| Intro | Italian footballer |
| Is |
Athlete Football player Association football player |
| From | Italy |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth | 26 June 1981, Naples |
| Age: | 39 years |
Paolo Cannavaro (born 26 June 1981) is an Italian footballer who plays for Sassuolo as a defender. After beginning his career with Napoli, he moved to Parma in 1999, where he played alongside his older brother, 2006 FIFA World Cup and Ballon d’Or winner Fabio Cannavaro, who was also a defender, and who currently coaches Chinese club Tianjin Quanjian. Paolo remained with the club for seven seasons, aside from a loan spell with Verona during the 2001–02 season. In 2006, he returned to Napoli, where he was eventually named the club’s captain, and helped the team win the Coppa Italia in 2012, the club’s fist title in over 20 years. After eight seasons with Napoli, he moved to Sassuolo in 2014.
Early life
Cannavaro was born in Naples on 26 June 1981. He is the younger brother of the retired football defender Fabio Cannavaro.
In February 2015, Paolo Cannavaro, his brother Fabio, and his sister-in-law Daniela, were respectively handed 6-month, 10-month, and 4-month prison sentences for breaching orders and entering Fabio’s residence after it had been seized by authorities in 2009, amid an investigation into fraudulent activity and tax evasion; all three have appealed and will have their sentences suspended until the final judgement has been made.
Club career
Early career
Cannavaro made his professional debut for his hometown side S.S.C. Napoli during the 1998–99 season in Serie B, while he was 17 years old. The following season he was signed by Parma, playing alongside his older brother Fabio Cannavaro in his first season at the club. Paolo’s debut for Parma came when he replaced his brother as a substitute in Parma’s 4–1 victory against Lecce.
Cannavaro in 2009
Parma and Verona
Verona took the player on loan during the 2001–02 season, Cannavaro turned out 25 times for the club, scoring his first professional goal. The successive year he returned to Parma where he spent much of the time as a substitute for the following two seasons (2002–2003, 2003–2004). During the 2004–2005 season, Cannavaro became more active in the first team at Parma, making 24 appearances scoring 4 goals from defence, also helping the club to reach the 2004–05 UEFA Cup semi-final.
Napoli
As Napoli were promoted back into Serie A, and were building a squad with potential, Cannavaro was brought back to his first club. After helping to re-establish the club in the top flight of Italian football, Cannavaro was installed as captain and lifted the club’s first major trophy in more than 20 years when Napoli defeated Juventus 2–0 in the Coppa Italia final on 20 May 2012. Napoli were defeated 4–2 in extra time in the 2012 Supercoppa Italiana by Juventus, in Rome.
In December 2012 Cannavaro was handed a 6-month ban for failing to report an attempt of match fixing by then Napoli goalkeeper Matteo Gianello. On 17 January 2013, the ban was revoked by the FIGC after appeal and Napoli’s two-point deduction was reversed.
Sassuolo
On 31 January 2014, Cannavaro joined Sassuolo on loan for the remainder of the season for free, helping the newly promoted club to avoid relegation. Sassuolo signed Cannavaro outright for a peppercorn of €1,000 fee, in a three-year contract in summer 2014.
International career
As a youngster, Cannavaro played for Italy under-21 national football team on 18 occasions between 2002 and 2004, notably representing the Italy under-21 side at the 2002 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, where they reached the semi-finals. He has since followed in the footsteps of his older brother by earning his first call up for the Italian national senior team, under manager Roberto Donadoni, on 13 October 2007, for a friendly match against South Africa on 17 October, although he did not make an appearance during the match.
Career statistics
Club
Up to and including the 19 October 2013
| Season | Team | League | Italian Cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comp | Games | Goals | Games | Goals | Comp | Games | Goals | Games | Goals | ||
| 1998–1999 | Napoli | B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 2 | 0 |
| 1999–2000 | Parma | A | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| 2000–2001 | A | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | UC | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2001–2002 | Verona | A | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 26 | 1 |
| 2002–2003 | Parma | A | 14 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 16 | 0 |
| 2003–2004 | A | 16 | 0 | 4 | 0 | UC | 6 | 0 | 26 | 0 | |
| 2004–2005 | A | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | UC | 12 | 0 | 41 | 1 | |
| 2005–2006 | A | 29 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 31 | 3 | |
| Parma total | 92 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 123 | 4 | |||
| 2006–2007 | Napoli | B | 39 | 2 | 4 | 1 | – | – | – | 43 | 3 |
| 2007–2008 | A | 34 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | – | 39 | 0 | |
| 2008–2009 | A | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | I+UC | 2+4 | 0+0 | 37 | 0 | |
| 2009–2010 | A | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 34 | 1 | |
| 2010–2011 | A | 32 | 2 | 1 | 0 | UEL | 7 | 0 | 40 | 2 | |
| 2011–2012 | A | 32 | 2 | 5 | 0 | UCL | 7 | 0 | 44 | 2 | |
| 2012–2013 | A | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | UEL | 2 | 0 | 35 | 1 | |
| 2013–2014 | A | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | UEL | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | |
| Napoli total | 236 | 9 | 16 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 278 | 9 | |||
| Career total | 328 | 13 | 26 | 1 | 42 | 0 | 427 | 14 | |||
Honours
Club
- Napoli
- Coppa Italia (1): 2011–12
- “P. Cannavaro”. Soccerway. Retrieved 20 November 2015.