Salute Cannavaro

thebaz

Congrats to Fabio Cannavora for his deserved award --
European Player of the year --
best defender since P.McGrath retired !

MrJoeSoap

All hail John Carew, the man who made Cannavaro look like Boumsong last Tuesday!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp7AHTZwcN4

Mr. Presentable

This is the France Football voting:

1) FABIO CANNAVARO (JUVENTUS-REAL MADRID) 173 punti
2) GIANLUIGI BUFFON (JUVENTUS) 124
3) Thierry Henry (Fra, Arsenal) 121
4) Ronaldinho (Bra, Barcellona) 73
5) Zinedine Zidane (Fra, Real Madrid) 71
6) Samuel Etòo (Cam, Barcellona) 67
7) Miroslav Klose (Ger, Werder Brema) 29
8) Didier Drogba (Civ, Chelsea) 25
9) ANDREA PIRLO (Milan) 17
10) Jens Lehmann (Ger, Arsenal) 13
11) Deco (Por, Barcellona) e Kakà (Bra, Milan) 11
13) Frank Ribery (Fra, Marsiglia) 9
14) Cristiano Ronaldo (Por, Manchester United), GENNARO GATTUSO
(Milan) e Patrick Vieira (Fra, Juaventus-Inter) 5
17) Frank Lampard (Ing, Chelsea), Lukas Podolski (Ger, Colonia-Bayern
Monaco) e Carles Puyol (Spa, Barcellona) 3

20) Juninho Pernambucano (Bra, Lione), Lionel Messi (Arg,
Barcellona), John Terry (Ing, Chelsea), LUCA TONI (Fiorentina) e
GIANLUCA ZAMBROTTA (Juventus-Barcellona) 2
25) Philippe Lahm (Ger, Bayern Monaco) e David Villa (Spa, Valencia)
1

No votes: Ballack (Ger), Cahill (Aus), J. Cole (Ing), Coupet (Fra),
Cris (Bra), M. Diarra (Mal), Essien (Gha), Fabregas (Spa), Gallas
(Fra), Gerrard (Ing), Giuly (Fra), GROSSO, Makelele (Fra), Malouda
(Fra), Mendez (Ecu), Riquelme (Arg), Robben (Ola), Rooney (Ing),
Sagnol (Fra), Schweinsteiger (Ger), Shevchenko (Ucr), Thuram (Fra),
Tiago (Por), Fernando Torres (Spa) (Gg/ Dire)

Nunu

Carew was aweome in that game. Such a powerhouse, they were bouncing off him.

Cannavaro hasn't been at his imperious best at Madrid. I've seen all of Madrids games this season and he's actually looked shockingly average in quite a few games - I'm talking Titus Bramble average!

It makes me laugh when you here Dunphy lay into Ferdinand no matter how he has played and he always comes out with his 'Cannavaro is God' line and how he watches spanish football every week. Bull**** - I doubt he's seen him in a full game since the World Cup final.
Also, when he was weighing up Valencias chances in the Champions league he was saying how they were a good team and how a quality player like Aimar warms the bench at the moment.....Aimar is currently starring for Real Zaragoza. Like I said he can be a real bull****ter.:D

Still no one can begrudge Cannavaro his award. It was voted for before he joined Madrid as far as i know?

Mr. Presentable

Interesting how many Juventus and former Juventus players are on the list.

Also interesting is the standing of EPL's best players - Gerrard, Rooney, Joe Cole etc :rolleyes:

Royale with Cheese

Well done to Jens Lehmann. 10th best player in the world. Who really thought that'd be possible 2 years ago?

Guy:Incognito

Royale with Cheese wrote:

Well done to Jens Lehmann. 10th best player in the world. Who really thought that'd be possible 2 years ago?

It isnt possible. He did so well because the french are crazy and identify with one of their own.



I'm surprised Materazzi didnt get any votes.:D

Mr. Presentable

Stekelly wrote:

It isnt possible. He did so well because the french are crazy and identify with one of their own.

Maybe I'm missing the irony, but isn't he still German?

Guy:Incognito

nipplenuts wrote:

Maybe I'm missing the irony, but isn't he still German?

Yes but he's a whole bunch of crazy.

