Paolo Cannavaro

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Paolo Cannavaro
Cannavaro in 2009
Personal information
Full name Paolo Cannavaro
Date of birth (1981-06-26) 26 June 1981 (age 42)
Place of birth Naples, Italy
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre back
Youth career
1995–1998 Napoli
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1998–1999 Napoli 2 (0)
1999–2006 Parma 92 (4)
2001–2002 → Verona (loan) 24 (1)
2006–2014 Napoli 236 (8)
2014 → Sassuolo (loan) 16 (0)
2014–2017 Sassuolo 94 (1)
Total 464 (14)
International career‡
1996 Italy U16[1] 2 (0)
1996 Italy U17[1] 3 (0)
1999–2000 Italy U19[1] 6 (0)
2001 Italy U20[1] 1 (0)
2002–2004 Italy U21[1] 18 (0)
Managerial career
2018–2021 Guangzhou Evergrande (assistant)
2022–2023 Benevento (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 December 2017
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 21 April 2015

Paolo Cannavaro (Italian pronunciation: [ˈpaːolo kannaˈvaːro]; born 26 June 1981) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. After beginning his career with Napoli, he moved to Parma in 1999, where he played alongside his older brother Fabio. Paolo remained with the club for seven seasons, aside from a loan spell with Verona during the 2001–02 season, helping the club reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup in 2005. In 2006, he returned to Napoli, where he was eventually named the club's captain and contributed to the club's resurgence: he helped the team to earn promotion to Serie A in his first season and subsequently aided his side to qualify for the UEFA Cup in 2008, earn a spot in the Champions League in 2011 and win the Coppa Italia in 2012, the club's first title in over 20 years. After eight seasons with Napoli, he moved to Sassuolo in 2014, where he remained until his retirement in 2017. Following the conclusion of his professional football career, he joined his brother as a member of the team's coaching staff at Guangzhou Evergrande and Benevento.

Early life[edit]

Cannavaro was born in Naples on 26 June 1981.[2] He is the younger brother of former football defender Fabio Cannavaro.[3] His nephew and son of Fabio Cannavaro, Christian, is also a footballer, who currently plays as a midfielder for Benevento and previously played for Paolo's former club Sassuolo.[4][5]

His son Manuel (born 2002) is a professional footballer, playing as a central midfielder for Taranto as of 2021.[6]

Club career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Cannavaro made his professional debut for his hometown side Napoli during the 1998–99 season in Serie B, while he was 17 years old. The following season he was signed by Parma, playing alongside his older brother Fabio in his first season at the club. Paolo's debut for Parma came when he replaced his brother as a substitute in Parma's 4–1 victory against Lecce.

Parma and Verona[edit]

Verona took the player on loan during the 2001–02 season; Cannavaro made 25 appearances for the club, scoring his first professional goal. The following year he returned to Parma where he spent much of the time as a substitute for the following two seasons (2002–03 and 2003–04). During the 2004–05 season, Cannavaro became more active in the first team at Parma, making 24 appearances and scoring 4 goals from defence, also helping the club to reach the 2004–05 UEFA Cup semi-final.

Napoli[edit]

Cannavaro captaining Napoli in 2009

As Napoli had been recently promoted back into Serie B and were looking to build a squad with potential, Cannavaro was brought back to his first club in 2006.[7] After helping to re-establish the club in the top flight of Italian football in his first season back, Cannavaro was installed as the team's captain the following season and subsequently played a key role in the club's resurgence, helped his team to qualify for the UEFA Cup in 2008: he later also helped his team to earn a spot in the Champions League in 2011 and lifted the club's first major trophy in more than 20 years when Napoli defeated Juventus 2–0 in the Coppa Italia final in Rome on 20 May 2012.[8]

The following season, Napoli were defeated by Juventus 4–2 in extra time in the 2012 Supercoppa Italiana in Beijing on 11 August.[9]

Sassuolo[edit]

On 31 January 2014, Cannavaro joined Sassuolo on loan for the remainder of the season for free,[10] helping the newly promoted club to avoid relegation. Sassuolo signed Cannavaro outright for a fee of €1,000 in the summer of 2014 on a three-year contract.[10]

In December 2017, Cannavaro announced that he would be retiring from professional football at the end of the month;[11] he made his final appearance in Serie A on 30 December, in a 1–1 away draw against Roma.[12]

International career[edit]

