Italy great Fabio Cannavaro fired by Dinamo Zagreb after barely 3 months in charge

By Canadian Press on April 9, 2025.

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Italian soccer great Fabio Cannavaro was fired as coach of Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday with the team falling out of contention to win an eighth straight Croatian league title.

Cannavaro, who captained Italy to the 2006 World Cup title, was only at the helm for 14 competitive matches after becoming coach on Dec. 29 on a contract to 2026.

During his time there, Dinamo was eliminated from the Champions League on goal difference after the initial league stage — the team finished 25th, with the top 24 advancing to the last 16 or the playoffs.

Dinamo remains in third place in the Croatian league, eight points behind leader Hajduk Split and seven points adrift of second place Rijeka. In 10 league matches under Cannavaro, Dinamo recorded five wins, two draws and three losses.

“We would like to thank coach Cannavaro from the bottom of our hearts for his tremendous effort, commitment and friendliness,” Dinamo said in a statement, “and we wish him all the best on his future sporting and life journey.”

Cannavaro is the third coach fired by Dinamo this season, which started with Sergej Jakirović in charge before he was replaced by Nenad Bjelica. Assistant coach Sandro Perković will take control of the team for the remainder of the season.

Cannavaro coached several clubs in China and the Middle East before brief spells in charge of Benevento in Serie B and then top-flight Udinese back in Italy.

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The Associated Press