The last few times he had come down under as coach of the Chinese Guangzhou Evergrande, with whom he had sometimes faced Australian teams in the Asian Champions League.
Last week, the 2006 world champion returned to Australia, this time to attend a series of informal meetings with the Italian community in Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney.
Click the ‘play’ button above to listen to the report on Fabio Cannavaro‘s visit to Australia
Fabio Cannavaro with our Dario Castaldo during a meeting with the Italian community of Melbourne
“Basically I’m here for events where we talk about football. The nice thing is meeting so many passionate people and feeling so much enthusiasm even so away from home“, says the former defender who wore the national team shirt 136 times and who last year led Udinese to safety in Serie A.
Australia recalls – for Italian fans – perhaps the turning point of the 2006 World Cup, that round of 16 match won against the Socceroos despite one man less and with a sumptuous Fabio Cannavaro, who took the Italian defense on his shoulders.
Beating Australia in the World Cup gave us the belief that we were strong and that we could have our say
Fabio Cannavaro
“For us it was certainly a crucial match, because remaining with 10 men in a World Cup and taking it home is never easy.”
“It was an extra boost of conviction that we were strong and that we could move forward and have our say. Then the victory that came at the last second with a penalty from Francesco Totti was the icing on the cake”, recalls the 51-year-old originally from Naples.
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Fabio Cannavaro was not only the captain of the national team that won the 2006 World Cup, but in that season he also earned the Fifa World Player and above all the Golden Ball, becoming the fourth Italian to do so after Gianni Rivera in ’68 , Paolo Rossi in ’82 and Roberto Baggio in ’93.
Considering that since then Italy has struggled to qualify for the final stages of the World Cup (and that the two times in which it has played them it has not progressed beyond the group stage), and considering that Italian footballers are no longer among the top of the Ballon d’Or list, we asked him if in his opinion we will first see a national team triumph in a World Cup or an Italian footballer awarded the Ballon d’Or.
To see another Italian win the Ballon d’Or, we may have to wait for the next generation
Fabio Cannavaro
“At the moment I would tell you that if you look at Serie A you might think that it takes time. But due to our history, our football culture and our mentality we must necessarily be confident that Spalletti will take us back to the World Cup.”
“As far as the Ballon d’Or is concerned, perhaps we need to wait for the next generation,” admits Cannavaro.
Fabio Cannavaro ‘footballer’ with the 2006 Golden Ball and coach of Guangzhou
The Berlin hero, who in his career wore the shirts of Napoli, Parma, Inter, Juve and Real Madrid, shared dozens of memories, anecdotes, judgments and thoughts with the Italians down under. “The strongest opponent? Ronaldo the Phenomenon. The most reliable teammate? Lilian Thuram. After the final in Berlin, I slept together with my son and the World Cup. I have an autographed boot from Maradona which I keep among the various memorabilia in a special room. When they come to visit me, friends always ask me to see the Ballon d’Or. Did I celebrate Napoli’s championship? Do we know Francesco, when he talks about a return to the pitch… “.Listen every day, from 8am to 10am. Follow us on e or subscribe to our podcasts by clicking .
