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Fabio Cannavaro: The best centre back in the world lands in Madrid

Recently crowned World Cup champion, Fabio Cannavaro is an experienced and skilled footballer who has just set a new goal for himself: triumphing with Real Madrid. A veteran of the school of Fabio Capello, his boss over the last two seasons, the Italian centre back will be a stronghold in the White defense.

Fabio Cannavaro, born in Naples on 12 September 1973, is, without a doubt, one of the best centre backs in the world. The Italian makes up for his short stature with an incredible sense of anticipation, aggressiveness, power, and outstanding ability to jump, allowing him to win almost every one-on-one in the air. As he proved in the German World Cup, he is also fantastic with the football at his feet and an excellent leader.

Cannavaro made his professional debut in 1992 with the Club of his native city of Naples and his long time idol, Ciro Ferrara. However, his first experience on the Naples pitch was as a ballboy during the Diego Armando Maradona era, and as a member of the team’s youth squads. In fact, Cannavaro was a ballboy during the semifinal of the Italian World Cup of 1990, when Argentina defeated the host nation. He was only 16 years old then, but 16 years later he would be the player raising the World Cup trophy.


Although he debuted with Naples, Cannavaro spent most of his career playing for Parma. Between 1995 and 2002, he was a piece of one of the most memorable defenses in Italian football. Playing alongside Lilian Thuram and goalkeeper Gianluigi Bufón, he conquered one UEFA Cup, two Italian Cups, and one Supercup. After succeeding with Parma, Cannavaro signed with Inter Milan, where he played for two years. Although the team floundered, Fabio managed to shine.

His outstanding performances with Inter allowed him to make the leap to another Italian powerhouse, Juventus of Turin, where Fabio played for two years under the tutelage of coach Capello. Cannavaro was Capello’s right hand man on the pitch, perfectly leading the black-and-white defense. After Capello arrived in Madrid, the Italian national team skipper decided to follow in his footsteps to become the newest member of the Whites.


National team career
Cannavaro began to make a name for himself while playing in the youth teams, where he became the Under-21 European Champion in 1994 and 1995. In 1996, he participated in the Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where Raúl was playing for the Spanish national team. He debuted in 1997, in a 2-0 Italian victory over Northern Ireland. He has yet to be left off the national team ever since, and he reached the pinnacle of the football world in the 2006 World Cup, where he was the best player on the Italian team. It was precisely against France when Cannavaro played his 100th match with the ‘Azzurra’. Only Paolo Maldini (126) and Dino Zoff (112) have played more matches than Fabio Cannavaro.



Career Trajectory
1991/92: Naples
1992/93: Naples (2 League matches)
1993/94: Naples (27 League matches)
1994/95: Naples (29 League matches and 1 goal)
1995/96: Parma AC (29 League matches and 1 goal)
1996/97: Parma AC (27 League matches)
1997/98: Parma AC (27 League matches; 7 Champions League matches)
1998/99: Parma AC (30 League matches and 1 goal; 8 UEFA Cup matches)
1999/00: Parma AC (31 League matches and 2 goals; 1 Champions League match; 7 UEFA Cup matches)
2000/01: Parma AC (33 League matches; 3 UEFA Cup matches)
2001/02: Parma AC (31 League matches; 2 Champions League matches; 6 UEFA Cup matches)
2002/03: Inter Milan (28 League matches; 11 Champions League matches and 1 goal)
2003/04: Inter Milan (22 League matches and 2 goals; 6 Champions League matches; 3 UEFA Cup matches)
2004/05: Juventus (38 League matches and 2 goals; 9 Champions League matches and 1 goal)
2005/06: Juventus (36 League matches and 4 goals; 9 Champions League matches)

Honours
1 World Cup: Italy (2006)
1 European runner-up : Italy (2000)
1 UEFA Cup : Parma AC (1998/99)
2 Italian Cups : Parma AC (1998/99 and 2000/01)


Report by Alvaro Velasco
Photos: Fifa.com
Translation by Matthew Goltz

posted by khalidmrrakchi@hotmail.com @ 3:53 AM