. He was often seen struggling when faced with pacy opponents such as Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays for FC Barcelona and captains the Argentina national team, mainly as a striker. Messi received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21, and won in 2009 and 2010...
and Fernando Torres
Fernando Torres
Fernando José Torres Sanz , nicknamed , is a Spanish footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Spain national team as a striker....
, leading to Real Madrid conceding a lot of goals. On 19 May 2009, it was confirmed that Cannavaro would return to Juventus for the 2009–10 season
2009–10 Serie A
The 2009–10 Serie A was the seventy-eighth season since its establishment. There were three promoted teams from the Serie B, replacing the three teams that were relegated following the 2008–09 season. Nike provided a new match ball - the T90 Ascente - for this season...
on the expiration of his contract with Real Madrid.
Return to Juventus
Three years after Cannavaro opted to leave the Italian giants, he decided to return to the club in the summer of 2009, following the expiration of his contract with Real Madrid. Cannavaro started the new season very well, forming defensive partnerships with Nicola LegrottaglieNicola Legrottaglie
Nicola Legrottaglie is an Italian footballer who plays for Calcio Catania in Serie A, as a central defender.-Early years:...
, Martin Caceres
Martín Cáceres
José Martín Cáceres Silva is an Uruguayan professional footballer who plays for Sevilla FC in La Liga.His primary position is central defender, but he can also operate at right or left back.-Early years:...
, Zdenek Grygera
Zdenek Grygera
Zdeněk Grygera is a Czech football player who is currently playing for English club Fulham. He is usually a right back or centre back but can play anywhere in defence.-Early career:...
, Fabio Grosso
Fabio Grosso
Fabio Grosso, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus. Grosso is primarily a left wingback, but can also play as left back. He is also a free kick, penalty kick and corner kick specialist...
, and most notably Giorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chiellini is an Italian footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus. He is a centre back, who started his career playing as a left back.-Livorno:...
, in front of Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. He has won the FIFA World Cup and is widely considered by fans and experts to be one of most dominant and successful goalkeepers in history...
.
Despite the good start to the season for Juve on all fronts, their season soon took a turn for the worse as from autumn. Cannavaro was no stranger to that declining form. Having been injured for a while in late 2009, he struggled for form on his comeback. In March 2010, his relationship with the Juventus supporters, which had already been made fragile by his perceived betrayal of the club when he left for Real Madrid, reached an all-time low. In a Europa League tie against Fulham, Juventus, who had won the first leg 3-1 at home, were leading 1-0 at the Craven Cottage
Craven Cottage
Craven Cottage is the name of a football stadium in the Hammersmith and Fulham area that has been the home ground of the association football team Fulham F.C. since 1896....
. However, early in the first half, Cannavaro accumulated two bookings for reckless challenges and was sent off. Reduced to 10 men, Juventus collapsed to a 4-1 loss and crashed to elimination on aggregate. Cannavaro enraged supporters with his sending-off and his role in this humiliating elimination.
The club finished its league season with only a Europa League place, its worst Serie A finish for a decade. Juventus confirmed that Cannavaro wouldn't renew. His performances had become so unreliable that his hometown club SSC Napoli made no effort to sign him, in spite of Cannavaro expressing his wish to rejoin the club on several occasions. He even became a joke among Neapolitan fans who would say that his younger brother Paolo was a more gifted player, but had enjoyed less luck with his career.
Al-Ahli Dubai
On 2 June 2010, it was announced that Cannavaro would move to UAE Football League side Al-Ahli Dubai on a free transfer after the 2010 FIFA World Cup2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
. Cannavaro signed a two-year deal.
He made 16 appearances for the Dubai club, with 2 goals. Cannavaro announced his retirement from football in July 2011, due to a serious knee problem. Doctors had told him he could no longer play.
Fabio Cannavaro was appointed as a global brand ambassador and Technical Consultant of Al Ahli Club of Dubai on 25 August 2011.
