Cannavaro's coaching career: success, trials, and new hopes

It is no coincidence that the 2006 Ballon d'Or winner's coaching trip began in the UAE. Fabio Cannavaro gained his first experience by joining Al-Ahli's staff under Cosmin Olariu during that period. The team won the national championship and the league cup - for the new coach, this was, of course, a great inspiration.

After that, an independent path: the Italian specialist went to China and hosted Guangzhou Evergrande. However, this stage was unsuccessful - under high expectations and pressure, without adapting to the new environment, he was soon replaced by Luis Felipe Scolari. In the fall of 2015, Fabio began working with Saudi Arabian "Al-Nassr," but in February 2016 he left his position - it was not possible to bring the team back to the top flight.

Still, Cannavaro didn't give up. In the summer of 2016, he took over the club "Tianjin" (Tianjin Xuanzyan) and immediately got to work with glory: 3rd place in his first season in the elite, and the title of "Coach of the Year" for himself. A fighting squad that relied on defense but yielded results was his most correct recipe at the time.

The next destination is a return to Guangzhou Evergrande. This time, things went much more steadily: winning the Super Cup and the Chinese Championship, he became known as a coach who can adapt to opponents and, if time is needed, transfer his style. Interestingly, during this period, he briefly managed the Chinese national team, but after 6 weeks, he left his position as the national team, as it was difficult to lead both fronts simultaneously.

Home page: In the fall of 2022, he hosted Benevento. The goal was to return to Serie A. However, difficulties were observed in setting up the game, and in February 2023, the club's management made a decision - the experiment was suspended. Fabio was unemployed for a while.

In April 2024, he took another risk: he took on the task of rescuing the sliding "Udineze." In a short time, he united the team around one idea, organized the defense, and in attack, "simple but effective" football was used, emphasizing long passes and standards for Lukka: 2 wins, 3 draws, 1 loss in 6 games - the elite was saved. The contract did not last: Cannavaro requested significant strengthening of the squad and expansion of powers, which the club did not pursue.

Then Dinamo Zagreb: only 14 games from December 2024 to April 2025. European goals were set, but the result didn't go as expected, the paths diverged when the team was in 3rd place. In "Udineze" - short-term "external assistance," in Zagreb - a longer cycle and demand to build a system. The first worked, the second - not.

What is the conclusion? Cannavaro knows how to organize defense, inspire the team in a short time, and achieve results with discipline and charisma. However, in the long-term, systematic project, his "signature" has not yet been fully manifested. Nevertheless, his reputation as a world champion, compact interventions, and effectiveness in "short cycles" allow him to open new pages.

The main question for fans is simple: can Cannavaro transform his quick impact into a sustainable mechanism? If the answer is yes, then his next destination will be new victories, new pages, and, perhaps, a long-awaited stable system.