Udinese have officially announced that Fabio Cannavaro is their new coach with a contract until June 30, so he’ll debut against Daniele De Rossi’s Roma on Thursday.
He will be assisted by his brother Paolo Cannavaro, Francesco Troise and Udinese legend Giampiero Pinzi, who returns to the club after being part of the coaching staff from 2019 to 2022.
Multiple reports suggest that Udinese insisted Pinzi be included in the staff of whichever coach was appointed.
Cannavaro is taking charge of his first training session this afternoon and will hold a press conference on Tuesday afternoon at the Bluenergy Stadium.
The 2006 World Cup and Ballon d’Or winner had never previously coached in Serie A before, only managing a brief stint at Benevento in Serie B from September 2022 to February 2023.
His other roles were all abroad at Guangzhou Evergrande, Al-Nassr, Tianjin Quanjian and as the interim coach of the China national team.
Unique Cannavaro debut
Curiously, he will debut on Thursday for only 18 minutes plus stoppages, picking up where Udinese and Roma had left off at 1-1 when Evan Ndicka was taken ill.
He therefore becomes the first ever Serie A coach to debut in a game that has already started and will do so against his 2006 World Cup teammate De Rossi.
Cannavaro has been drafted in to replace Gabriele Cioffi, who was sacked following the 1-0 loss to Hellas Verona on Saturday evening.
Cioffi himself had only come in for Andrea Sottil on October 25, 2023, overseeing four wins, 10 draws and 10 defeats between Serie A and the Coppa Italia.