Fabio Cannavaro was born on September 13, 1973, in Naples, Italy. He was signed up by Napoli as a schoolboy and trained alongside the club's greatest ever player, Diego Maradona.
In 1994 and 1996, Cannavaro played an integral role in Italy's back-to-back triumphs in the UEFA European Under-21 Championships. He would later be part of Italy's second-place finish at Euro 2000 with the senior team.
During seven successful seasons with Parma between 1995 and 2002, the defender won two Coppa Italiias, one Supercoppa Italiana and the UEFA Cup.
During an illustrious 19-year professional career Cannavaro played for Napoli, Parma, Inter Milan, Juventus, Real Madrid and Al-Ahli.
In 2006 after the central defender had captained Italy to World Cup glory on the night of his 100th cap, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year, as well as being awarded the prestigious Balon d'Or.
Cannavaro is nicknamed "The Berlin Wall" by Italian fans after his sensational display in the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin. He is revered as one of his country's greatest ever defenders.
He played in four World Cups and two European Championships for Italy between 1998 and 2010.
With an incredible 136 caps to his name, Cannavaro is Italy's most capped defender.
