New task for ex-real star
World champion becomes national coach of World Cup debut
06.10.2025 – 6:06 p.m.Reading time: 1 min.
With Italy he once became world champion. Now Fabio Cannavaro is supposed to look after a Central Asian country on its first World Cup participation.
New job for a world champion: Fabio Cannavaro becomes Uzbekistan national coach. The country’s football association confirmed the obligation on Monday via Instagram.
The 52-year-old is scheduled to look after the team in their first World Cup participation in the USA, Canada and Mexico in the coming year. As a player, Cannavaro had won the world championship title in Germany in 2006 in Germany – as captain of the Squadra Azzurra.
For the former central defender of Inter Milan, Juventus Turin and Real Madrid, it is the second stop as a national coach. Already in 2019 he took over the Chinese national team for a short time and looked after two games. Most recently, Cannavaro, who also won the Ballon d’Or in 2006, was under contract as a coach at Dinamo Zagreb. There he was released in early April.
Previously, according to media reports, Joachim Löw was also a candidate for the post in Uzbekistan and is said to have received an inquiry for the office. However, as the “picture” reported in August, the former national coach decided against a commitment after a few days.