International career
Cannavaro's first taste of international success came over in the mid '90s1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
under coach Cesare Maldini
Cesare Maldini
Cesare Maldini is an Italian football manager and former player. He played as a centre back and spent the majority of his career with AC Milan. Maldini also represented Italy at international level in the 1962 and 1966 World Cups. His son Paolo, also a defender, previously held the record for the...
with Italy's U-21
Italy national under-21 football team
The Italy national under-21 football team is the national under-21 football team of Italy and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation.The team competes in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, held every two years...
side, winning two consecutive European Under-21 Championship
UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
The European Under-21 Football Championship is a football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. It is held every two years. The competition has existed in its current form since 1978. It was preceded by the Under 23 Challenge Cup which ran from 1967 to 1970...
titles in 1994 and 1996. In 1996, he participated also at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
He made his debut with the Italian national team
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
on 22 January 1997, in a friendly
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
game against Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland national football team
The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in international association football. Before 1921 all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team, organised by the Irish Football Association...
. The same year, he earned plaudits for his handling of England striker Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer
Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
in a World Cup qualifying game at Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
. Shearer was then considered by the fiercely partisan English crowd to be the best striker in the world, and they thought he would make have fun with the unexperienced Italian defender. Nevertheless, in a dominant display that ranked him among the great Italian defenders such as Claudio Gentile
Claudio Gentile
Claudio Gentile is an Italian football coach and former defender of the 1970s and 1980s. Gentile appeared for Italy in two World Cup tournaments, including playing in the winning Italian team in the 1982 final. His club career was notably spent with Juventus for whom he made almost 300 league...
and Franco Baresi
Franco Baresi
Franco Baresi is an Italian football youth team coach and former player. He played as a sweeper and spent his entire career with Serie A club AC Milan, acknowledged as one of the greatest defenders ever to play the game. Baresi was nicknamed "Piscinin", Milanese for "Little one"...
, Cannavaro managed to keep Shearer quiet during the whole game. Italy won the game 1-0 thanks to a Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola
Gianfranco Zola, OBE, Ufficiale OMRI is a retired Italian footballer and manager, who most recently managed West Ham United from 2008 to 2010, after having been assistant manager of the Italy U-21 under Pierluigi Casiraghi...
goal.
He played for his country in the 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010 World Cups
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
, as well as in the 2000 and 2004 European Championships
UEFA European Football Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...
.
Cannavaro's first international tournament came at 1998 World Cup
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...
under the mentorship of Bergomi
Giuseppe Bergomi
Giuseppe Bergomi is a retired Italian footballer who spent his entire career at Internazionale, being equally at ease as a central or right defender....
, Costacurta
Alessandro Costacurta
Alessandro "Billy" Costacurta is an Italian former professional football defender turned manager.Costacurta spent some twenty years at Milan, with a brief period spent in AC Monza on loan. He is best known for his role alongside Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini and Mauro Tassotti, forming one of the...
and Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
, the squad was coached by Paolo Maldini's father Cesare
Cesare Maldini
Cesare Maldini is an Italian football manager and former player. He played as a centre back and spent the majority of his career with AC Milan. Maldini also represented Italy at international level in the 1962 and 1966 World Cups. His son Paolo, also a defender, previously held the record for the...
. Italy went out in the quarter-finals to hosts and eventual champions France; Cannavaro suffered a cut on his forehead from an elbow by Stéphane Guivarc'h
Stéphane Guivarc'h
Stéphane Guivarc'h is a retired French footballer that played as striker. He featured in the France squad that won the 1998 FIFA World Cup on home soil....
but played the remainder of the match after receiving treatment. The Azzurri managed to push the game to a 0–0 draw but the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out in favour of the hosts after the teams were tied 0–0.
In Euro 2000, it was Les Bleus who once again shattered Italy's dreams. Cannavaro had a strong tournament, playing as centre-back alongside Nesta
Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Milan. Considered by many as one of the best centre backs to have ever played the game, he is a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year.-Early life:Nesta was raised in...