Kojak

Buffon shouldn't be as high up as he is, IMO. If it wasn't for Cannavaro (and his other defencive collegues) Buffon would have had a lot more to do - if he had maintained the record (only 2 goals scored on him in the WC) with a lesser defence, I would say he deserves to be ranked second. As it stands his placing is more a testament to how well his defence played as it is to his own goal-keeping abilities. Don't get me wrong he is a World Class keeper, all I am saying is that he owes a lot to his defence.

Cannavaro definatly deserved it - best player at the World Cup.

kinaldo

thebaz wrote:

best defender since P.McGrath retired !

and yet he's not even Italy's best defender.

GuanYin

thebaz wrote:

Congrats to Fabio Cannavora for his deserved award --
European Player of the year --

I suggest we salute him by spelling his name correctly!

Hurrah!


(Thread title corrected).

tdv

thebaz wrote:

best defender since P.McGrath retired !

So you don't know who Paulo Maldini is?

Rollo Tamasi

or Paul Parker. tut tut

GuanYin

Rollo Tamasi wrote:

or Paul Parker. tut tut

Alan Kernaghan to be honest.

Or double up for the Alan Kernaghan/Eddie McGoldrick central defence partnership!

Huzzah!

MrJoeSoap

Paul Butler ftw!

kinaldo

Alessandro Nesta, widely regarded the best Italian defender of his generation.

Guy:Incognito

Kojak wrote:

Buffon shouldn't be as high up as he is, IMO. If it wasn't for Cannavaro (and his other defencive collegues) Buffon would have had a lot more to do - if he had maintained the record (only 2 goals scored on him in the WC) with a lesser defence, I would say he deserves to be ranked second. As it stands his placing is more a testament to how well his defence played as it is to his own goal-keeping abilities. Don't get me wrong he is a World Class keeper, all I am saying is that he owes a lot to his defence.

Cannavaro definatly deserved it - best player at the World Cup.

The other side of that arguement ( and the same one used with Cech) is that if he had pulled off one or two less saves, then the defence wouldnt have looked as good. If buffon had conceded one or two more, then Italy would have conceded 3 or 4 and the record wouldnt have looked so good.


Oh and Phil Babb is clearly the defender all others want to emulate.

eirebhoy

kinaldo wrote:

Alessandro Nesta, widely regarded the best Italian defender of his generation.

I'd say Cannavaro was rated higher during his time at Juve.

bohsman

Franco Baresi tbh.

godtabh

MrJoeSoap wrote:

All hail John Carew, the man who made Cannavaro look like Boumsong last Tuesday!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rp7AHTZwcN4

In fairness he made the whole Real team look like dicks!

Cannavaro creamed him at the end of the clip so at least he got something out of the game!

He's a class player but would agree with this

bohsman wrote:

Franco Baresi tbh.

thebaz

kinaldo wrote:

and yet he's not even Italy's best defender.

Who remembers McGraths defending against the Italians in Giants stadium ?
But then I'm partial , and i'm reading his book

On the subject , i don't watch much Spanish football, but Cannavaro was awesome in the world Cup, even if Eamon did get carried away !

yop

thebaz wrote:

Who remembers McGraths defending against the Italians in Giants stadium ?
But then I'm partial , and i'm reading his book

On the subject , i don't watch much Spanish football, but Cannavaro was awesome in the world Cup, even if Eamon did get carried away !

McGrath was unreal that day alright! Whats the book like, I would say it is good. "Dear Santa....."

kinaldo

FORMER Liverpool boss Gerard Houllier says Thierry Henry should have been crowned best player in the world - and called Fabio Cannavaro's victory a "scandal".

Cannavaro claimed the prestigious Ballon d'Or after helping Italy lift the World Cup, and was also named European Player of the Year yesterday.

But Houllier, whose Lyon side are in the same Champions League group as Cannavaro's Real Madrid, said: "Compared to other players he certainly didn't deserve it. He had a great World Cup, but not a great season.

"It's a scandal and what bothers me most is that Thierry Henry, who has scored 20 goals a season for years now and who played in two finals last season, was not even considered."

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/tm_headline=henry-snub-is-%2Dscandal%2D%26method=full%26objectid=18169820%26siteid=94762-name_page.html

This is typical coming from the guy who once labeled David Ginola a murderer - his crime being an over-hit cross to Eric Cantona.

Seaneh

eirebhoy wrote:

I'd say Cannavaro was rated higher during his time at Juve.

