"The news we feared was confirmed in Baden late on Monday evening. Fabio Cannavaro will say goodbye to our European adventure, before it has even begun. The captain has suffered torn ligaments, which happened the moment his foot made contact with the ground. His ankle twisted awkwardly." – Italian Football Federation statement.

In the lead-up to a big international tournament there is always an injury to a major player. Although some may cite Patrick Vieira as a major injury before Euro 2008, the fact is that the Inter Milan midfielder is not the force of old and the chances are that Mathieu Flamini will actually improve the Les Bleus squad.

The news of Cannavaro’s injury will give a major lift to the other teams in the “Group of Death.” Italy were probably the only side in the group who could feel confident of progressing from Group C. The World Cup winners have a continuity and consistency about them that suggested they could complete the “double” of World Cup and European Championships, like Germany in the 70s and France in 1998 and 2000.

'The news of Cannavaro’s injury will give a major lift to the other teams in the Group of Death'


Cannavaro is a legend of our time. The Italian was the lynchpin and captain of the World Cup winning team in 2006. Although he may not be outrageously tall for a defender he reads the game amazingly well, drawing comparisons with past Italian greats Paolo Maldini and Franco Baresi.

In the two years since the success in Germany, Cannavaro has been recognised for his stunning performances – becoming the first defender to be named FIFA World Player of the Year. His move to Real Madrid has also been an undoubted success, although he has been shown up on the odd occasion by quick forwards, he has been a major part of two La Liga title wins in consecutive seasons.

The loss of Cannavaro means Italy will be entering a tournament for the first time in many years without one recognized world class centre back. With Alessandro Nesta retired it will most likely be Marco Materazzi and Andrea Barzagli who will start in the centre of the Azzurri defence against Holland next Monday night.

Materazzi was also promoted to a first-team position during the last World Cup, due to an injury to Nesta. Whilst the Inter Milan defender will always be remembered for his altercation with Zinedine Zidane in the Berlin final he scored a couple of crucial goals in 2006, not least the equaliser in the final.

Barzagli also played a part in the World Cup winning campaign, with an appearance in the quarter-final against the Ukraine. In addition, full-backs Cristian Panucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Gianluca Zambrotta can also play in the middle of the defence. Fiorentina’s Alessandro Gamberini has been called up in place of Cannavaro, so Roberto Donadoni has plenty of options to choose from.

And of course, Italy have a wonderful team to compensate for the loss of their captain. Gianluigi Buffon is one of the best goalkeepers in the world (only Petr Cech and Iker Casillas can compare) and the midfield engine room is one of the finest in world football. De Rossi, Pirlo and Gattuso compliment each other superbly and Pirlo in particular has the touch, range of passing and dead ball skills comparable to any player in the world.

On the flanks, Camoranesi and Di Natale will ensure good service and following his fine season in Germany Luca Toni will feel this could be his tournament. Despite winning the 2006 World Cup, Toni struggled in some games – the Bayern Munich striker comes into Euro 2008 on the back of a 24-goal campaign which saw the Bavarian club win the German domestic double and he will be looking to stamp his class over the tournament.

And on the bench, Donandoni can call upon two of the most gifted strikers in the world in Alessandro Del Piero and Antonio Cassano. Del Piero finished as top scorer in Serie A, a season after scoring the most goals in Serie B – the last striker to do this was 1982 World Cup winner Paolo Rossi. And whilst Cassano is a temperamental striker (think Paolo Di Canio) he is a class act and proved that with Sampdoria in the 2007/8 season.

So, the loss of Cannavaro will most likely be compensated by the vast quality of players in the Azzurri squad. Question marks remain over the relatively inexperienced Donadoni (as compared to Marcello Lippi) but the former AC Milan midfielder did lead them out of arguably the toughest group in qualifying.

Brazil lost their captain Emerson prior to the 2002 World Cup in a training accident and went on to win the tournament. Italy lost Nesta in 2006 and were also victorious in Germany. Italy can still win Euro 2008 and it would be a brave man to write them off, but the “Group of Death” just got a little bit tighter and their “European adventure” may not be as smooth as was first thought.