As a youngster, Cannavaro played for Italy under-21 national football team on 18 occasions between 2002 and 2004, notably representing the Italy under-21 side at the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, where they reached the semi-finals. He followed in the footsteps of his older brother by earning his first and only call up for the Italian national senior team under manager Roberto Donadoni, on 13 October 2007, for a friendly match in Florence against South Africa on 17 October, although he did not make an appearance during the match.[1][13][14]

Style of play[edit]

A tall, reliable, experienced, dedicated and physically strong defender, Cannavaro was known in particular for his ability in the air.[15][16][17] A talented defender, although tactically he was capable of playing in a four-man back-line, he was not particularly quick, therefore, due to his elegance on the ball, technique, vision, awareness and passing ability, he performed best as a ball-playing centre-back in a three-man defensive line and was known for his ability to create chances or start attacking plays from the back after winning back possession; he was also capable of playing as a right-back, although this was not his preferred position.[16][17][18][19][20] His main defensive skills were his anticipation, marking ability, tackling, concentration and strong mental attributes.[19][21][22] In spite of his reserved character, he was also known for his leadership qualities.[18][19][23]

Retirement[edit]

Following his retirement from professional football in December 2017, Paolo joined his brother, manager Fabio Cannavaro, on the technical staff at Chinese Super League club Guangzhou Evergrande.[11][12] They stayed at Guangzhou until September 2021, when they tended their resignations.[24]

He successively served as Fabio Cannavaro's assistant at Serie B club Benevento from September 2022 to February 2023.[25]

Controversy[edit]

In December 2012, Cannavaro was handed a six-month ban for failing to report an attempt of match fixing by then-Napoli goalkeeper Matteo Gianello.[26] On 17 January 2013, the ban was revoked by the FIGC after appeal and Napoli's two-point deduction was reversed.[27][28]

In February 2015, Cannavaro, his brother Fabio and his sister-in-law Daniela were respectively handed six-month, ten-month and four-month prison sentences for breaching orders and entering Fabio's residence after it had been seized by authorities in 2009, amid an investigation into fraudulent activity and tax evasion; all three have appealed and will have their sentences suspended until the final judgement has been made.[29][30]

In November 2017, following the Italy national football team's failure to qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Cannavaro drew criticism in the media over a controversial Instagram post in which he blamed Italy missing out on the upcoming tournament on the influx of non-Italian footballers in Serie A over the previous 15 years.[31]

In July 2018, Cannavaro and former Napoli footballers Pepe Reina and Salvatore Aronica were subject to a hearing by the Italian Football Federation over links to the Esposito brothers, high-ranking members of the Camorra criminal organisation.[32]

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

As of 25 January 2018[33]
Team Season League Domestic Cup[nb 1] Europe Total
Comp Games Goals Games Goals Comp Games Goals Games Goals
Napoli 1998–99 B 2 0 0 0 – – – 2 0
Parma 1999–2000 A 1 0 0 0 – – – 1 0
2000–01 A 4 0 3 0 UC 4 0 11 0
Verona 2001–02 A 24 1 2 0 – – – 26 1
Parma 2002–03 A 14 0 2 0 – – – 16 0
2003–04 A 16 0 4 0 UC 6 0 26 0
2004–05 A 28 1 3 0 UC 12 0 43 1
2005–06 A 29 3 2 0 – – – 31 3
Parma total 92 4 14 0 22 0 128 4
Napoli 2006–07 B 39 2 4 1 – – – 43 3
2007–08 A 34 0 5 0 – – – 39 0
2008–09 A 30 0 1 0 I+UC 2+4 0+0 37 0
2009–10 A 33 1 1 0 – – – 34 1
2010–11 A 32 2 1 0 UEL 7 0 40 2
2011–12 A 32 2 5 0 UCL 7 0 44 2
2012–13 A 32 1 1 0 UEL 2 0 35 1
2013–14 A 4 0 0 0 UEL 0 0 4 0
Napoli total 238 8 18 1 22 0 278 9
Sassuolo 2013–14 A 16 0 0 0 – – – 16 0
2014–15 A 25 0 1 0 – – – 26 0
2015–16 A 31 0 1 0 – – – 32 0
2016–17 A 18 1 0 0 UEL 7 0 25 1
2017–18 A 19 0 2 0 – – – 21 0
Sassuolo total 110 1 4 1 7 0 121 1
Career total 464 14 38 1 51 0 553 14

Honours[edit]