You'd be wrong, Nesta has been regarded as italys best for about ten years now, remember Canna had a few average years with parma and while he was inter he was so bad they swaped him for Fabio Carini, who was used as a third choice keeper!

eirebhoy

Seaneh wrote:

You'd be wrong, Nesta has been regarded as italys best for about ten years now, remember Canna had a few average years with parma and while he was inter he was so bad they swaped him for Fabio Carini, who was used as a third choice keeper!

Read what I said again. I don't speak Italian so only go onto English speaking forums but Cannavaro definitely seemed the more highly rated of the 2 last season. You'd know more than me though. I'd always tend to favour the organisor in defence. Nesta is the better footballer.

biased but they seen him every week:
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=281820

Seaneh

Mianly due to a good world cup, nesta had a better season in Italy, more consistant.

p.s. I don't speak Italian either, I just was a silly ammount of football...

I'd rather watch seire b on eurosport than corrie on tv3 anyday!

eirebhoy

Seaneh wrote:

Mianly due to a good world cup, nesta had a better season in Italy, more consistant.

Well obviously he's a hero after the world cup. These comments are before the WC by Juve fans:

"Cannavaro is so underated when compared to Nesta. Cannavaro always plays well, whether club or country. Nesta has been prone to make a few mistakes with his club side though both are generally outstanding when they play together on the national team. As I think Cannavaro is more consistent than Nesta, I would take Cannavaro."

"i think its pretty close among all of them. as for talent, it has to be nesta. i dont think any of them has made less mistakes then Cannavaro the last couple years though. hes been incredibly consistent."

"I suspect you have not been watching him at Juve in that time period, because Cannavaro is a rock who does not permit anyone to pass."

"At Juve, he has been the most consistent defender around. As good as Nesta is, Cannavaro had been even more solid than he has, which is what one wants from his central defender. Also, Cannavaro has the ability to go forward on corners and free kicks and score goals, which is astonishing given his height."

Milan Fan: "Cannavaro is the reason why Juventus won the Scudetto last season. He was extremely solid last year and was perfect in every aspect of his game. He is also in great form this year."

MrJoeSoap

eirebhoy wrote:

"I suspect you have not been watching him at Juve in that time period, because Cannavaro is a rock who does not permit anyone to pass."

Except John Carew, of course.

eirebhoy

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Except John Carew, of course.

Well I think we can all agree he's having a bad time at Real.

MrJoeSoap

True, and having an injured Helguera and two clowns for full backs didn't help his cause whatsoever.

kinaldo

MrJoeSoap wrote:

True, and having an injured Helguera and two clowns for full backs didn't help his cause whatsoever.

Surely you don't mean the magnificent Sergio Ramos!?

MrJoeSoap

kinaldo wrote:

Surely you don't mean the magnificent Sergio Ramos!?

Oh especially him. Check this from 1:34 on. He was hopeless.

Also saw this hilarious compilation of him vs Lyon in September. The person who made it must have a serious crush or something because most of the clips are of nothing! The bit at 3:04 is my personal favourite.

thebaz

yop wrote:

McGrath was unreal that day alright! Whats the book like, I would say it is good. "Dear Santa....."

The book has won awards, and i'm half way through it , its not as good as his defending , makes pretty depressing reading !
I preferred Keanes auto, unless McGraths gets better --
but unlike Keane, McGrath is hard up and apparently needs the dosh -- legend!.

kinaldo

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Oh especially him. Check this from 1:34 on. He was hopeless.

Also saw this hilarious compilation of him vs Lyon in September. The person who made it must have a serious crush or something because most of the clips are of nothing! The bit at 3:04 is my personal favourite.

Meh. So he had a bad game last week. He's no clown (he is a better central defender though).

Sure what do I know anyway? I've always considered Gary Neville to be a bit of a clown (remember what Romario and Edmundo did to him in Brazil anyone?), yet he still gets into most people's all time Premiership 11.

Also, that goal Carew scored last week - Cannavaro looked quite silly but 99% of the time he wins that ball and everyone says oh what a great tackle.

spacecoyote

i really don't think Henry deserved it tbh. So he's scored 20 goals a season for last few seasons, so has Yakubu pretty much! The main reason i feel that Henry doesn't deserve it is that, while yeah he'll put the likes of Charlton, etc... to the sword he has never performed on the big stage. He's a bit of a petulant child and gives up to easily if he's not getting his way. He may be a captain, but he is not an inspiring captain, as Cannavaro was on the biggest stage

Mr. Presentable

kinaldo wrote:

Also, that goal Carew scored last week - Cannavaro looked quite silly but 99% of the time he wins that ball and everyone says oh what a great tackle.

