Fabio Cannavaro

[Ange]

thank you luno

[LuNo]

You're welcome Ange

[LuNo]

The Cannavaro master plan

It would seem that nothing in Italy is ever simple. On the face of it AC Milan's courting of World Player of the Year Fabio Cannavaro, currently with Real Madrid, appears a simple ploy to rescue the out of form Italian defender from Spain whilst strengthening the Rossoneri in one swoop.

That is not the case. Or at least that's what the conspiracy loving Italian media, and lets face it we all love a twisted plot, would have us believe. Milan are only chasing Cannavaro so that they can buy Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon. Confused? Let me explain.

Two-years ago Milan agreed to send Christian Abbiati on-loan to Turin to cover for the then-injured goalkeeper Buffon, during negotiations the two clubs agreed to a 'pact' that would give Milan first option on the Bianconeri's top-rated keeper. However, despite Juve's relegation to Serie B last summer the Turin club managed to retain the services of the 29-year-old and their 'pact' fizzled out of existence.

Milan president Silvio Berlusconi, a man used to getting his own way as both media mogul and former Italian Prime Minister, has subsequently told his directors Adriano Galliani and Ariedo Braida that he still wants Gigi to play for him at the San Siro - whatever the cost.

By bidding for Cannavaro, who signed for Madrid from relegated Juve in the summer, Milan are hoping to force his former club, whose remaining stars have demanded the purchase of marquee players upon their imminent return to Serie A, into a bidding war for the Juve fans' favourite. Milan will then offer to withdraw their interest in Cannavaro if Juve allow them to open talks with Buffon.

The Azzurri goalkeeper has already stated he won't open negotiations to renew his contract with Juve until promotion from Serie B is secured and Milan sense this is their opportunity to snap up the World Cup winner.

It's a plan that's so obvious when you think about it. Simplicity is the key, or should that be complexity?

The one glaring variable that seems to have been overlooked in the master plan is Real Madrid's role in all this. Plus Cannavaro's desire to leave the crumbling empire that was once saddled with the sobriquet Los Galacticos, and his desire is slowly becoming clear.

It would appear that even a defender capable of captaining his country to an unlikely World Cup victory against the back-drop of Serie A's high profile match-fixing scandal is incapable of taming the hoodoo that blights Real Madrid's rear-guard. and has kiboshed the careers of many before him.

Since Vicente Del Bosque was unfathomably axed following Primera Division and Champions League success in 2003 Real Madrid have failed to win a single trophy of note and have become the case study for a 'club in crisis' - at least on a G14 level. This season Los Blancos stuttering form has resulted in Copa Del Rey humiliation, Champions League elimantion and La Liga mediocrity as they languish in fourth place, six points behind league leaders Sevilla and clinging on to a Champions League qualifying place ahead of Real Zaragoza.

Wednesday's European defeat to Bayern Munich firmly affixed the 'dead man walking' tag to coach Fabio Capello and with the man who brought Cannavaro to the Bernabeu almost certain to get the boot, the Italy defender's odds of beating a hasty exit have also dropped substantially. Even prior to the Bayern Munich defeat Cannavaro was making negative noises about remaining in Madrid, or at least keeping his options open.

'At the end of the present campaign I will sit down with the club officials and serenely discuss the situation,' stated the Golden Ball winner. 'Only then will I decide on what to do.'

But as the future for the Merengues began to look increasingly bleak and un silverware laden Cannavaro upped the ante: 'I have to admit that I'm pleased to read that I'm of interest to Italian clubs and that includes Juventus.

'I want to stay here, but I know that when you fail in a season at the age of 33 then a club looks around.'

Nobody can really blame Cannavaro for planning an exit strategy, Madrid has proved the graveyard for many highly-rated defenders and it is no coincidence that Madrid's defensive woe began when Fernando Hierro, probably the last defender to actually enhance his reputation in the all white strip, departed with Del Bosque in 2003.

Roberto Carlos, once lauded as the best left-back in the world, has seen his star wane, as has that of Hierro's former defensive lynchpin Ivan Helguera. Once one half of a partnership that dominated Europe he is now a diminishing remnant of a former glory.

Since Del Bosque's exit, consecutive managers have attempted to address Madrid's evil eye but none have succeeded. Carlos Queiroz could only watch as the powers in the Madrid boardroom dispensed with Spain international Ivan Campo, and must have gaped in horror as highly-rated defensive lynchpin Claude Makelele joined Chelsea for £16million and signalled the end of sanity at Real.

