Fabio Cannavaro

Fabio Cannavaro (born September 13, 1973, Naples, Italy) is an Italian professional football (soccer) player who led his country to win the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He transitioned to a managerial career after retiring as a player in 2011. He appeared at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as coach of the Uzbekistan team, which made its tournament debut.

Club career

At age 11 Cannavaro began playing on the junior team for the SSC Napoli (Naples) soccer club. In 1993 he was asked to play with Napoli’s first team—at the highest level of Italian professional soccer. He performed solidly for them for two years before moving to Parma AC, where he helped his new team win two Italian Cups (domestic franchise knockout competition), the Union of European Football Associations Cup (now UEFA Europa League), and the Italian Super Cup (domestic competition featuring the four top teams from the previous season). In 2001 Cannavaro was named captain of the club.

In 2002 he joined Inter Milan, where he spent two seasons, and he then played for Juventus in Turin for two seasons. In 2006, after a match-rigging scandal, he announced that he was leaving Italian football to play with Real Madrid in Spain, but in 2009 he returned to Juventus on a one-year contract. In 2010 he joined Al-Ahli in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but his play was limited because of injuries.

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International career

Cannavaro’s first international victories were at the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which Italy won in 1994 and 1996. He graduated to playing for the Italian national team and made his FIFA World Cup debut in 1998. He succeeded football legend Paolo Maldini as captain of Italy after the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The most significant year of his career was 2006. As captain, Cannavaro led the Italian national team to a World Cup victory over France and won the Ballon d’Or that same year. He was named Best Italian Player and Best Defender by the “Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio” (Italian Footballers Association). Cannavaro went on to become the first defender in the 16-year history of the award to be named World Player of the Year by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). In 2006 he was named European Footballer of the Year—the first Italian so honored since 1993 and the third defender ever to claim that distinction.

Coaching career

Cannavaro retired from professional play in 2011. He served as an assistant coach for Al-Ahli in 2013–14 and subsequently coached several other clubs, including China’s Guangzhou Evergrande. In 2025 he was appointed coach of the Uzbekistan national team, which made its FIFA World Cup debut at the 2026 edition of the tournament.