II Capitano – http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fabio-c13152 Cannavaro: Italy’s legendary defender calls it a day
When Italy won the FIFA World Cup in 2006, their success was built on defensive football unlike the defending champions in that World Cup, Brazil. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Brazil-c2858’s success in the 2002 World Cup was a by product of their fantastic offensive
display in the quarterfinal against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Italy-c2926
came to the tournament with an above average squad.
Yes the Italians had the likes of Inzaghi and Totti in their line up but their strength was derived from their defensive back line. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fabio-Cannavaro-c13164 and in the wider positions
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Australia-c746 before going on to win against
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ukraine-c3032 in the quarterfinals.
In the semi-finals Italy were pitted against the mighty http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/France-c2899 but Italy gave a historic performance against the Germans.
Led by their http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Captain-c8314 Fabio Cannavaro, Italians played incisive counter attacking football as they won 2-0 in the end. Cannavaro proved to be a wall at the back as Italy kept another clean sheet.
In the final of the FIFA 2006 World Cup, Cannavaro’s Italy played Zinedine Zidane’s France. This time the match went to penalties as Italy won in the ensuing shootout with Fabio Grosso scoring the last penalty kick for the Italians.
Throughout the tournament Cannavaro’s defence was highlighted by critics and experts alike. His positioning, tackling and strength in the air were all key features of the Italian back line which helped them win the FIFA 2006 World Cup. Furthermore, Italy’s
defensive strength can be realized from the fact that they conceded two goals throughout the tournament, one of which was Zidane’s penalty kick in the 2006 World Cup final.
Cannavaro’s astute approach at the back was supported by http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Marco-Materazzi-c23709 who replaced Nesta half way through the tournament after the A.C Milan defender was injured in the group stages. However it wasn’t his performance in the
FIFA 2006 World Cup that propelled him towards greatness. He rose to prominence in a crucial 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier against England when he subdued http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alan-c4244 Shearer. The Italian kept a hold over the Newcastle United striker and Italy gained a 1-0 win in
the end.
From there on in, Cannavaro’s career took a further hike through his move to Juventus where he played alongside Thuram and Buffon as Juventus went onwards to win two Scudettos in a row from 2004-2006. Towards the end of his career,
Fabio missed Italy’s woeful outing at the 2008 European Championships and his lacklustre form coupled with a knee problem meant that he didn’t live up to his own standards when Italy were knocked out of the FIFA 2010 World Cup at the group stages. Nonetheless,
Cannavaro’s name in footballing history will be remembered as a defender who led Italy to a FIFA World Cup triumph in 2006, a true legend and a respected player of the game.
The views expressed by the writer are his own and do not reflect the editorial policy of
http://www.bettor.com/
Tags: