Fabio Cannavaro is one of the best defenders to have ever cleared a football. He may have been small in stature, but his reading of the game was second to none, as he was always three steps ahead of his opponent. His contributions to the Italian World Cup success of 2006 certainly did not go unnoticed, as he was became only the third defender to ever pick up a Ballon d'Or award. So, it probably came as no surprise that Chelsea wanted a piece of the bald-headed marshal to add to their ranks the following summer. Lord knows it would have been a more solid acquisition than Tal Ben Haim, that's for sure. Unfortunately for the Blues, they had acted a year too late. With the Juventus stalwart having already penned a contract the Bernabeu the previous summer in the wake of the Calciopoli scandal, he was in no rush to leave.
''Yes, the offer was there, but we postponed everything due to Real Madrid's wish. Let's not forget that Madrid are the most prestigious club in the world. In any case both clubs would have to find an agreement between them and from what I have read, Madrid coach Bernd Schuster has been clear in saying that Fabio is untouchable.'' - Agent Gaetano Fedele, July 2007.