Fabio Cannavaro says ‘no’ to Buffon. Then he wishes him well

“I wish them fun, because then it’s the basis of everything.”

Busy day for Fabio Cannavaro, the new coach of Benevento. The world champion at Germany 2006, as well as former Ballon d’Or, was first presented to the press as the new coach of the ‘Strega,’ then spoke, remotely, at the Trento Sports Festival. Here is an excerpt of his statements.

“As soon as the proposal from Benevento came to me, I did not think about it for a moment and immediately decided to accept. For me, after seven years of working outside, it was time to return home. Benevento’s is a project in which I believe. For a coach to be able to work with peace of mind is the best and that’s why I immediately accepted this challenge: it’s not easy, in B this year there are so many teams that want to go up as do we. We will take our time,” he began.

On the opportunity to cross paths, as colleagues but also as opponents on the field, with many of his teammates from that magical World Cup, Cannavaro focused on the figure of Gigi Buffon, to whom he did not spare some nice jokes: “In this championship I will meet again many of my teammates with whom I won the World Cup in 2006. Some are still playing, like Buffon in Parma. Would I like to coach him? No -she laughs- but he is an outstanding player. I have known him since he was 19 and we were in Parma. The titles he won he won with me on defense -still laughing-. I wish him fun, because then that is the basis of everything,” he concluded.