Fabio Cannavaro announced as new Dinamo Zagreb coach

Dinamo Zagreb, in the final stretch of the 2024 season, announced a change on the bench. Nenad Bjelica, the former coach, stepped down from the Croatian team on Sunday after a meeting of the board of directors. The surprise is that his replacement is Fabio Cannavaro, World Cup winner with Italy and Ballon d'Or winner in 2006.

"Fabio Cannavaro is the new coach of Dinamo Zagreb's first team. The new coach will join Dinamo Zagreb on January 3rd, when he will be officially presented. We congratulate Mr Cannavaro on his new position and wish him the best of luck and success on the Dinamo bench," read the Balkan club's statement.

That move comes in light of the team's situation in the Croatian championship. The 'Plavi' are in third place with 29 points and have the top two, Hajduk Split and Rijeka, at a distance of seven points. The inconsistency has led to the early dismissal of Bjelic, who joined the club last September after being sacked from Union Berlin in May. However, the team's performance in the Champions League is quite good, as they occupy the last position - 24th - which gives access to the round of 32.

Cannavaro thus faces a new spell on the bench. His last stint was at Udinese, whom he managed between April and June 2024 to save them from relegation to Serie B. It will be his 5th club after Guangzhou Evergrande, Al Nassr, Tianjin Quanjian, Benevento and Udinese itself.

 

December 29, 2024