The Uzbek Football Association announced on its official website on Monday that legendary former Italy international defender Fabio Cannavaro has been officially appointed as the national team's new head coach.

According to the Uzbek Football Association's official statement, Cannavaro will take over as head coach of the Uzbekistan national team effective immediately.

The Uzbek Football Association did not specify when Cannavaro's term will end, but it is generally believed that it will end after the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Depending on his performance, Cannavaro's contract may be extended.

Cannavaro will replace Timur Kapadze, who was forced to resign several weeks ago due to health issues.

Separately, according to a report from The Athletic, Cannavaro was previously in talks with Deportivo La Coruña to become their new head coach, but both parties were unable to reach an agreement.

About Fabio Cannavaro

The 52-year-old Fabio Cannavaro was born in Naples, Italy on September 13, 1973. He is 1.76 meters tall. During his playing career days, he played a cente back like his younger brother Paolo.

Cannavaro joined Napoli's youth academy at the age of 15 and made his Napoli first-team debut by coming on as a substitute in an Coppa Italia match in September 1992.

In July 1995, due to Napoli's financial problems at the time, Cannavaro moved to Parma for €6.5 million.

During his seven-year spell with I Crociati, Cannavaro led the club to win the Coppa Italia twice, the Supercoppa Italiana once and the UEFA Cup once.

In July 2002, Cannavaro moved to Inter Milan for €23 million, but was criticized for his poor performances.

On the 2004 summer transfer window deadline day, Cannavaro moved to rivals Juventus in a swap deal for €10 million plus reserve goalkeeper Fabian Carlini.

During his time at I Bianconneri, Cannavaro led the club to win Serie A twice, but the club was involved in the Calciopoli scandal due to then-president Luciano Moggi's manipulation of referees, which eventually led to the clubs' two titles were stripped away and administratively relegated to Serie B.

It is worth mentioning that Cannavaro also helped the Italian national team win the World Cup in 2006 during this period.

With the club being relegated in such a humiliating manner, Cannavaro joined Real Madrid in July 2006 for €7 million.

During his three-year spell with Los Blancos, Cannavaro led the club to win La Liga twice and the Supercopa de España once, and also won the Ballon d'Or once.

After leaving the club contract has expired in the summer of 2009, Cannavaro returned to Juventus as a free agent.

After leaving the club when his contract has expired in June of the following year, Cannavaro joined the UAE Pro League club Al Ahli as a free agent. However, he was later forced to retire in July 2011 due to a knee injury that could not recover.

After retiring, Cannavaro coached Al Ahli, Guangzhou and Al-Nassr. He was appointed as the head coach of Tianjin Quanjian in 2016.

As Tianjin Quanjian head coach, Cannavaro has led the club to win the Chinese League One.

In November of the following year, Cannavaro was appointed as Guangzhou's head coach again.

During this spell, he led his club to win the Chinese Super League once and was awarded the Chinese Football Association's Coach of the Year award once.

In March 2019, Cannavaro concurrently served as head coach of the Chinese national team, but resigned from his national team duties one month later due to his inability to take care of his duties well at the same time.

In September 2021, Cannavaro parted ways with Guangzhou.

In September of the following year, Cannavaro was appointed as Benevento head coach.

However, unable to help the club reverse its decline, Cannavaro was eventually fired by the Serie C club in February last year.

In April of 2024, Cannavaro replaced Gabriele Cioffi as Udinese's new head coach.

During his tenure, Cannavaro helped the club successfully avoid relegation but parted ways due to having different views. 

In January of this year, Cannavaro was appointed as Dinamo Zagreb head coach.

However, due to the club's poor performances in both the Croatian First League and the Champions League, Cannavaro was eventually sacked in April.