ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Italian soccer great Fabio Cannavaro was fired as coach of Dinamo Zagreb on Wednesday with the team falling out of contention to win an eighth straight Croatian league title.
Cannavaro, who captained Italy to the 2006 World Cup title, was only at the helm for 14 competitive matches after becoming coach in December on a contract to 2026.
During his time there, Dinamo was eliminated from the Champions League on goal difference after the league stage — the team finished 25th, with the top 24 advancing to the last 16 or the playoffs.
Dinamo is in third place in the Croatian league, eight points behind leader Hajduk Split which is coached by Cannavaro's World Cup-winning teammate Gennaro Gattuso.
Defending champion Dinamo likely will enter the qualifying rounds of Europe's third-tier competition, the Conference League, with a severe cut in revenue after earning about 40 million euros ($44 million) in UEFA prize money from the Champions League this season.
In 10 league matches under Cannavaro, Dinamo recorded five wins, two draws and three losses.
“We would like to thank coach Cannavaro from the bottom of our hearts for his tremendous effort, commitment and friendliness,” Dinamo said in a statement, “and we wish him all the best on his future sporting and life journey.”
Cannavaro is the third coach fired by Dinamo this season, which started with Sergej Jakirović who was fired after a 9-2 loss at Bayern Munich to begin the Champions League program in September. Jakirović was replaced by Nenad Bjelica.
Cannavaro coached several clubs in China, plus the national team, and the Middle East before brief spells in charge of Italian clubs Benevento in Serie B and then top-flight Udinese last season.
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The Associated Press
