Cannavaro: Dinamo called me two months ago. I also heard from Modrić. I’m not afraid of anyone

Fabio Cannavaro on Thursday he signed a contract with Dinamo and officially succeeded Nenad Bjelica as the coach of the first team, but he will not have too much time to get to know each other because the continuation of the match is in three weeks with a doubleheader against Arsenal in the Champions League, and then there will be an attempt to catch Rijeka and Hajduk, who are seven points clear at the top of the HNL. On the occasion of his arrival, he gave an interview for the club’s channels.

Cannavaro became Dinamo’s second winnerč Ballon d’Or, he took it as the only defenseč in history in 2006, 12 years before Luka Modri ​​succeeded. How much are you in touch?

– Yes, č we met through Instagram. Č I congratulated him more than once, he plays for Real Madrid, which I support. Luka is a great gameč and a man, he deserves everything he has achieved.

Are you surprised how quickly everything happened?

– That’s life. Everything can happen very quickly, you have to be ready for everything.

How familiar are you with the Croatian league and Dinamo team?

– Two months ago I received the first call from the director, at that time I studied my team and matches. Football is played everywhere, the most important are the games, how they improve, grow, how they try to do their best. For the coach, the games are the most important if they want to get a good result.

What are your primary goals with Dinamo?

– These are not only my goals, I want to share them with the players and fans. This is an important club, everyone wants to achieve the best they can. We don’t have time because we are in the middle of the season. In these two weeks, I will try to improve what the players do with and without the ball, to do their best. I can only say that I work hard, that I like to work with young players, share my philosophy with players and that I am not afraid of anyone. Since I arrived, I want to give everything to this experience.

What is your philosophy and style of play?

– It is best to combine defensive and attacking styles. I like to control the game and hold the ball, that’s modern football. But in the meantime, I don’t want to give the opponent a chance to open up, I don’t want to suffer. I don’t want to give the fans a bad feeling. But we need to get together, we need to cooperate. During the match things can change, we need to give 100 percent. We cannot save energy, everything should be left on the field. That’s not my philosophy, that’s football. Sometimes it seems difficult, but in the end it is simple: to win.

You were guided by many coaching greats such as Capello, Scala, Balesani, Zoff, Lippi, Cuper, Trapattoni, Maldini… Who left the biggest impact on you as a coach?

– I try to take something from everyone. I like discipline like Capello, the rules are very important to me. I like to maintain communication like Ancelotti and I like to read the game like Lippi, to be organized like Sarri. I hope I can convey those things to the players. We are here to improve and win titles, to show fans good football.

Photo: Alen Szabo/GNK Dinamo

How do you like to play defense?

– I am happy that I could play with three and two in my career. Sometimes you can start with three and change it during the game. We need to see how good we look and how to control the game. We need to be ready for different types of matches.

How was your time in China?

– Čright experience. I could have been in another league, he won. In the first league, I managed one of the largest Asian clubs. I played many games in the Champions League, won trophies, managed players like Paulinho, Pat, Witsel. That experience is important to me because it made me a better person and, of course, a coach. Being on the field every day is important for a coach.

This is not your first time at Maksimir, you played here for Parma against Dinamo. You led 2-0 in the first game and went through even though you lost here.

– Unfortunately, it was a long time ago, haha. The stadium was packed, it was not easy to play here. We need that. Although the capacity is not the same now, we need fans, they need to push us and put pressure on the opponent so that they don’t feel comfortable here. I am excited to return to this stadium.

You started as a midfielder. What has changed?

– I played both as a right and a left back, in the end they put me in the middle of the defense. That came in handy, I decided to play stopper. It wasn’t bad.

Photo: Alen Szabo/GNK Dinamo

There was also that situation with Diego Maradona when he won the Ballon d’Or.

– I played in Napoli with him. It was “right” to play with one of the best games in history. Many players remember Diego as a player, I also remember him as a man. He was a great guy and a teammateč, he left me with so many good memories.

In your youth you played with legends like Cira Ferrara, Giuseppe Bergomi, Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta. How important is that for a young player today?

– If you want to learn a lot… And you can learn a lot in the salon, if you don’t want to, then it’s not important. It was for me because it was easy for me to play with them, I gained confidence.

You share the ownership of the foundation with Ciro Ferraro.

– We have a foundation in Naples, next year it will be 20 years. We had more than 74 projects, that foundation gives us a good feeling, we are proud of it. We have a lot of children and we try to give back to the city through children.

You played the World Championship in 2006 and won the gold without a single card. How is that?

– By experience. I was 33 years old, I came in the best shape and football knowledge. At that age, you can more easily understand situations and make decisions. As a captain, I contributed to my team and it was nice. In the end, we achieved something big – concluded Cannavaro.