Napoli[33]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Includes appearances in the Coppa Italia, Supercoppa Italiana, UEFA Cup and Serie A Relegation tie-breakers.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Cannavaro, Paolo" (in Italian). FIGC. Archived from the original on 22 December 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2018.
  2. ^ "Paolo Cannavaro". UEFA. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  3. ^ "Captain Cannavaro paving his own way". FIFA. 14 September 2011. Archived from the original on 10 December 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  4. ^ "Benevento complete double swoop". Football Italia. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  5. ^ Nicolò Schira (17 January 2018). "Altro colpo del Benevento: preso Cannavaro Junior" (in Italian). gazzamercato.it. Retrieved 17 January 2018.
  6. ^ "Il figlio d'arte: Manuel Cannavaro ha firmato col Taranto di Montervino" (in Italian). CalcioNapoli1926.it. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  7. ^ "Cannavaro Paolo" (in Italian). SSC Napoli. Retrieved 11 July 2009.
  8. ^ "Juventus 0-2 Napoli: Cavani and Hamsik clinch Coppa Italia and dash double dreams of Turin giants". Goal.com. 20 May 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  9. ^ "Juventus 4–2 Napoli". ESPN FC. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
  10. ^ a b U.S. Sassuolo Calcio S.r.l. bilancio (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2014 (in Italian), PDF purchased from Italian C.C.I.A.A.
  11. ^ a b "Paolo Cannavaro retiring to join brother at Guangzhou Evergrande". ESPN FC. 28 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  12. ^ a b "Roma 1 - 1 Sassuolo". Football Italia. 30 December 2017. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  13. ^ "Cannavaro Jr thanks Napoli". Channel4.com. 15 October 2007.
  14. ^ Filippo Cagno (13 October 2007). "Paolo Cannavaro convocato in Nazionale" (in Italian). TuttoNapoli.net. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  15. ^ "Notte da sogno per il Sassuolo: tris all'Athletic" (in Italian). UEFA. 15 September 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  16. ^ a b Dino Manganiello (19 August 2008). "Bunker azzurro: la difesa funziona E Marino lavora per Jodlowiec" (in Italian). Il Corriere del Mezzogiorno. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  17. ^ a b Mimmo Carratelli (25 November 2016). "Napoli-Sassuolo, mi ritorni in mente Cannavaro jr, l'uomo dei gol impossibili" (in Italian). Il Mattino. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  18. ^ a b Alberto Polverosi (16 April 2013). "Prandelli, Cannavaro è da Nazionale" (in Italian). Il Corriere dello Sport. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  19. ^ a b c Dave Taylor (2 February 2014). "The Cannavaro variable". Football Italia. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  20. ^ Enzo Bucchioni (13 September 2013). "Conte insiste per l'attacco: a gennaio vuole Gabbiadini. Il Milan propone Pazzini e riproverà per Astori. Enigma Llorente. Inter-Thohir, spuntano i cinesi..." (in Italian). TuttoMercatoWeb.com. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  21. ^ "Cannavaro è tornato: adesso Benitez pensa di schierarlo anche in Champions" (in Italian). SpazioNapoli.it. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  22. ^ "Cannavaro, ricetta per Londra "Attenzione ai primi 45' e calma"" (in Italian). La Gazzetta dello Sport. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  23. ^ Nicolò Schira. "Esclusiva - Cannavaro via da Napoli? Risponde l'agente" (in Italian). Panorama. Archived from the original on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
  24. ^ "Cannavaro e la crisi Evergrande, il tecnico lascia la Cina: risolto il contratto". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). 23 September 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  25. ^ "COMUNICATO DELLA SOCIETA'" (in Italian). Benevento Calcio. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  26. ^ "Fabio Cannavaro defends brother Paolo over match-fixing ban". Goal.com. 24 December 2012. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  27. ^ "Emotional Cannavaro has six-month ban revoked". RTÉ. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  28. ^ "Napoli's 2-point penalty rescinded on appeal". Sports Illustrated. 17 January 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  29. ^ Ben Gladwell (25 February 2015). "Fabio Cannavaro appeals 10-month jail term over villa - report". ESPN FC. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  30. ^ "Former Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro handed 10-month jail sentence". The Guardian. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
  31. ^ Klimberg, Matthew (15 November 2017). "The curious rise of soccer nationalism coincides with a larger political movement". Calciomercato. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  32. ^ "Reina faces hearing over links with trio connected to mafia". NBC SPORTS. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  33. ^ a b "P. Cannavaro". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 November 2015.

External links[edit]

Sporting positions
Preceded by Napoli captain
2007–2014 		Succeeded by
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