Former Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has replaced Gabriele Cioffi as head coach of Udinese for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.
Cannavaro, 50, has been named as Cioffi’s successor after he was sacked on Monday following Udinese’s 1-0 defeat to Verona — the club’s fourth loss in their most recent five league matches.
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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, whom he previously worked alongside during his stints as head coach of Chinese club Guangzhou and Benevento.
Cannavaro’s first game at the helm will be the rescheduled match against Roma on April 25. The original fixture had to be postponed after visiting defender Evan Ndicka collapsed on the pitch with 18 minutes left to play. The game will be concluded on Thursday.
Udinese’s club statement on Monday read: “The club identified Cannavaro’s experience on the pitch and his undisputed leadership qualities. We believe he is the suitable figure to lead the team to the goal of survival (from relegation).”
Benvenuto, Fabio Cannavaro!
⚪️⚫️ #AlèUdin pic.twitter.com/uwTZtCuq99
— Udinese Calcio (@Udinese_1896) April 22, 2024
Udinese are 17th in Serie A, one place above the relegation zone on account of their superior goal difference to Frosinone.
Cioffi, 48, had replaced Andrea Sottil in October after a winless start to the 2023-24 season which had left the club third from bottom in Serie A after nine matches.
However, Cioffi failed to steer Udinese clear 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 captained Italy to World Cup glory in 2006, winning 136 caps for his country across a 13-year career in international football.
Later that year, he become only the third defender to win the Ballon d’Or, after Germany duo Franz Beckenbauer and Matthias Sammer.
The former Real Madrid and Juventus defender is regarded as one of the most successful players in Italian football, but this is his first managerial job in Serie A.
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His longest-serving role as head coach was with Chinese Super League side Guangzhou, where he took charge of 125 games across a four-year spell.
Cannavaro’s most recent managerial job was as head coach of Serie B side Benevento. Before that, he briefly took charge of the China national team as caretaker manager.
He has most recently been working as a pundit on Amazon Prime Video’s Champions League coverage in Italy and has previously worked for the BBC on their coverage of major international tournaments.
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Reconsidered: How good was Fabio Cannavaro against Germany at the 2006 World Cup?
(Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)