The 2006 Ballon d’Or winner and Italian football icon, Fabio Cannavaro, recently shared why he declined an offer to manage Nigeria’s Super Eagles.
The Nigeria Football Federation had been actively searching for a foreign coach to guide the team following their underwhelming performance in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
After initial discussions with former Bayer Leverkusen manager Bruno Labbadia fell through, the NFF resumed their hunt for a coach.
In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Cannavaro confirmed that he was approached by the NFF but is not ready to leave Europe for coaching roles just yet.
“I had offers from Nigeria [national team] and Iranian clubs, but I want to wait for Serie A and European clubs until December. After that, I may start travelling again,” Cannavaro stated.
Despite his illustrious playing career with clubs like Parma, Real Madrid, and Juventus, Cannavaro’s coaching career has yet to reach similar heights. He has managed Benevento and Udinese in Italy and had a brief stint with Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
While Cannavaro has his eyes set on a top-tier European job, Nigeria will move forward with Augustine Eguavoen, who is set to lead the team in the upcoming 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Benin Republic and Rwanda.
The chance to harness Cannavaro’s tactical knowledge may have slipped away for now, but the Italian legend is still focused on landing a prestigious European role.