, Iuliano
Mark Iuliano
Mark Iuliano is a former Italian football defender, who spent the bulk of his career with Italian powerhouse, Juventus FC, in the Italian Serie A.-Salernitana Calcio 1919:...
or Maldini
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
in 3-5-2 formation. The Azzurri reached the final, where they led the then world champions 1–0 going into injury time. Near the end of regular time, Sylvain Wiltord
Sylvain Wiltord
Sylvain Claude Wiltord is a French footballer who currently plays for FC Nantes. With the French national team, Wiltord has won Euro 2000 and reached the final of the 2006 FIFA World Cup....
found the equalizer, and an extra-time golden goal
Golden goal
The golden goal is a method used in association football, field hockey, ice hockey and korfball to decide the winner of games in elimination matches which end in a draw after the end of regulation time. It is a type of sudden death. Golden goal rules allow the team that scores the first goal during...
from David Trezeguet
David Trézéguet
David Sergio Trezeguet is a World Cup winning French international footballer who currently is a free agent after being released by Baniyas SC on 21 Nov 2011....
gave France the title.
At the 2002 World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
he was credited with holding the defence together, almost single-handedly after Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Milan. Considered by many as one of the best centre backs to have ever played the game, he is a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year.-Early life:Nesta was raised in...
was injured against Croatia. The injury, along with several mistakes from match officials, dealt a severe blow to Italy's chances of winning the World Cup, as the side relied heavily on the Cannavaro-Nesta partnership in central defence. Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi
Marco Materazzi , is an Italian footballer who plays as a defender, and is currently a free agent.At the beginning of his career, Materazzi played with various Italian teams in Serie B and Serie C, and with Premier League side Everton. He spent two periods with Perugia and signed for...
, who deputized for Nesta, proved to be an ill-fated choice with his nervous performances. Italy went out in the second round, losing to co-hosts and eventual semi-finalists South Korea, again to a golden goal.
Cannavaro had a hard act to follow when he took over as captain from Maldini after the 2002 World Cup, but he quickly won the team over with his constant smile, laid-back Neapolitan approach and inspiring performances. After Maldini's international retirement, he first captained Italy in a match at Napoli and received a standing ovation on the pitch where he sported the local side's colours between 1991 and 1995.
Cannavaro's first international goal was scored on 30 May 2004 against Tunisia
Tunisia national football team
The Tunisia national football team , nicknamed Les Aigles de Carthage , is the national team of Tunisia and is controlled by the Fédération Tunisienne de Football. They have qualified for four FIFA World Cups, the first one in 1978, but have yet to make it out of the first round...
, Italy won 4–0. Euro 2004, which was hosted by Portugal, turned out to be a disappointment. Cannavaro picked up yellow cards during the two draws with Denmark (0–0) and Sweden (1–1), forcing him to sit out the final group game. Italy defeated Bulgaria 2–1, but failed to advance on goal difference.
2006 World Cup
Cannavaro captained Italy throughout their 2006 World Cup campaign. One of his key performances came against Germany in the World Cup Semi-Finals 20062006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
. His crowning moment was lifting the World Cup on 9 July 2006, the night of his 100th cap. Cannavaro did not receive a single yellow or red card during the 690 minutes he played in the tournament. His defensive performance in the final earned him the nickname of "Wall of Berlin", as the final was played in Berlin.
Along with Buffon, Cannavaro played every minute of every match in the tournament for Italy. Even with usual defensive partner Nesta out due to injury, the Italian defence conceded only two goals throughout the entire tournament: an own-goal against the United States
United States men's national soccer team
The United States men's national soccer team represents the United States in international association football competitions. It is controlled by the United States Soccer Federation and competes in CONCACAF...
and a Zidane penalty in the final against France
France national football team
The France national football team represents the nation of France in international football. It is fielded by the French Football Federation , the governing body of football in France, and competes as a member of UEFA, which encompasses the countries of Europe...
.
With the injury of defensive partner Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta
Alessandro Nesta, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who plays as a defender for Serie A club Milan. Considered by many as one of the best centre backs to have ever played the game, he is a four-time member of the annual UEFA Team of the Year.-Early life:Nesta was raised in...
Cannavaro somehow managed to hold the defense together, earning him a spot on the All-Star Team at the end of the competition—awarded by FIFA's Technical Study Group—alongside six other Italian teammates, Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi "Gigi" Buffon, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Serie A club Juventus and the Italian national team. He has won the FIFA World Cup and is widely considered by fans and experts to be one of most dominant and successful goalkeepers in history...
, Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti
Francesco Totti, Ufficiale OMRI, is an Italian footballer who is the captain of Serie A club Roma. His primary position is that of a trequartista, though he has also been successfully utilized as a lone striker. Totti has spent his entire career at Roma, is the number-one goalscorer and the most...
, Gennaro Gattuso
Gennaro Gattuso
Gennaro Ivan Gattuso, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian footballer, who plays for Serie A club Milan. He mainly plays as a defensive midfielder. Gattuso is an aggressive, hard tackling player and in his prime, was widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders in the world...
, Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo, Ufficiale OMRI , is an Italian World Cup winning footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus, and for the Italian national team. He is usually deployed as a deep-lying playmaker for both Juventus and Italy and is regarded as one of best players in this position...
, Luca Toni
Luca Toni
Luca Toni, Ufficiale OMRI is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus. He has had successful spells at top clubs such as Palermo, Fiorentina, Bayern Munich, and Roma...
, and Gianluca Zambrotta
Gianluca Zambrotta
Gianluca Zambrotta is a world cup winning Italian footballer who currently plays as a full back for Serie A club Milan.Zambrotta was decorated as Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic in 2000 and he was made an Officer of the same order in 2006.-Como:Zambrotta began his...
. He was runner-up in the race for the Golden Ball, finishing behind French counterpart Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Zidane
Zinedine Yazid Zidane is a retired French footballer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. Zidane was a leading figure of a generation of French players that won the 1998 World Cup and 2000 European Championship...
; it was a close contest with Zidane polling 2012 points to Cannavaro's 1977.
Euro 2008
On 2 June 2008, Cannavaro was injured during Italy's first training session for Euro 2008. Cannavaro sustained the knock following a tackle by fellow defender Giorgio ChielliniGiorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chiellini is an Italian footballer who currently plays for Serie A club Juventus. He is a centre back, who started his career playing as a left back.-Livorno:...
and was carried off the field on a stretcher. Italy doctor Paolo Zeppilli said: "We have to do tests but it does not look like a minor injury." Tests had shown that he tore ligaments in his left ankle. Right after the examinations, Italian journalists awaited Cannavaro, who told them: "I'm going home," with a melancholic smile on his face. After the day was over, Roberto Donadoni
Roberto Donadoni
Roberto Donadoni is an Italian football manager and former player, last in charge of Serie A club Cagliari.An attacking midfielder or winger known for pace and technique, he was a pillar of the powerhouse AC Milan teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s and one of the pioneers of Major League...
called up Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina
ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as simply Fiorentina, is a professional Italian football club from Florence, Tuscany. Founded by a merger in 1926, Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A...
centre-back Alessandro Gamberini
Alessandro Gamberini
Alessandro Gamberini is an Italian footballer who plays for ACF Fiorentina in Serie A, as a central defender.-Club career:...
as his official replacement. Del Piero captained the team in his place. Cannavaro added he will stay with the squad to offer support. This would have been Cannavaro's third Euro tournament.
Cannavaro has also put his plans to retire from the national team after Euro 2008 on hold and added that it had made him more determined to captain Italy through the 2010 World Cup
2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
.
Record breaking caps
In a 2009 Confederations Cup2009 FIFA Confederations Cup
The 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup was the eighth Confederations Cup, and was held in South Africa from 14 June to 28 June 2009 as a prelude to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The draw was held on 22 November 2008 at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. The opening match was played at Ellis Park...
match against Brazil
Brazil national football team
The Brazil national football team represents Brazil in international men's football and is controlled by the Brazilian Football Confederation , the governing body for football in Brazil. They are a member of the International Federation of Association Football since 1923 and also a member of the...
, Cannavaro equalled Paolo Maldini
Paolo Maldini
Paolo Cesare Maldini is an Italian former footballer who played as a left or central defender. He spent all 25 seasons of his career at Serie A club Milan, before retiring at the age of 41 in 2009, becoming a symbol and a legend of the club...
's record of being Italy's most capped player. On 12 August 2009, in a friendly match against Switzerland, Cannavaro became Italy's most capped player of all time. He won his 127th cap for his country, beating Maldini's former record of 126.
