Cannavaro set for Juve return

| Tue, 04/21/2009 - 03:33

Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro appears set to return to Juventus after a three-year stint at Real Madrid.

Juve have made an ''interesting proposal, just what he's looking for,'' said the iconic World Cup-winning captain's agent, Gaetano Fedele.

''Interest from a great club like Juve can only please Fabio,'' Fedele said.

''He's trying to carry on a glorious career and he wants to do that in a team of premier importance''.

Fedele was asked about a recent meeting between Juve CEO Jean-Claude Blanc and Italy coach Marcello Lippi, who has defended the 35-year-old central defender after recent signs of frailty.

''I don't know anything about any dinner but the technical and human esteem between Fabio and Lippi are there for everyone to see,'' he replied.

Fedele said talks between Cannavaro and his old club, blessed by Real, were ''at a good point'' and ''this will probably be the decisive week''.

The agent appeared to indicate that Cannavaro would take a substantial pay cut in order to play in Serie A again and boost his chances of leading Italy at the World Cup next year.

''It's not really fair to talk about details, he said, deflecting the question.

Fedele confirmed that Cannavaro would have liked to end his career at his hometown club Napoli but did not voice an opinion on Napoli Chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis's refusal of the idea on the grounds that ageing strikers were acceptable but ''old defenders'' not in the club's plans.

The agent also revealed that Cannavaro, who will be 36 in September, had also been contacted by clubs in England, Russia and Germany.

Despite a recent bumpy ride in the Real defence, the former Parma, Juventus and Inter libero is still a fixture of Lippi's Italy side and hoping to help the Azzurri retain their world crown in South Africa.

Cannavaro, the first and so far only defender to become FIFA World Player of the Year, has played 124 times for Italy, two short of Paolo Maldini's record 126.

Italy's remaining four World Cup qualifiers - in Georgia on September 5, at home to Bulgaria on September 9, away to Ireland on October 10 and at home to Cyprus on October 24 - offer him a chance of beating the Milan legend's mark.

Italy are two points clear of Ireland in Group Eight.

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