Fabio Cannavaro said Napoli are ‘solid’ enough to ‘win the Scudetto’ this term and believes Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma could win the Ballon d’Or in the future.
The former Napoli, Parma, Inter and Juventus defender spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport a few weeks after leaving the position as head coach at Guangzhou Evergrande.
The World Cup winner spoke about the Scudetto race in Serie A, the Italian Ballon d’Or candidates and Donnarumma’s possibilities of winning the coveted prize in the future.
When looking at the table, his former side Napoli sit first in the League after a great start under Luciano Spalletti, but Cannavaro also pointed at the obvious rivals.
“This Napoli are solid,” Cannavaro told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “They can win the Scudetto. But beware of the two sides from Milan.
“Spalletti’s team look like a wall at times and have different solutions. [Victor] Osimhen was thought to be a crazy horse, but in the box he knows how to hurt the opponents.
“Never rule out Juventus, they know how to manage the difficult moments and will be able to return.”
Cannavaro won the Ballon d’Or in 2006 and pointed at the list of candidates in 2021 as a ‘good sign’ for Italian football.
“It hasn’t been five Italians in the running since I won in 2006,” Cannavaro said. “So, it’s a good sign. Jorginho is the most accredited, although I’m convinced [Lionel] Messi will win.
“[Nicolò] Barella and the others all deserve it, but [Federico] Chiesa should have been in the group too, after what he showed.
“Logically it depends on the win at the European Championship. [Leonardo] Bonucci and [Giorgio] Chiellini continue to be a great couple, despite the years.
“Here in the Azzurri perspective, we have excellent midfielders and forwards, but we lack defenders. [Alessandro] Bastoni is growing well, but if no other men stand out, I think Roberto Mancini will have to consider a three-man defence too.”
The former defender believes PSG goalkeeper Donnarumma will be able to compete for and win the Ballon d’Or in the future.
“For the goalkeepers, as for the defenders, it’s always very hard,” Cannavaro said. “It’s no coincidence that only the Russian [Lev] Yashin won it.
“Gigio will have several possibilities by continuing in this way. Between the national team and PSG, he will be able to win a lot and offer more chances to win the trophy, as the era of Messi and [Cristiano] Ronaldo is at the end and there are still no great rulers on the horizon.”