2010 World Cup
Cannavaro captained Italy at the 2010 FIFA World Cup2010 FIFA World Cup
The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. The defending champions crashed out of the competition losing to Slovakia after drawing against New Zealand and Paraguay. Following Italy's failure to progress past the group stage, Cannavaro announced his retirement from international football.
Personal life
He married Daniela Cannavaro (née Arenoso) (born July 17, 1974 in Naples) on June 17, 1994, they have three children, Christian (born July 17, 1999 in Naples), Martina (born December 22, 2001 in Naples), and Andrea (born October 20, 2004 in Naples).His younger brother, Paolo
Paolo Cannavaro
Paolo Cannavaro is an Italian football defender who currently plays for Serie A club Napoli. He is the younger brother of Fabio Cannavaro.-Club career:...
, is also a defender who currently plays for Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
. The two brothers played alongside each other at Parma from 2000 until 2002, when Fabio left for Inter. Although they are no longer playing together, Fabio has expressed interest in ending his career with Paolo in a Napoli shirt.
With his fellow Napoletano Ciro Ferrara
Ciro Ferrara
Ciro Ferrara is a former Italian footballer and current head coach of the Italy U-21 team. He spent his playing career as a defender initially at Napoli and later on at Juventus. He is also a former manager of Juventus.-Napoli:...
, Cannavaro has helped establish a charity foundation, Fondazione Cannavaro Ferrara, specialising in the procurement of cancer research equipment and surgery for special cases of cancer for a hospital in their native Naples.
Controversy
The night before the 1999 UEFA Cup Final, a video tape was released which showed Cannavaro being injected with a substance. The substance was found to be Neoton (Phosphocreatine) which is used in cardiac surgery to protect the heart during periods of anoxiaHypoxia (medical)
Hypoxia, or hypoxiation, is a pathological condition in which the body as a whole or a region of the body is deprived of adequate oxygen supply. Variations in arterial oxygen concentrations can be part of the normal physiology, for example, during strenuous physical exercise...
and stress. It is not on the banned substance list. This chemical is, in partnership with adenosine triphosphate
Adenosine triphosphate
Adenosine-5'-triphosphate is a multifunctional nucleoside triphosphate used in cells as a coenzyme. It is often called the "molecular unit of currency" of intracellular energy transfer. ATP transports chemical energy within cells for metabolism...
(ATP), fundamental to the ability of the body to produce muscular energy. Phosphocreatine is formed naturally within the body, with over 95% of the compound stored within the muscle cells. Approximately 5 oz (120 g) of phosphocreatine is present in the body of a healthy adult; the levels of the compound do not fluctuate to a significant degree. When phosphocreatine stores become reduced, the body replenishes its supply from one of two sources. The first source is amino acids, the muscle- and tissue-building blocks present in all proteins. The liver produces phosphocreatine from amino acids. The body also receives dietary creatine primarily through the consumption of meat. No action was ever taken regarding this incident.
On 8 October 2009, Cannavaro failed a drug test. However, Juventus claimed that the drugs were medicine for a severe allergic reaction to a wasp sting, and not performance enhancing. Because of the urgent nature of the treatment, Cannavaro could not ask for permission to CONI in time, which was done immediately afterwards. Apparently while awaiting the conclusion of formalities involved for CONI with granting this permission, he was subjected to the drug test that eventually gave the positive result. CONI later dropped charges against him.
Career statistics
|-|1992–93||rowspan="3"|Napoli
S.S.C. Napoli
Società Sportiva Calcio Napoli, commonly referred to as Napoli, is a professional Italian football club based in Naples and founded in 1926. The club has spent most of its history in Serie A, where it currently plays its 2011–12 season....
||rowspan="14"|Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||2||0||1||0||||||3||0
|-
|1993–94||27||0||2||0||||||29||0
|-
|1994–95||29||1||4||0||3||0||36||1
|-
|1995–96||rowspan="7"|Parma
Parma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
||29||1||1||0||6||0||36||1
|-
|1996–97||27||0||1||0||2||0||30||0
|-
|1997–98
Serie A 1997-98
Juventus won the title in controversial circumstances. In their match on Sunday, 26 April 1998, against eventual runners-up, Inter, Ronaldo was denied what appeared a clear penalty for Inter after being blocked by Mark Iuliano of Juventus. Had the penalty been awarded and then dispatched, the...
