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Fabio Cannavaro, former captain of Italy and World Cup winner, was sacked as coach of Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday, just three months after taking charge of the Croatian champions.
Cannavaro, who captained Italy to victory in the 2006 World Cup and claimed the Ballon d’Or that same year, was appointed by Dinamo in December 2023.
A statement from the club confirmed, “Cannavaro is no longer the coach of Dinamo’s first team.”
The 51-year-old Italian had overseen 14 matches as Dinamo’s third coach of the season, including 10 in the Croatian league. His tenure saw the team secure five victories, two draws, and three defeats, leaving them in third place, eight points behind leaders Hajduk Split with eight matches left to play.
Reports suggest that the final straw came after a 3-0 loss to Istra 1961 over the weekend, with the club’s management already dissatisfied with Cannavaro’s results.
However, Dinamo did acknowledge Cannavaro’s achievement earlier in the season, when he led the team to a 2-1 victory over AC Milan in the group stages of the Champions League. Despite the win, Dinamo failed to progress to the knockout rounds of the competition.
Assistant coach Sandro Perkovic will take over the team in the interim.
Before joining Dinamo, Cannavaro had managed Udinese in Serie A and had previous coaching experience in the Middle East and China, including a brief spell in charge of China’s national team in 2019.
