Fabio Cannavaro

Fabio Cannavaro was an Italian footballer who played professionally between 1992 and 2011 with SSC Napoli, Parma, Inter Milano, Juventus FC, Real Madrid, and finally Al-Ahli in Saudi Arabia. In the Italian Serie A he played a total of 531 matches, scoring 13 goals. He won two Spanish titles and a Super Cup with Real Madrid and two Italian Cups with Parma.

With the national team, Cannavaro made his début at Palermo in January 1997 against Northern Ireland, and eventually earned 136 caps. He helped win the 2006 World Cup held in Germany and received the Ballon d’Or that year, the only defender to receive that in the decade of the 2000s. In 1994 and 1996 he won two UEFA Under-21 European Championships while he was less fortunate at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics where Italy was eliminated after just three matches.

After his playing days, between 2013 and 2019 he coached first the Guangzhou club in China, leading them to the Top League and the Super Cup. He later coached Tianjin and then Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia and, in the 2022-23 season, Benevento in the Italian Second League where, however, he was released after a few matches.

Cannavaro was made a Knight and Commander of Merit of the Italian Republic, as well as a Collare d’Oro (Golden Collar) of Sporting Merit.