Fabio Cannavaro

1988–1995: Youth career and Napoli

As a youngster, Cannavaro played for a team from Bagnoli before being quickly spotted by the scouts of Napoli, his hometown and favourite childhood team. Cannavaro initially served as the club's ball boy and would often watch his idols Diego Maradona and Ciro Ferrara play. He later joined the club's youth team, initially playing as a midfielder like his idol Marco Tardelli, before the team's youth coach switched him to the role of centre-back. He gained a reputation when, in a training session at Napoli, the young Fabio produced a strong sliding challenge on Maradona, who was then the undisputed star of the club, to dispossess him. 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, and reportedly congratulated Cannavaro by giving him his boots as a souvenir after the training session. Cannavaro's 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 Turin, in a 4–3 defeat to Juventus. As a centre-back alongside Ferrara, he soon demonstrated his anticipation, tackling, distribution and his ability to start attacking plays after winning possession. He scored his first career goal at the San Siro, against Milan, on 8 January 1995. However, despite his promising performances, the post-Maradona Napoli were in…

Youth career

Cannavaro's first taste of international success came over in the mid-1990s under coach Cesare Maldini with Italy's under-21 side, winning two consecutive UEFA European Under-21 Championship titles, in 1994 and 1996, and developing an important defensive partnership with Alessandro Nesta, which would also continue at senior level. In 1996, he participated also at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He subsequently played for his country in the 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010 FIFA World Cups, as well as in the 2000 and 2004 UEFA European Championships.

Early senior career and 1998 World Cup

Cannavaro made his debut with the Italy national team on 22 January 1997, in a friendly match 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 Stadium. Shearer was then considered by the partisan English crowd to be the best striker in the world, and thought he would make fun of the inexperienced Italian defender. Nevertheless, in a display ranking alongside those of the very best Italian defenders Claudio Gentile and Franco Baresi, Cannavaro managed to keep Shearer quiet for the whole game. Italy won the game 1–0 courtesy of a Gianfranco Zola goal. Cannavaro's first international tournament came at 1998 World Cup alongside the experienced and capable Giuseppe Bergomi, Alessandro Costacurta and Paolo Maldini, as well as the emerging Alessandro Nesta, with Paolo…

Al-Ahli

After his retirement, Cannavaro was appointed a global brand ambassador and technical consultant of Al-Ahli Club of Dubai on 25 August 2011. In July 2013, after Cosmin Olăroiu took charge as new head coach of Al-Ahli, Cannavaro was named as his first team coach. He guided Al-Ahli to UAE Pro League and UAE League Cup titles in his first season in charge.

Guangzhou Evergrande

On 5 November 2014, Cannavaro was named as the new head coach of Chinese Super League title-holder and four-time champions Guangzhou Evergrande, replacing his former national team manager Marcello Lippi. Cannavaro was formally unveiled by the club on the same day. On 4 June 2015, Guangzhou Evergrande suddenly announced Cannavaro was replaced by Luiz Felipe Scolari after a Super League match against Tianjin Teda.

Al Nassr

On 24 October 2015, Cannavaro was named new head coach of Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr replacing Jorge da Silva. The following 11 February, he rescinded his contract.

Tianjin Quanjian

On 9 June 2016, Tianjin Quanjian, who were on a streak of seven consecutive competitive matches without a win under Vanderlei Luxemburgo, announced Cannavaro became the new manager of the club. They were ranked eighth place in the league at the time, and on 22 October he guided Quanjian to the 2016 China League One title, thus sealing their promotion to the 2017 Chinese Super League. Under Cannavaro, Quanjian finished third in their top-tier debut with 15 wins, 9…

Фабио Каннаваро родился в Неаполе в семье Джельсомины Костанцо и Паскуале Каннаваро. Его мать работала горничной, а отец был банковским клерком. Его отец также играл в футбол за провинциальный клуб Джулиано. У него есть старшая сестра по имени Рената и младший брат по имени Паоло, также профессиональный футболист.