Fabio Cannavaro sacked Dinamo Zagreb as coach after just 14 games
Italian football legend Fabio Cannavaro has been sacked Dinamo Zagreb after just 14 competitive matches at the helm of the club. Dinamo made the decision after the club fell out of the race to become the Croatian league champions for the eighth straight time. With Cannavaro at the helm, Dinamo were also booted out of the Champions League, albeit on on goal difference as the team finished 25th, with only the top 24 advancing to the last 16 playoffs.
What will rankle the Italian legend even more is that while Dinamo are in third place in the Croatian league, the Croatian league is led Hajduk Split who are coached Cannavaro’s World Cup-winning teammate Gennaro Gattuso. Gattuso’s side are eight points ahead of Cannavaro’s now-former team.
Coaching Dinamo Zagreb was the first big breaks for Cannavaro, who had so far coached clubs in China and the Middle East before having short spells in charge of Italian clubs Benevento in Serie B and then top-flight Udinese last season.
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The defender had captained Italy to the 2006 World Cup title. After coming on board in December last year, he had a contract to coach the club till 2026. In the 10 league matches the side played under Cannavaro, there were five wins, two draws and three losses.
The Italian legend is Dinamo’s third coach sacked just this one season. He joins the ranks of Sergej Jakirović (let go after the club’s devastating 9-2 loss at Bayern Munich in the Champions League in September) and Nenad Bjelica.
“We would like to thank coach Cannavaro from the bottom of our hearts for his tremendous effort, commitment and friendliness,” Dinamo said in a statement, “and we wish him all the best on his future sporting and life journey.”
(With inputs from AP)
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