In fact I think he won that tackle and got an unlucky rebound. It's daft to focus one one incident and create or desecrate a reputation on that basis.

And as for Henry's claim to the award, Cannavaro was Serie A winner last season and Captain of the World Cup winners. Henry achieved what, exactly?
Joe Cole achieved more, and he got NO votes.

Vokes

Cannavaro is on the Fifa World Player of the Year shortlist as well - along with Zidane and Ronaldinho. But no Henry.

MrJoeSoap

nipplenuts wrote:

In fact I think he won that tackle and got an unlucky rebound. It's daft to focus one one incident and create or desecrate a reputation on that basis.

How about focusing on one game then?

kinaldo

Joint best defence and clean sheets against Barcelona and Valencia already this season, with Cannavaro in the team - when was the last time Madrid could make that boast?

c m

no way zizu should be on that list. decent world cup with a couple of exceptional games but a so-so season at real. thierry has been the best centre forward in europe for maybe four years now and no recognition

kinaldo

Another good read from Phil Ball this week:

Several Spanish journalists (most of them belonging to the Catalan press) had a bitchy week about the Italian, some claiming that if he was so good, how come nobody noticed him before? After all, at 33, he's no chicken.

There were also noises made about his lack of form for Real Madrid this season, a point which ignores the fact that his presence has definitely coincided with a tightening up at the back, aided and abetted, of course, by the rather basic hod-carrying of Emerson and Diarra.

Cannavaro is also good-looking ('Il Bello'), has a male-model smile and is media-savvy. He's also the sort who goes down well with the tea ladies. For these reasons alone, his award raises suspicions in anti-Madrid circles. There are also whispers floating around that the award puts a final nail in Beckham's coffin, since Cannavaro might easily be nurtured as the next big marketing icon.

Whatever, he came in for some inevitable backlash-flack after the award, coming as it did on the heels of a supposedly poor performance in the Champions League game against Lyon, where the Real Madrid defence contrived to make John Carew 'look like a young Pele' - in the words of As lead writer Alfredo Relaño.

However, this overlooked the fact that Carew's performance was wholly attributable to the performance of Ivan Helguera, who played so badly it was almost surreal. But Cannavaro has the higher profile at the moment, so it was all his fault...

Full article

MrJoeSoap

Despite the fact that Carew completely discarded of Cannavaro on at least three occasions? Of course it wasn't his fault, it was Helguera's.

kinaldo

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Of course it wasn't his fault, it was Helguera's.

No, just what he said...

Phil Ball wrote:

But Cannavaro has the higher profile at the moment, so it was all his fault...

MrJoeSoap

What he said was that Carews great performance "was wholly attributable to the performance of Ivan Helguera" which is the biggest load of BS imaginable.

Helguera was diabolical, but certainly wasn't the only one to blame.

kinaldo

MrJoeSoap wrote:

What he said was that Carews great performance "was wholly attributable to the performance of Ivan Helguera" which is the biggest load of BS imaginable.

Helguera was diabolical, but certainly wasn't the only one to blame.

Phil Ball is quite rational and has always been a big fan of Helguera so when he says something like that I'd go along with it - not that Cannavaro didn't have a bad game either, just that he wasn't the main culprit as made out to be.

MrJoeSoap

kinaldo wrote:

Phil Ball is quite rational and has always been a big fan of Helguera so when he says something like that I'd go along with it

Well I watched the game live from start to finish and I can't possibly see how he can come out with a statement like "Carew's performance was wholly attributable to the performance of Ivan Helguera".

Between the entire back four they were woeful, Ramos, Helguera, Cannavaro and Carlos. For him to say that Cannavaro is a victim of his current high profile is ridiculous, he was shocking in that game, I said it then and I'm saying it again. And I'm certainly not the only one.

