2006 World Cup Star : Fabio Cannavaro

2006 World Cup Star : Fabio Cannavaro

                                                                                                                                          

Fabio Cannavaro wants to end his career where it started. In the summer of 2009, a few months before his 36th birthday, the Italian plans to return to his home country and SSC Naples.

By then he will have played with Real Madrid for three years, gaining two Championship titles in his first two seasons wearing the white shirt of the “Royals”. Success has always followed Fabio Cannavaro wherever he went. At the FIFA World Cup™ in Germany, in the summer of 2006, he achieved the greatest triumph of all. As captain of the Italian national team Cannavaro helped the Azzurri to win their fourth World Cup title. The man from Naples enjoyed an exceptional tournament. He concluded that year with the greatest personal honour international football has to award. Fabio Cannavaro was elected Europe’s Football Player of the Year and – as the first central defender ever – the World Footballer 2006.

But the greatest day in the sporting career of this outstanding defender was undoubtedly the 9th of July, 2006, at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium. France, the 1998 FIFA World Cup™ champions, were defeated 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out in the final. The score after 120 minutes for these two top teams was 1-1 (1-1, 1-1). Italy were crowned FIFA World Cup™ champions for the fourth time following triumphs in 1934, 1938 and 1982. Twenty six years after their last triumph in Madrid, the Azzurri once again celebrated a grand victory. Cannavaro received the World Cup golden trophy from Joseph S. Blatter, the President of the International Football Association, FIFA.

The greatest moment in the football career of Fabio Cannavaro: On July 9th, 2006, the captain of the Italian national team triumphantly lifts up the World Cup Trophy. (Photo: Kunz/Augenklick)

He was also in the losing team eight years earlier when the French won the UEFA European Championship final in Rotterdam, with a Golden Goal from David Trezeguet for the 2-1 final score. “When we lined up for the penalty shoot-out in Berlin, I thought of that defeat. But I was totally convinced that we were going to win this time”, Cannavaro said after the final. At the 1998 FIFA World Cup™ the Italians had lost to the French in the quarter-finals in Paris – 4-3 after it had remained goalless after 120 minutes. Cannavaro made it to the top only at his third World Cup. The final in Berlin was also his 100th international match. “We defeated the best team in the world. The French play fantastic football. But on that day we were unbeatable and deserved this victory”, said the south Italian. Just 1.75m tall, Cannavaro outshone himself at the 2006 FIFA World Cup™. With his perfect heading ability he was the tower of strength in national coach Marcelo Lippi’s team. The tournament started under a cloud for the Italians.

Hardly anybody dared name the team that had been eliminated in the first round at the 2004 UEFA European Championship™, one of the favourites. Italian football was then rocked by a major scandal. Unbelievable fraudulent fixing of championship matches in the Serie A had been discovered. Juventus Turin, the record champions with whom Cannavaro played, were stripped of their 2005 and 2006 national titles. The club was relegated to the second division. That was the reason why Cannavaro moved to Real Madrid after the 2006 FIFA World Cup™.

Fabio Cannavaro moved to Real Madrid as World Cup champion. His former club Juventus Turin was stripped of the 2005 and 2006 national titles and relegated to second division. (Photo: Firo/Augenklick)

The World Cup finals began for Italy with the backdrop of these extreme misdemeanours, which were not limited to just Juve. “We swore we would do something for Italian football. This gave us the strength and morale to achieve something great”, Cannavaro disclosed. The Italians beat Ghana 2-0 in their opening match in Hanover, then drew 1-1 with the USA in Kaiserslautern, and defeated the Czech Republic 2-0 in their last group match in Hamburg. During that game Alessandro Nesta, Cannavaro’s central defending partner, was injured after 17 minutes. Now Cannavaro bore the responsibility more or less alone, and he rose to the occasion in that match. Australia were defeated 1-0 in the second round, again in Kaiserslautern. Then the Italians became unstoppable. The Ukraine did not have a chance during their 3-0 quarter-final loss in Hamburg. In the semis it was once again the great European classic encounter with Germany, in Dortmund. It proved to be Cannavaro’s best and strongest performance. “My performance against Germany was, in my opinion, one of the best of my entire football career. I produced a top performance in defence. I later watched the match again and was really surprised, to be honest. A defender often fells his opponent when tackling,  because he is too late so commits a foul. But in this game my tackling was spot on. I don’t think I fouled once”, Cannavaro later recalled in an excellent interview on www.fifa.com.

The FIFA World Cup™ semi-final was the best game in his life, says Fabio Cannavaro, who also won the duel with Sebastian Kehl. (Photo: Firo/Augenklick)

The rest is history, in which the man who played four seasons with SSC Naples, seven with AC Parma, two with Inter Milan and two with Juventus Turin prior to the 2006 World Cup final, took the leading role. Due to an injury he could not participate in the UEFA EURO 2008™. Fabio Cannavaro does not himself plan to compete in his fourth World Cup, in South Africa 2010, but maybe this great football player will again be inspired to another top performance on the World Cup stage if recalled by coach Lippi.