FIFA World Cup™ Germany 2006 player's profile

Italy’s skipper and the most capped player among the current squad, Fabio Cannavaro is a stalwart of the Azzurri side.
Together with Alessandro Nesta and goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, Cannavaro performs key defensive duties for Italy. What he lacks in height, he makes up for with great anticipation, aggression and power.

Cannavaro played for Italy at the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups™, won a runners-up medal at UEFA EURO 2000 and also starred for the Azzurri at EURO 2004. The defender had earlier featured in Italy’s squad at the 1996 Olympic Football Tournament.

Cannavaro won silverware with Parma in 1999 in the form of the Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup, and he has added Serie A success to this tally with Juventus.

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UEFA Champions League 2005-06 player's profile

Strong in the air, despite his lack of height, and blessed with excellent timing, speed and anticipation, Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro is quite simply one of the world's great defenders.

National team
A UEFA European Under-21 Championship winner in 1994 and 1996, Cannavaro made his full Italy debut in a 2-0 victory against Northern Ireland in January 1997, subsequently emerging as a mainstay at international level alongside Alessandro Nesta. He starred at the 1998 FIFA World Cup and UEFA EURO 2000™, where he played in the final loss to France. Ever-present as captain in qualifying for UEFA EURO 2004™, Cannavaro played twice in Portugal before suspension ruled him out of Italy's final game. The defender continues to wear the armband under Marcello Lippi.

Club
A SSC Napoli youth product, he made his Serie A debut against Juventus FC aged 20. He became a regular in the blue of his boyhood club in 1993/94 but left after the following campaign for Parma FC.

1995: Like in Naples, Cannavaro was revered at the Ennio Tardini, where he immediately won over the club's supporters with his outstanding displays. Silverware was won in the form of the UEFA Cup and Italian Cup in 1998/99, an Italian Super Cup the following season and another Coppa Italia in 2002, his final act as a Parma player.

2002: The annual scramble for the services of Cannavaro was resolved after the World Cup when FC Internazionale Milano paid €23m for him, and the defender duly helped the club to second place in Serie A and the last four of the UEFA Champions League. The 2003/04 campaign was disrupted by a fractured tibia, before Cannavaro made a surprise move to Juventus on transfer deadline day in August 2004.

2004/05: Cannavaro was in typically imperious form in Turin, appearing in all 38 Serie A games as Juventus won the title and conceded only 27 league goals. Cannavaro found the net in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals at Liverpool FC, but could not prevent a 2-1 loss at Anfield and on aggregate.

Did you know?
Cannavaro was a ballboy during Napoli's Diego Maradona-inspired glory years in the late 1980s.

©uefa.com 1998-2006. All rights reserved.

UEFA EURO 2004™ player's profile

Strong in the air, despite his lack of centimetres, and blessed with excellent timing, speed and anticipation, Fabio Cannavaro is quite simply one of the world's great defenders.

National team
A European Under-21 champion in 1994 and 1996, Cannavaro made his full Italy debut in a 2-0 victory against Northern Ireland in January 1997, subsequently emerging as a mainstay at international level alongside Alessandro Nesta. He starred at the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals and UEFA EURO 2000™, where he played in the final loss to France.

UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifying
Made Italy captain following the retirement of Paolo Maldini after Korea/Japan, Cannavaro started all eight of the Azzurri's matches, the only ever-present along with Gianluigi Buffon and Nesta.

Club
After joining SSC Napoli at the age of 16, he worked his way through the club's youth ranks before making his Serie A debut against Juventus FC aged only 20. He became a regular in the blue of his boyhood club in 1993/94 but left the club after the following campaign for Parma AC.

1995: Like in Naples, Cannavaro was revered at the Ennio Tardini, where he immediately won over the club's supporters with his outstanding displays. Silverware was won in the form of the UEFA Cup and Italian Cup in 1998/99, an Italian Super Cup the following season and another Coppa Italia in 2002, his final act as a Parma player.

2002: The annual scramble for the services of Cannavaro was resolved after the World Cup when Internazionale FC paid €23m for him. He did not disappoint at the San Siro, helping the club to second place in Serie A and the last four of the UEFA Champions League in his debut season.

2003/04: He missed over a third of the season with a fractured tibia and could not prevent Inter from going out of the Champions League in the group stage. Cannavaro was not at his commanding best but still helped Inter to fourth spot in Serie A.

Did you know?
Cannavaro was a ballboy during Napoli's Diego Maradona-inspired glory years in the late 1980s.

©uefa.com 1998-2006. All rights reserved.