Former Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has replaced Gabriele Cioffi as Udinese head coach for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Cannavaro, 50, was named Cioffi’s successor after he was sacked on Monday following Udinese’s 1-0 defeat to Verona – the club’s fourth defeat in their last five league matches.
The former centre-back has signed a contract with Udinese for the remainder of the campaign and will be assisted by his younger brother Paolo Cannavaro, with whom he previously worked during his spells as head coach of Chinese clubs Guangzhou and Benevento.
Cannavaro’s first match at the helm will be the rescheduled match against Roma on April 25. The initial match had to be postponed after visiting defender Evan Ndicka collapsed on the pitch with 18 minutes remaining. The match will end on Thursday.
Udinese’s club statement on Monday read: “The club has identified Cannavaro’s experience on the pitch and his undisputed leadership qualities. We believe he is the right person to lead the team towards the goal of survival (from relegation).
Welcome, Fabio Cannavaro!
⚪️⚫️ #ForzaUdinese #AlèUdin #WelcomeCannavaro pic.twitter.com/uwTZtCuq99
– Udinese Calcio (@Udinese_1896) April 22, 2024
Udinese are 17th in Serie A, one place above the relegation zone due to their superior goal difference to Frosinone.
Cioffi, 48, replaced Andrea Sottil in October after a winless start to the 2023-24 season which left the club third from bottom in Serie A after nine matches.
However, Cioffi failed to keep Udinese out of danger and Sunday’s 1-0 defeat at Verona left them level on points with 18th-placed Frosinone with six league matches remaining.
Cannavaro led Italy to World Cup glory in 2006, winning 136 caps for his country during a 13-year career in international football.
Later that year, he became the third defender to win the Ballon d’Or, after German duo Franz Beckenbauer and Matthias Sammer.
The former Real Madrid and Juventus defender is considered one of the most successful players in Italian football, but this is his first managerial job in Serie A.
His longest-serving role as head coach was with Chinese Super League side Guangzhou, where he managed 125 matches over a four-year period.
Cannavaro’s most recent managerial role was as head coach of Serie B side Benevento. Before that, he briefly took charge of the Chinese national team as interim coach.
He recently worked as an expert on Amazon Prime Video’s Champions League coverage in Italy and previously worked for the BBC on their coverage of major international tournaments.
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(Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)