Fabio Cannavaro Football player, Italian defender who plays for Real Madrid Date of Birth: 13.09.1973 Country: Italy

Biography of Fabio Cannavaro

Fabio Cannavaro, an Italian defender playing for Real Madrid, was born on September 13, 1973, in Naples. He has an older sister, Renata, and a younger brother, Paolo. He started playing football at the age of eight and three years later joined the football school of Napoli. He served as a ball boy during matches of the club, including those featuring the famous Diego Maradona. His childhood idol was defender Chiro Ferrara, who later became his friend and taught him everything, including his signature sliding tackles. During one friendly match of the senior team with the youth team, Cannavaro made a strong tackle on Maradona himself, almost getting sent off. However, the Argentine defended the emerging star and praised him for his effort.

On March 7, 1993, Cannavaro made his debut in the senior squad of Napoli. In the summer of 1995, he transferred to Parma. At this club, Cannavaro formed one of the most reliable defensive lines in Europe alongside Lilian Thuram and Gianluigi Buffon. With Cannavaro, Parma won the Italian Cup, the UEFA Cup, and the Italian Super Cup. In the 2001/2002 season, Cannavaro became the captain of the team and also received the captain's armband for the Italian national team. In the summer of 2002, Fabio moved to Inter, and two years later, he joined Juventus. With Juventus, Cannavaro won two Scudettos, but both championship titles were stripped due to the corruption investigation in Italian football. Ironically, Cannavaro is not recognized as an Italian champion. In 2006, he became a FIFA World Cup champion with the Italian national team. After Juventus was relegated to Serie B, Cannavaro transferred to Real Madrid.