Possibly realising the error of their ways Real Madrid spent £17million on highly-rated Roma defender Walter Samuel and £13.4m on Newcastle defender Jonathan Woodgate to begin the restructure. But neither Mariano Garcia Remon, the promoted assistant to Jose Antonio Camacho during his ill fated one month reign, nor former Brazil boss Vanderlei Luxemburgo could coax the best out of either defender and both departed at a lower ebb than when they joined.

Samuel in particular suffered a torrid season in Madrid first eleven, where the Argentina international amassed 15 yellow cards and two reds, and headed to Inter Milan to rediscover his best form at Serie A's runaway leaders.

Woodgate suffered a horrific time with injuries, but when finally fit enough to make his debut he scored an own-goal and was sent off. Although Real's defence did improve when he played, albeit sporadically, the centre-back is now on-loan at home-town club Middlesbrough, winning rave reviews and a recall to the England national team.

Capello was hired to bring some tactical and defensive cohesion to a porous Madrid side and despite presiding over the second best defence in La Liga this season his style grates with the demands of Madridistas. The Italian coach adapted a previously fluent midfield to include two defensive players he insisted on signing, Emerson from Juventus and Mahamadou Diarra from Lyon, yet despite this protection for fellow new boy Cannavaro the defensive blunders characteristic of Madrid hit his game.

After being given the run around by Atletico whippersnappers Fernando Torres and Sergio Aguero in the Madrid derby, the World Player of the Year admitted his form, like that of many of his predecessors, was plummeting.

'I've never made so many mistakes in my career,' Cannavaro said. 'But I'm working hard on getting back to being the player I was at Juventus and the World Cup, I'm sure I'll succeed.'

Succeed he will, but probably not in Madrid.

[LuNo]

[LuNo]

[LuNo]

You're welcome

And thanks for the pics !!!!!!!

[LuNo]

MEDICAL REPORT:

13/03/2007

• Cicinho: Torn anterior cruciate ligament of the right knee. Returned to training with the squad.

• Beckham: Sprained internal lateral ligament of the right knee. Medical treatment and physiotherapy.

• Reyes: Sprained internal lateral ligament of the left knee. Medical treatment and physiotherapy. Gym work.

• Roberto Carlos: Fascia tear of the triceps sural muscle of the right leg. Medical treatment and physiotherapy.

• Cannavaro: Pulled adductor on the right leg. Medical treatment and physiotherapy. Gym and field work.

• Gago: Bruised fibula of the right leg. Medical treatment and physiotherapy.

• Raúl Bravo: Strained quadriceps of the right leg. Medical treatment and physiotherapy. Gym work.

[LuNo]

Cannavaro elected to FIFPro team

The ideal starting eleven chosen by 43,000 footballers; Zinedine Zidane also makes squad

Real Madrid centre fullback and captain of the Italian national team, Fabio Cannavaro was the only Madridista to make the ideal starting eleven team chosen by the 43,000 football players around the world that comprise the International Association of Football Players Unions (FIFPro). Zinedine Zidane was also selected into the lineup.

Fabio Cannavaro has made a big statement in his battle for the 2006 Golden Ball Award. After leading Italy to the 2006 German World Cup title, today the Madridista centre-back was selected as a member of the FIFPro ideal starting eleven.

The defender is the only player to represent Real Madrid in the lineup, although there is a footballer from Madrid's recent past who was also selected as one of the eleven: Zinedine Zidane. Thanks in large part to his brilliant performance in carrying France to the World Cup final, the French star was also chosen by the 43,000 football players who took part in the survey.

There are four other players from the Spanish League who made the FIFPro ideal eleven, all of whom play for Barcelona: Ronaldinho (who received more votes than any other player), Lilian Thuram, Gianluca Zambrotta and Samuel Eto'o. Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), John Terry (Chelsea), Andrea Pirlo (Milan), Kaká (Milan), and Thierry Henry (Arsenal) comprise the rest of the ideal starting eleven.

[LuNo]

[LuNo]

Awarded by his colleagues

Fabio Cannavaro receives the FIFPro World XI Award

2006 was the year of Fabio Cannavaro. The Italian defender was praised by everyone in the football world. He won the Ballon d'Argent in the Germany World Cup, the Ballon d'Or 2006 and the FIFA World Player Award. This morning he received the FIFPro World XI Award, an important accolade chosen by professional footballers throughout the world.

The Fédération International de Footballeurs Professionels -FIFPro- gave out their awards again this season. The World XI Award is a very important accolade because it is chosen by professional players throughout the world, who chose their ideal lineup for a team. As many as 44,000 players cast their vote this season and Fabio Cannavaro was chosen as the ideal centre back on any squad.

