Kayla's Salute: Fabio Cannavaro

I love football as much as the next guy, but at the base level, I'm still a woman. I appreciate the after-game shirt exchange just as much as the game itself. Kayla's salute is a recurring piece spotlighting the best footballers that also happen to be the best looking.

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By Kayla

This week's salute comes a day early in light of Fabio Cannavaro's announced retirement from football as of yesterday. It seems appropriate to cover such a decorated player's illustrious career. Plus it's time I cover someone that's not American.

 Playing for Italy's national team and serving most of his domestic career in Italy, Cannavaro has had quite the career.  Starting as a ball boy at Napoli, Cannavaro quickly ascended to a spot on the first team, alongside some of the idols he watched with admiration on the sidelines.  He made his debut in Serie A on March 7, 1993 in a match against Juventus. After the loss of Maradona, cash-strapped Napoli were forced to sell Cannavaro to Parma in 1995.  Instantly earning a spot in the starting 11, he earned the UEFA Cup and Coppa Italia with the squad.  During his time at Parma, he received call-ups to the national team and also earned Serie A Defender of the Year. He soon earned a €23 million transfer to Internazionale, where he played for a couple of seasons, missing a huge portion of his second season there due to injury. During his stint there Internazionale finished second in Serie A and also reached the semi-finals of the 2002-2003 Champions League. He was then sold to Juventus, where he won two Scudetti with the squad in 2005 and 2006 and also won a Football Oscar for his debut season at Juventus.  Shortly after the 2006 World Cup, Juventus were relegated to Serie B, and Cannavaro soon followed then manager Fabio Capello to Real Madrid.  Cannavaro earned FIFA World Player of the Year in 2006 for his time at Juventus and Real Madrid, and was also a part of Real Madrid's squad that won La Liga in '06-'07 & '07-'08. Cannavaro returned to Juventus in the summer of 2009 and then went to Al-Ahli Dubai in the summer of 2010 on a free transfer after the World Cup. He only made 16 appearances for the club before his retirement.

Cannavaro's international career has also been impressive.  Participating in 4 World Cups, 2 Euro Cups, and serving as Italy's skipper from 2002 to 2010, Cannavaro has earned 127 caps.  He took over as captain after the 2002 World Cup and lead Italy to win the 2006 World Cup after defeating France in the final.  Lifting the trophy was special on that particular occasion because it was his 100th cap for his country.  He was one of two players to play every minute of every match for his country and did not earn a single card during the 690 minutes of the tournament.  Sustaining a ligament injury in training, he did not participate in the 2008 Euro Cup.  Plans for his retirement were put on hold after Euro 2008, due to his determination to captain his country for one more World Cup.  He announced his retirement from international competition after Italy failed to progress past the group stage in the 2010 World Cup.  


The announcement of Cannavaro's retirement from the game came yesterday, after doctors said he would no longer be able to play due to a serious knee problem.  Cannavaro's wonderful career has earned him a spot in football history and this week's salute.  You will be missed, Fabio.


Kayla is a writer, co-editor & co-founder of The Captain's Armblog.  She enjoys eating too many sweets, writing, and defending Fernando Torres. Send her digital candies to thecaptainsarmblog@gmail.com