Change of coach in Croatia
World footballer replaces fired ex-Bundesliga coach
12/29/2024 – 11:09 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Gennaro Gattuso, an Italian world champion coach, is already in Croatia. Now another one is added.
Dinamo Zagreb is relying on a big name in the coaching position. The traditional Croatian club parted ways with Nenad Bjelica on Sunday evening and presented Fabio Cannavaro as the new head coach. The former world champion and world footballer is supposed to lead the club from the capital back to the top. Dinamo is currently only third in the league, seven points behind league leaders Rijeka.
Nenad Bjelica, who was Union Berlin’s coach at the beginning of the year, only signed a “multi-year contract” in Zagreb at the end of September after replacing Sergej Jakirovic as coach. It was his second term at Dinamo: from 2018 to 2020 he led the club to two championships. But despite the successes in the past, those responsible have now decided to separate.
Successor Fabio Cannavaro is scheduled to be officially introduced on January 3rd and start work in the capital. For the 51-year-old, it is another stop in his coaching career, which began in China in 2014. After stints in Saudi Arabia and other clubs in China, his path took him to Benevento in 2022 and most recently to Udine.
Cannavaro is one of the big names in international football. In 2006 he captained Italy to the title at the World Cup in Germany. In the same year he was awarded the prestigious title of World Footballer of the Year. Now he faces the challenge of getting Dinamo Zagreb back on the road to success.