The Real Madrid defender is joined in the ideal team of 2006 by Buffon in the goal; Thuram, Therry and Zambrotta in the defense; Pirlo, Zidane -who was also in the ideal team last year- and Kaka in the midfield; and Eto’o, Henry and Ronaldinho in the attack.

FIFPro members Louis Everard and Tijs Tummers gave the FIFPro World XI Award 2006 to Cannavaro after training at Valdebebas ended this morning. The Club's Sporting Director Pedja Mijatovic was the first to congratulate the happy player. "I am proud of receiving this award from my colleagues," said Cannavaro, "This is the culmination of a great year and I hope it gives me strength to keep playing my best football."

[LuNo]

Cannavaro receives more plaudits

Real Madrid CF defender Fabio Cannavaro has added another accolade to his trophy shelf after accepting the FIFPro Award for the best defender of 2006 in the Spanish capital today.

'Great year'

The 33-year-old Italian international has already claimed the Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards and been named Italian Players' Player of the Year. This latest accolade was voted for by the 44,000 professional footballers who form the International Federation of Professional Footballers, and Cannavaro said: "I'm proud to receive an honour from my fellow professionals. It sums up what has been a great year." The honour was handed to the centre-back in person after a ceremony in Athens in November was cancelled.

[sandy]

Thank you LuNo

[LuNo]

You're welcome Sandy

[LuNo]

Cannavaro returns

The squad are allowed to chose today's exercises

Today's session started with gym exercises that were followed by fun workouts, such as foot-tennins and shots on goal. Cannavaro rejoined the squad, while Reyes, Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Raúl Bravo and Gago once again missed training due to injury. Mejía and Cicinho trained aside from the sqaud. The Brazilian worked very hard on sprint series in order to fully recover as soon as possible.

After three intense training session this week, Fabio Capello decided to go easy on his men today. Real Madrid took the training pitch after working out in the gym and found a layout that anticipated that they would be able to decide what to work on this morning.

Training today was very light on physical work and saw the squad playing foot-tennins, piggy-in-the-middle and practicing shots on goal. Raúl and Salgado challenged Cassano and Higuaín and both couples tried scoring from set plays, headers, bycicle kicks, etc. Quality was showcased throughout today's session and good vibes filled the air.

Raúl Bravo, Roberto Carlos, Beckham, Reyes and Gago missed training again due to injury -the latter didn't even go to Valdebebas because he has flu. They continued with their recovery routines hoping to be fit as soon as possible to play any of the crucial games that lie ahead against Nàstic, Celta Vigo, Osasuna, Racing Santander, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla, Espanyol, Recreativo, Deportivo, Zaragoza and Mallorca.

Fabio Cannavaro rejoined the squad during warm-up prior to undertaking ball work exercises devised by Italo Galbiati. On the other hand, Cicinho continued with his intense recovery program aside from the squad with recovery expert José Luis San Martín, who made him udertake strong series of sprints. Thanks to his hard work and the good care of the medical and physiotherapeutical staff at the Club, the Brazilian will soon be fit enough to play again.

Capello talked to several players individually during the session in order to perfect every minute detail to give an excellent performance against Nastic at the Bernabéu on Sunday at 7 pm CET.

[LuNo]

[LuNo]

[LuNo]

Real Madrid vs. Nàstic

GOALKEEPERS: Iker Casillas, Diego López.

DEFENDERS:Michel Salgado, Iván Helguera, Pavón, Marcelo, Cannavaro, Torres, Miñambres.

MIDFIELDERS: Emerson, Diarra, Guti, De la Red, Robinho, Raúl.

FORWARDS:Van Nistelrooy, Cassano, Higuaín.

[LuNo]

REAL MADRID2: Casillas; Salgado, Cannavaro, Helguera, Torres; Diarra, Guti, Raúl (De la Red, 88'), Higuaín (Marcelo, 79'); Cassano (Robinho, 45') and Van Nistelrooy.

GIMNASTIC TARRAGONA0: Bizarri; Calvo, César Navas, David García, Marco; Chabaud, Juan (Matellán, 79'), Cuellar, Campano (Merino, 74') ; Pinilla (Irurzun, 61') and Rubén Castro.

REFEREE: Iturrialde González. Booked David García (29'), Míchel Salgado (32'), Cannavaro (34'), Juan Díaz (48'). César Navas was sent off with a straight red card (7').

GOALS:

1-0: Robinho

2-0: David garcía, own goal

HIGHLIGHTS: Matchday 27 of La Liga. Venue: Santiago Bernabéu Stadium. Attendance: 72,109.

[LuNo]