Cannavaro Takes Ouzbekistan to His First World Cup as Coach

Fabio Cannavaro is leading ouzbekistan at his first World Cup as a national-team coach, with Colombia scheduled in the night from Wednesday to Thursday at 4 a.m. Cannavaro arrived in October and signed his contract on October 6 after Uzbekistan’s federation moved to bring him in.

Italy, October and Ouzbekistan

Uzbek representatives, including vice-president Ravchan Irmatov, traveled to Italy in September to persuade Cannavaro to join. Abdulvosit Bektemirov said, "La Fédération recherchait un entraîneur étranger avec une réputation solide. Et, si possible, un grand nom".

That search ended with a coach who won the 2006 World Cup as a player with Italy and whose last World Cup as a player ended in 2010, when Italy finished last in its group with one draw against Paraguay, one draw against New Zealand and one loss to Slovakia. Uzbekistan had already qualified for the World Cup because of Timour Kapadze, who now coaches Navbahor Namangan, third in the national championship.

Fabio Cannavaro’s staff

Cannavaro is working with 12 Italians on his staff, including Paolo Cannavaro and Antonio Chimenti, who is in charge of the goalkeepers. Cannavaro said, "Participer à une Coupe du monde est une opportunité incroyable, et c'est la raison principale de ma venue".

He also said, "La pizza est au menu après les matches, et c'est une belle nouveauté". The detail is small, but the larger change for Uzbekistan is structural: the team now has a foreign coach with a reputation strong enough to draw federation leaders to Italy and a salary said to be close to four million euros.

Colombia at 4 a.m.

The immediate test is Colombia, set for the night from Wednesday to Thursday at 4 a.m. Cannavaro’s first World Cup on the bench begins with a team already qualified before his arrival, which leaves his opening task centered on how he handles the tournament rather than the route into it.