Carew’s pace and finish was too good for Madrid and Casillas and by the 12th minute , Lyon led Madrid due to first of many defensive errors from Cannavaro , of all the people in the game !

http://www.sportnetwork.net/main/s342/st108095.htm

Carew was amazing, made cannavaro look real bad

I must admit I had the same thoughts yesterday. Cannavaro looked ridicule.
And we are obviously not the only one to think this way.

http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=439578

While fans are still split between those who see Fabio Cannavaro as the just winner of the France Football’s Golden Ball and others who see the award as mere politicking in the wake of the World Cup, this week was marked by two heavyweight ex-players coming forward to decry Cannavaro’s imminent trophy as going to the wrong player.

For those who believe Cannavaro is among the best, Tuesday’s performance in the Real Madrid-Lyon match came at precisely the wrong moment for Italy’s captain.

The fact that it was John Carew, a player who struggled at the Chés and left for Turkey via the back door before resurfacing at Lyon as a habitual substitute, who left Cannavaro looking less-than-average. So much so it has set Cannavaro’s critics off on a ‘told you so’ rant. After all, if a Norwegian sub can make the player look as leaden as a die-cast figurine, does Cannavaro deserve to be labeled the best player in the world?

A sprint in the eleventh minute saw the towering Carew leave Cannavaro looking at the back of his shirt before thrusting the ball past Casillas. It could have been an isolated incident, but it wasn’t. Time after time Cannavaro gave fuel to power his detractors’ arguments with a performance that looked like he was running in wet cement rather than on the hallowed turf of the Bernabéu.

In the 24th minute, Carew left Cannavaro looking a little like a bull fooled by an expert Torero as the Italian was dribbled past twice on the trot. This brought out the bullish side of the player who retorted with a rather obvious and clumsy foul soon after. Frustration was written across the defender’s face as he knew he was losing the battle to stop the striker and he couldn’t stop the rot, he couldn’t find anything higher than second gear.

One game shouldn’t spoil a glorious sequence of sparkling play, and it doesn’t. The only problem in this case is that Cannavaro’s performances since arriving in Madrid have been flat not sparkling. Merengue fans are rapidly losing patience with the centre-back as comparisons to the disastrous signing that was Walter Samuel are made – fairly or unfairly – and the Italian starts feeling the pain in Spain.

Fabio Cannavaro is doubtless a quality player – his record speaks for himself – but is a rather blunt defensive weapon. This can be considered acceptable as football is as much about destruction as creation, but when the blunt instrument is too leaden to work then questions about the suitability of being named the best player in the world will naturally crop up.

Few sane people would deny Cannavaro the kudos for being a key part of the World Cup winning Azzurri squad – like his style or loathe it he was the man who successfully captained Italy to glory. A great guy, sure, a charismatic Captain, of course—anyone who has read Goal.com’s recent interview with the man would agree. But the best footballer in the world…?

http://www.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=174049

I'm not just having a go at Cannavaro here, because I do know he is an awesome defender and probably is the best defender in the world, but his performance that night was atrocious.

kinaldo

All of the quotes you highlighted there are exactly what Phil Ball is talking about, that it was Cannavaro who received all the blame (in the press) which is completely unfair. I'm sure the "wholly attributable" comment isn't meant to be taken literally as it's quite clear that Carew also gave Cannavaro a torrid time.

eirebhoy

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Despite the fact that Carew completely discarded of Cannavaro on at least three occasions? Of course it wasn't his fault, it was Helguera's.

I actually though Cannavaro's tackle on Carew which led to the goal was a good one. He was left on his own at the back and really had to commit. He won the ball but was unfortunate that it bounced perfectly for Carew.

MrJoeSoap

Yeah the blame was focussed on Cannavaro, I'll agree. But surely that is to be expected when he is about to be named as the World Footballer of the Year. As for not taking that line literally, I don't read Ball's column so I don't really know his "style", so to speak, but when I read it I took it literally and saw no reason not to.

Perhaps, he was just trying to balance out the criticism of Cannavaro by being extra-harsh on Helguera, but either way, they were both awful. I thought Helguera looked injured at one stage he was so poor.

MrJoeSoap

eirebhoy wrote:

I actually though Cannavaro's tackle on Carew which led to the goal was a good one. He was left on his own at the back and really had to commit. He won the ball but was unfortunate that it bounced perfectly for Carew.

I taped the game, but unfortunately I've deleted it since. All three of the guys in the Sky studio (think it was Wilkins, Gullit and Redknapp) criticised him for it, saying there was no need for him to go to ground as the "last man", although there were covering players to the side.

Obviously, had the tackle come off he would have been praised and rightly so, but it didn't.