Fabio Cannavaro - International Career

International Career

Cannavaro's first taste of international success came over in the mid 1990s under coach Cesare Maldini with Italy's under-21 side, winning two consecutive European Under-21 Championship titles in 1994 and 1996. In 1996, he participated also at the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

He made his debut with the Italian national team on 22 January 1997, in a friendly game against Northern Ireland. The same year, he earned plaudits for his handling of England striker Alan Shearer in a World Cup qualifying game at Wembley. Shearer was then considered by the fiercely partisan English crowd to be the best striker in the world, and they thought he would make have fun with the unexperienced Italian defender. Nevertheless, in a dominant display that ranked him among the great Italian defenders such as Claudio Gentile and Franco Baresi, Cannavaro managed to keep Shearer quiet during the whole game. Italy won the game 1–0 thanks to a Gianfranco Zola goal.

He played for his country in the 1998, 2002, 2006, and 2010 World Cups, as well as in the 2000 and 2004 European Championships.

Cannavaro's first international tournament came at 1998 World Cup under the mentorship of Giuseppe Bergomi, Alessandro Costacurta, and Paolo Maldini, the squad was coached by Paolo Maldini's father Cesare. Italy went out in the quarter-finals to hosts and eventual champions France; Cannavaro suffered a cut on his forehead from an elbow by Stéphane Guivarc'h but played the remainder of the match after receiving treatment. The Azzurri managed to push the game to a 0–0 draw but the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out in favour of the hosts after the teams were tied 0–0.

In Euro 2000, it was Les Bleus who once again shattered Italy's dreams. Cannavaro had a strong tournament, playing as centre-back alongside Alessandro Nesta, Mark Iuliano, or Paolo Maldini in 3–5–2 formation. The Azzurri reached the final, where they led the then world champions 1–0 going into injury time. Near the end of regular time, Sylvain Wiltord found the equalizer, and an extra-time golden goal from David Trezeguet gave France the title.

At the 2002 World Cup, he was credited with holding the defence together, almost single-handedly after Alessandro Nesta was injured against Croatia. The injury, along with several mistakes from match officials, dealt a severe blow to Italy's chances of winning the World Cup, as the side relied heavily on the Cannavaro-Nesta partnership in central defence. Marco Materazzi, who deputized for Nesta, proved to be an ill-fated choice with his nervous performances. Italy went out in the second round, losing to co-hosts and eventual semi-finalists South Korea, again to a golden goal.

Cannavaro had a hard act to follow when he took over as captain from Maldini after the 2002 World Cup, but he quickly won the team over with his constant smile, laid-back Neapolitan approach and inspiring performances. After Maldini's international retirement, he first captained Italy in a match in Naples and received a standing ovation on the pitch where he sported the local side's colours between 1991 and 1995.

Cannavaro's first international goal was scored on 30 May 2004 against Tunisia; Italy won 4–0. Euro 2004, which was hosted by Portugal, turned out to be a disappointment. Cannavaro picked up yellow cards during the two draws with Denmark (0–0) and Sweden (1–1), forcing him to sit out the final group game. Italy defeated Bulgaria 2–1, but failed to advance on goal difference.