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Fabio Cannavaro

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Fabio Cannavaro
Personal information
Full name Fabio Cannavaro
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Team information
Current team
 Real Madrid
Number 5
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of February 10, 2009

Fabio Cannavaro, Cavaliere Ufficiale OMRI[1][2] (born September 13, 1973 in Naples, Italy) is an Italian World Cup-winning footballer. Currently he is the captain of the Italian national football team and plays at club level for Real Madrid.

During his career Cannavaro has earned world wide prominence, winning many personal accolades. For example he was the first ever defender to win FIFA World Player of the Year. He was also selected in the FIFPro World XI squad twice, during 2005–06 and 2006–07.[3]

Before moving to Real Madrid in Spain, Cannavaro played most of his club career in the Italian Serie A league. The clubs he played for includes his hometown side Napoli, Parma, with whom he achieved significant domestic cup and European success, Juventus, where he won two later revoked scudetto titles, and Internazionale.

Biography

Cannavaro was born in Naples to Gelsomina and Pasquale Cannavaro. His mother worked as a maid, while his father was a bank clerk; his father also played football for provincial side Giugliano.[4] As a youngster Cannavaro played for a team from Bagnoli before being quickly spotted by the scouts of Napoli, his childhood team. He is well known for his fierce defending and interception.

Club career

Cannavaro initially served as the club's ballboy, and his progress as a player was such that he 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 Turin 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.

In the summer of 2002, Cannavaro joined Internazionale for a fee of €23 million. During his spell with the club he reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League 2002-03 and also finished runners up in Serie A. His second season was not as productive and he missed a large chunk of it through injury.

After a two-year stint, he signed for Juventus on summer transfer window deadline day. The deal also involved the exchange of Fabian Carini who left for Inter and an additional €10 million. By coming to Turin, he re-joined his ex-Parma teammates Lilian Thuram and Gianluigi Buffon, and together the threesome formed one of the most feared defenses in the Serie A. They went on won two consecutive Scudetti in 2005 and 2006, though both were later revoked due to the Calciopoli scandal. Juventus captain Cannavaro 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 and stripped the club of its 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 Scudetti. Since Juventus was ineligible to qualify for the UEFA 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."[1].

He rejoined coach Fabio Capello at Real Madrid and inherited the number 5 shirt of the legendary Zinédine Zidane. Although no fee was confirmed by either club, press speculation has often set the combined transfer's worth at roughly 20 million euros. On July 25, he officially signed a three-year contract. He scored his first goal for the club on August 18, 2006 in a friendly against Real Betis. He won the '06-07 La Liga title with Madrid, and was named the 2006 FIFA World Player of the Year.[3] Fabio Cannavaro is the first and so far only defender to win the award (Paolo Maldini came in second place in 1995), as well as the oldest recipient.

International career

Cannavaro's first taste of international success came over a decade ago under coach Cesare Maldini with Italy's U-21 side, winning consecutive European Under-21 Football Championship titles in 1994 and 1996. In 1996, he participated in the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He played for his country in the 1998, 2002, and 2006 World Cups, as well as Euro 2000 and Euro 2004. Cannavaro made his international debut in January 1997 against Northern Ireland and has since earned 122 caps. Only fellow defender Paolo Maldini (126 caps) has appeared in more games for Italy.

Cannavaro's first international tournament came at 1998 FIFA World Cup under the mentorship of veteran defender Paolo Maldini, and the squad was coached by 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 during the match. The match was decided by a penalty shoot-out 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 and 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 Trézéguet gave France the title.

At the 2002 FIFA World Cup he was credited with holding the defence together, almost single-handedly after Alessandro Nesta was injured against Croatia. Italy however went out in the second round, losing to co-hosts and eventual semi-finalists South Korea, again to a golden goal[2].

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.[3]

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[4].

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 2006. His crowning moment was lifting the World Cup on July 9 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.

Along with Buffon, Cannavaro played every minute of every match in the tournament for Italy. 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, Gennaro Gattuso, Andrea Pirlo, Luca Toni, Francesco Totti and Gianluca Zambrotta. He was runner-up in the race for the Golden Ball, finishing behind French counterpart Zinédine Zidane; it was a close contest with Zidane polling 2012 points to Cannavaro's 1977.

Euro 2008

On June 2, 2008, Fabio Cannavaro was injured during Italy's first training session for Euro 2008. Cannavaro sustained the knock following a tackle by fellow defender Giorgio Chiellini 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". Test 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. Goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon 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 has made him more determined to captain Italy through the 2010 World Cup.

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. May 30, 2004 Radès, Tunisia  Tunisia 0–4 Win Friendly
2. February 6, 2008 Zurich, Switzerland  Portugal 3–1 Win Friendly

Personal

Fabio is married to Daniela Arenoso, and together they have 3 children, Christian, Martina and Andrea. His younger brother, Paolo Cannavaro, is also a defender, and plays for Napoli. The two brothers were first spotted by an English scout when Fabio was only twelve. Michael Hutchinson (who was working for Newcastle United at the time) decided to personally train them as central defenders, having sixteen years of experience as a professional central defender himself. The two brothers played alongside each other at Parma from 2000 until 2002, when Fabio left for Inter. His mother, Gelsomina, worked as a maid and his father, Pasquale, was a bank clerk. 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.

Fabio has also stated in a 2007 issue of League Magazine, when asked about women he has said that he has a fondness towards Asian women, that especially of Indian women and women from China. Saying "the most beautiful of women lie in Asia, that in India and China, they are truly walking goddesses". He is still fully committed to Daniela for many years.

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, a creatine phosphate used in cardiac surgery, and is not on the banned substance list. No action was ever taken.[5]

Career statistics

[6] Template:Football player statistics 1 Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |1992-93||rowspan="3"|Napoli||rowspan="3"|Serie A||2||0|||||||||||| |- |1993-94||27||0|||||||||||| |- |1994-95||29||1|||||||||||| |- |1995-96||rowspan="7"|Parma||rowspan="7"|Serie A||29||1|||||||||||| |- |1996-97||27||0|||||||||||| |- |1997-98||31||0|||||||||||| |- |1998-99||30||1|||||||||||| |- |1999-00||31||2|||||||||||| |- |2000-01||33||0|||||||||||| |- |2001-02||31||1|||||||||||| |- |2002-03||rowspan="2"|Internazionale||rowspan="2"|Serie A||28||0|||||||||||| |- |2003-04||22||2|||||||||||| |- |2004-05||rowspan="2"|Juventus||rowspan="2"|Serie A||38||2|||||||||||| |- |2005-06||36||4|||||||||||| Template:Football player statistics 2 |- |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||20||0||1||0||5||0||26||0 Template:Football player statistics 3394||14|||||||||||| Template:Football player statistics 485||0||3||0||17||0||105||0 Template:Football player statistics 5472||14|||||||||||| |}

Honours

Parma

Inter

Juventus

Real Madrid

National team

Individual

- Runner-up: 2000, 2001, 2002

References

  1. ^ FIFA.com
  2. ^ AscotSportal.com
  3. ^ a b "Cannavaro wins Fifa player crown". BBC. 2006-12-18. Retrieved 2006-12-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ InterNapoli.it
  5. ^ http://sports.yahoo.com/sow/news?slug=cannavarovideo&prov=st&type=lgns YouTube: video of Cannavaro receiving IV
  6. ^ CANNAVARO (Fabio Cannavaro) - Real Madrid and Italy
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