DOSSIER
Fabio CANNAVARO. Born September 13, 73 in Naples (Italy). Defender. Height - 175 cm, weight - 72 kg.
Career: Napoli (1992 - 1995), Parma (1995 - 2002), Inter (2002 - 2004), Juventus (2004 - 2006), Real Madrid, Madrid Spain (since July 2006 )
Achievements: world champion (2006), finalist of the European Championship (2000), champion of Italy (2005, 2006 *), winner of the Italian Cup (1999, 2002), Italian Super Cup (1999), UEFA Cup (1999), European Youth Championship champion ( 1994, 1996).
In the Italian national team - 105 matches, 1 goal, in the Italian championship - 394 matches, 13 goals, in the Italian Cup - 41 matches, in the Italian Super Cup - 3 matches, in the Spanish championship - 11 matches, in the Champions League - 50 matches, 2 goals in the UEFA Cup - 32 matches, in the Cup Winners' Cup - 6 matches. The best football player in Europe (2006).
* - until the court ruling on the "Modji case".
The fourth Italian, who became the owner of the Golden Ball (predecessors - Gianni Rivera, Paolo Rossi and Roberto Baggio), was born in Naples - the cradle of the glorious temperamental inhabitants of the south of the country. He grew up in Fuorigrott, a poor area, a little remote from the center. In this city, from childhood, they have been accustomed to defend honor with their fists, and perhaps that is why the Apennines believe that the Neapolitans are the best defenders.
Cannavaro never had an impressive article, but since childhood, speaking for the youth teams of “Napoli”, he bribed with another: extraordinary mobility and jumping ability. In addition, he had a good vision of the field, excellent intuition, speed and a good choice of position. Plus a constantly replenished experience that can not be replaced with anything, and an indefatigable thirst for victories. A free translation from the Italian nickname of Cannes, adhered to Fabio since youthful times, can serve as the designation of a stem or reed, which is impossible not only to break, but very difficult to simply bend ...
Napoli, led in the late 80s by Diego Maradona, was booming throughout Europe. Kanna at that time had a unique opportunity to watch the game of the great Argentine and other masters from an arm's length - as a boy, he served balls at home matches of the Neapolitan squad. Once Fabio, already a football player of primavera (in our opinion, a double), in the bilateral situation met Maradona fiercely a couple of times, after which he heard delicious obscene language in a Neapolitan dialect from one of the Azzurri coaches. But Diego himself immediately stood up to protect the guy: "Bravo, you are doing everything right!"
Probably, neither before nor after Cannavaro did he feel such mixed feelings as in the summer of 1995, when he made a grandiose transition from Napoli to Parma. The dairy concern of the Tanzi family, which was experiencing the peak of prosperity at that time, did not stint on an expensive transfer, amounting to about $ 11 million. Needless to say, a huge price for the services of a defense player who was under twenty-two! The contradictory state of mind of Fabio is expressed by his words: “I will not hide,“ Napoli ”is for me something more than just a football club. To play in it, to win in his T-shirt - what could be more beautiful? And is there Naples itself - a unique city filled with the sea and the sun, which I did not find in Parma. "
It is quite appropriate to quote Stendhal’s lines from the “Parma Monastery” here: “Naples is a big city, there are entertainment I need at the moment, but in a hole like Parma there is nowhere to look for them ...” However, Fabio had no time to lose heart. He clearly enjoyed high-class football performed by “dzhalloblu” and finally gained strength in their ranks. Having never reached the Scudetto with Parma, Cannavaro won the UEFA Cup, the Italian Cup and Super Cup with her, and for the first time, in 1997, he was invited to the Squadra Azzurra.
To change the situation, as in the case of Napoli, prompted the deterioration of the financial and personnel situation. At the beginning of the century, the powerful empire of Tanzi cracked, and soon the Parmalat concern collapsed. Having received several offers at once, the Neapolitan was not averse to joining Juventus. However, the price set by Parma turned out to be unbearable for the Turin grand. But she was “mastered” by “Inter” with the inherent ease, having paid EUR 23 million for the defender. In Milan, Cannavaro frankly did not work out, and his game did not differ in the usual reliability. In addition, various sores were discovered, and injuries began to chase. Many pointed to the age of the defender, saying that his best years were behind. Now it’s already clear that the so-called “curse” of “Inter” acted in some incomprehensible way on Fabio, where there are few examples of how champions can be turned into clowns. It is not surprising that in two years the leadership of Nerazzurri was disappointed in the acquisition. But, despite this, before the 2004/05 championship, he suspiciously calmly released the player to Juventus.
The two-year-old fairy tale in Turin, where Kanna regained her lost reliability and twice became the champion (in championship 2005/06, the defender, having scored 4 goals, set a personal performance record), unexpectedly broke six months ago. As a result of the “mujigate”, “Juve” was transferred to series “B”, and the player preferred to move to Madrid “Real” together with Fabio Capello, who left the Turin club. In the capital of Spain, not everything is going smoothly. However, one should not be very surprised - the past season turned out to be too intense, in which Fabio became the world champion ...
The German planetary festival is undoubtedly the main peak in the career of a football player, reaching again or surpassing which will be incredibly difficult. The selflessness, tenacity, and uncompromising character that characterized Cannes on German fields became largely unique. He was able to arouse sympathy and forced to enjoy the actions of the destroyer of almost everyone who watched the World Cup. Fabio became impassable for rivals, and the share of martial arts he won reached an astounding mark of 80 percent. The apotheosis was the final meeting with the French. Fate itself seemed to favor the defender, who spent the 100th match in the national team. It seems that on such a momentous day he simply could not lose - this would be the height of the injustice against the hero of the World Cup. Obviously, his victory in the France Football poll predetermined his performance there.
By the way, it is noteworthy that in previous years Fabio never received any credit points in a poll of the French publication. He used to be on the list of 50 nominees, but not a single publication included him even in the top five ...
Denis ORLOV