||31||0||6||0||7||0||44||0
|-
|1998–99
Serie A 1998-99
AC Milan won their 16th Scudetto, led by coach Alberto Zaccheroni. Lazio finished second, losing the title on the last day. Inter with an often Injured or rested Ronaldo had a disastrous season, finishing in 8th position, whereas Juventus impressive start was cut short by a bad injury to Alessandro...
||30||1||7||0||8||0||45||1
|-
|1999–2000||31||2||3||0||9||1||43||3
|-
|2000–01||33||0||7||0||6||0||46||0
|-
|2001–02||31||1||5||0||9||0||45||1
|-
|2002–03||rowspan="2"|Internazionale
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Football Club Internazionale Milano, often referred to as Internazionale or simply Inter, is a professional Italian football club based in Milan, Italy. Outside Italy, the club is often called Inter Milan. They are the reigning FIFA Club World champions and Coppa Italia holders.Inter have always...
||28||0||0||0||12||1||40||1
|-
|2003–04||22||2||3||0||9||0||34||2
|-
|2004–05||rowspan="2"|Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
||38||2||0||0||9||1||47||3
|-
|2005–06||37||4||2||0||9||0||48||4
|-
|2006–07||rowspan="3"|Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
||rowspan="3"|La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
||32||0||1||0||6||0||39||0
|-
|2007–08||33||0||1||0||6||0||40||0
|-
|2008–09||29||0||1||0||7||0||37||0
|-
|2009–10
2009–10 Serie A
The 2009–10 Serie A was the seventy-eighth season since its establishment. There were three promoted teams from the Serie B, replacing the three teams that were relegated following the 2008–09 season. Nike provided a new match ball - the T90 Ascente - for this season...
||Juventus
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...
||Serie A
Serie A
Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...
||27||0||0||0||0||0||27||0
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 UAE Premier League
The 2010–11 Pro-League season was the 36th edition of top level football in the United Arab Emirates. This was the third Professional season in the history of the country. Al-Wahda were defending champions from the 2009–10 campaign. Ajman Club and Emirates Club were relegated from the previous...
|||Al-Ahli Dubai|||UAE League
UAE League
The UAE Pro League Committee , commonly known as PLC, is the professional association football league of the United Arab Emirates. Founded in 1973, the league currently holds a number of tournaments for the 12 participating teams, including the Etisalat Pro-League, the Etisalat Cup, Etisalat...
||16||2||0||0||0||0||16||2
|-
396||14||42||0||89||3||527||17
94||0||3||0||19||0||116||0
16||2||0||0||0||0||16||2
506||16||45||0||108||3||659||19
|}
|-
|1997||12||0
|-
|1998||11||0
|-
|1999||8||0
|-
|2000||14||0
|-
|2001||9||0
|-
|2002||12||0
|-
|2003||10||0
|-
|2004||6||1
|-
|2005||8||0
|-
|2006||15||0
|-
|2007||8||0
|-
|2008||8||1
|-
|2009||10||0
|-
|2010||5||0
|-
!Total||136||2
|}
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 30 May 2004 | Radès Radès Radès is a harbour city in Ben Arous Governorate, Tunisia. Situated 9 kilometres south-east of the capital Tunis, some consider it a Tunis suburb, and parts of the harbour installations of Tunis are located in Radès.... , Tunisia Tunisia Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area... |
0–4 | Win | Friendly | |
Honours
ParmaParma F.C.
Parma Football Club , commonly referred to as just Parma, is an Italian professional football club based in Parma, Emilia–Romagna that will compete in Serie A for the 2011–12 season, having finished in twelfth position last season. Founded as Verdi Foot Ball Club in July 1913, the club changed its...
- Coppa ItaliaCoppa ItaliaThe Coppa Italia is an Italian football annual cup competition. Its first edition was held in 1922, but the second champions were not crowned until 1936. Roma and Juventus lead the way with nine wins. Roma has contested more finals, 16, while Torino and Juventus follow with 13...
