Former legendary Italian center-back Fabio Cannavaro reportedly close to being appointed as Serie B side Benevento's head coach..

2022-09-21 18:43

Former legendary Italian center-back Fabio Cannavaro reportedly close to being appointed as Serie B side Benevento




Sky Sports' two resident renowned Italian transfer journalists Fabrizio Romano and Nicolo Schira have brought news on Tuesday, revealing that the legendary former Italian international center-back Fabio Cannavaro is close to be appointed as the new head coach of Serie B club Benevento.


According to reports, Benevento has determined that Cannavaro is the best candidate. If there is no surprise, the two sides will also try their best to complete the signing procedures today (Wednesday).


Once the official announcement is made, this will also be Cannavaro's first coaching job after nearly a year away, and it will also be the first time in his career that he will be coaching in his native Italy.



A central defender that everyone admires



The 49-year-old Cannavaro has played for Parma, Napoli, Inter Milan and Juventus in Serie A as a player, as well as La Liga giants Real Madrid and UAE Pro League heavyweight Al-Ahli.


Cannavaro, whose career has been closely linked with the legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and the legendary former French international defender Lilian Thuram, has successfully led the team to win 2 Coppa Italia, as well as the UEFA Cup and the Italian Super Cup each, by forming a formidable defense line with the duo at Parma and Juventus.


Even when not paired with them, Cannavaro also showed his superb defensive capabilities when he played for Real Madrid, by helping Los Blancos to La Liga championships for two consecutive years.


At the international level, Cannavaro led Italy to the 2006 World Cup in Germany glory after a penalty shootout victory over France. With his overall standout performances, Cannavaro deservedly became the Ballon d'Or, the World Footballer and the World Cup Silver Ball winner.



Start learning from abroad before returning home



Two years after retiring, Cannavaro took over the head coaching position of his former club Al-Ahli in July 2013 and successfully led the club to win 1 UAE Pro League Championship and the UAE League Cup victory.


In November 2014, Cannavaro broadening his career by landing in China at the invitation of his mentor Marcelo Lippi by becoming the head coach of the Chinese Super League giants Guangzhou. However, in June of the following year, he was sacked by the club due to his poor winning record.


In October 2015, Cannavaro became the head coach of Saudi Pro League superpower Al-Nassr, but in February of the following year, he resigned and left the club due to poor results.


In June 2016, Cannavaro returned to China to become the head coach of Tianjin Quanjian and led his team to win the Chinese League One Championship that season. After being promoted to the Chinese Super League, the club once did a double over Guangzhou and finally finished third, earning Cannavaro the 2017 Chinese Super League Best Foreign Coach Award.


With a good record, Cannavaro returned to Guangzhou in November 2017. During this period, he also led his team to win Chinese FA Cup and a Chinese Super League titles each. In October, he was ordered to participate in the "corporate culture training", and then returned to the club's head-coaching role in November.


At the same time, in March 2019, Cannavaro also served as the head coach of the Chinese national football team. However, after losing in his debut, he resigned in April of the same year on the grounds of "focusing on coaching Guangzhou".


In 2020, due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the club's financial situation also suffered heavily. With him having being restrcited to limited resources, Cannavaro finally had enough and left the club in September 2021. He was out of work ever since then, and it was not until recently that he announced that he would not rule out returning to Europe to coach, that he returned to the fans' sight.



The predecessor's poor start and the fate of being dismissal is inevitable


Benevento also officially announced on Tuesday local time that former head coach Fabio Caserta and his assistants will be sacked immediately. Caserta replaced Filippo Inzaghi as the club's head coach after being relegated to Serie B. 


Last season, he did alright and successfully led Gil Stregoni to 7th place finish, narrowly missing the Serie B promotion play-offs.


However, this season, with Benevento only amassing 7 points after 6 matchdays, temporarily ranked 12th, and has basically never left the edge of the relegation zone, the club eventually opted to part ways with Caserta.