Cannavaro named head coach of Italian second-tier club Benevento

Italy's 2006 World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro will manage a club in Europe for the first time after he was named head coach of Serie B team Benevento.

The former Real Madrid, Juventus and Inter Milan defender, who won the 2006 Ballon d'Or after helping Italy lift the World Cup that year, retired from playing in 2011.

Cannavaro worked as an assistant at United Arab Emirates-based side Al-Ahli before becoming head coach of Chinese Super League club Guangzhou and then Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr. He also had a short stint as head coach of China in 2019.

Benevento, who were relegated from Serie A in the 2020-21 season and are 13th in the second tier, announced the 49-year-old's appointment via Twitter on Wednesday.