: 1998-99, 2001-02 - Supercoppa ItalianaSupercoppa ItalianaThe Supercoppa Italiana is a pre-season football competition held the week before the season begins in Italy every year. It is contested by the winners of the Serie A and the Coppa Italia in the previous season, as a curtain raiser to the new season. It is usually played at the home of the Serie A...
: 19991999 Supercoppa ItalianaThe 1999 Supercoppa Italiana was a match played by the 1998–99 Serie A winners Milan and 1998–99 Coppa Italia winners Parma. It took place on 21 August 1999 at the San Siro in Milan, Italy... - UEFA Cup: 1998-991999 UEFA Cup FinalThe 1999 UEFA Cup Final a football match that took place at Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, on 12 May 1999 between Parma A.C. of Italy and Olympique de Marseille of France. Parma won the match 3–0...
Real Madrid
Real Madrid
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...
- La LigaLa LigaThe Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
: 2006-07, 2007-08 - Supercopa de EspañaSupercopa de EspañaThe Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey...
: 20082008 Supercopa de EspañaThe 2008 Supercopa de España was two-leg Spanish football matches played on 17 August and 24 August 2008. It was contested by Valencia CF, who were Spanish Cup winners in 2007–08, and Real Madrid, who won the 2007–08 Spanish League. Real Madrid won 6–5 on aggregate for their eighth Supercopa...
Italy national team
Italy national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
- UEFA Under-21 European ChampionshipUEFA European Under-21 Football ChampionshipThe European Under-21 Football Championship is a football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. It is held every two years. The competition has existed in its current form since 1978. It was preceded by the Under 23 Challenge Cup which ran from 1967 to 1970...
: 19941994 UEFA European Under-21 Football ChampionshipThe UEFA U-21 Championship 1994, which spanned two years , had 32 entrants. After the quarter-finals stage, France were chosen as the first hosts of the final stages, consisting of four matches in total....
, 19961996 UEFA European Under-21 Football ChampionshipThe UEFA U-21 Championship 1996, which spanned two years , had 44 entrants. After the quarter-finals stage, Spain were chosen as the hosts of the final stages, consisting of four matches in total.... - World CupFIFA World CupThe FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
: 20062006 FIFA World CupThe 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
Individual
- Euro 2000: Team of the Tournament
- FIFA World Player of the YearFIFA World Player of the YearThe FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award given annually to the male and female player who were thought to be the best in the world, based on votes by coaches and captains of international teams...
: 2006 - FIFPro World Player of the Year: 2006
- Ballon d'Or: 2006Ballon d'Or 2006The 2006 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in Europe as judged by a panel of sports journalists from UEFA member countries, was awarded to Fabio Cannavaro on 28 November 2006....
- 2006 FIFA World Cup Silver Ball Award: 2006
- 2006 FIFA World Cup2006 FIFA World CupThe 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which won the right to host the event in July 2000. Teams representing 198 national football associations from all six...
: Team of the Tournament - Serie A Footballer of the YearSerie A Footballer of the YearThe Serie A Footballer of the Year is a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association given to the footballer who has been considered to have performed the best over the previous Serie A season....
: 2006 - Italian Footballer of the YearItalian Footballer of the YearThe Italian Footballer of the Year is a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association given to the Italian footballer who has been considered to have performed the best over the previous Serie A season. The award is part of the "Oscar del Calcio" awards event.-Winners:-By...
: 2006 - Serie A Defender of the YearSerie A Defender of the YearThe Serie A Defender of the Year is a yearly award organized by the Italian Footballers' Association given to the defender who has been considered to have performed the best over the previous Serie A season. The award is part of the "Oscar del Calcio" awards event.-Winners:-By club:-External...
: 2005, 2006 - UEFA Team of the YearUEFA Team of the YearThe UEFA Team of the Year is a football award given by UEFA through a poll on its . This award started in 2001 to allow users and visitors of the organization's website to choose their own eleven players and a coach based on their overall performances in European club football and international...
: 2006 - FIFPro World XI: 2006, 2007
External links
- Quiz on the life of Fabio
- Fabio Cannavaro "Legendary players", Realmadrid.comReal MadridReal Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...