Ballon d'Or 2006, Calciopoli, filmed IV drip: Cannavaro's controversies

Fabio Cannavaro turns 53 this Sunday with a unique record: he remains, alongside Franz Beckenbauer and Matthias Sammer, one of only three defenders ever crowned Ballon d’Or in football history. Crowned in November 2006, four months after Italy’s victory over France on penalties in the World Cup final (1-1, 5-3 on pens), the Neapolitan had edged out his teammate Gianluigi Buffon and Thierry Henry.

But in Italy, the award had sparked far more controversy than celebration. Journalist Paolo Ziliani, on Canale 5, was particularly harsh, comparing the Cannavaro case to that of Paolo Rossi, himself Ballon d’Or despite a ban for match-fixing: “Of those won by Paolo Rossi, who fixed matches, and Fabio Cannavaro, who justifies those who fix them, we would have done without.”

The criticism targeted Cannavaro’s statements directly on Calciopoli, the scandal that engulfed Juventus in 2006, involving club executives and referees in manipulation of match designations. Italian champion with Juve in 2005 and 2006, the defender had defended Luciano Moggi, the club’s former general director and central figure in the affair: “Moggi was the best of all, he only did what others do too.” Despite Juventus being stripped of their 2006 title, Cannavaro maintained his position: “Those two titles belong to me.” He left Turin for Real Madrid that same year, before returning in 2009.

A second affair had also tarnished his image. On the eve of the 1999 UEFA Cup final against Olympique de Marseille in Moscow — won by Parma — Cannavaro had filmed himself receiving an IV drip in his hotel room. The footage, broadcast by RAI in 2005, showed him commenting on the scene: “Look what state we’re in, I’m 25 years old and they’re killing me, go on doctor, stick the needle in, my arm’s swelling up; if I sold this tape you know how much I’d make…?” The substance administered was phosphocreatine, a molecule promoting muscle energy production, which was not on the list of banned substances at the time.

Three years after his Ballon d’Or, Cannavaro remains the last defender to have won the award created by France Football, and could remain so for a long time.