Italy's World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro has been voted 2006 European Footballer of the Year. The Real Madrid defender beat out compatriot and former Juventus teammate Gianluigi Buffon, with Arsenal and France striker Thierry Henry, to win France Football magazine's Ballon D'Or award. The 33-year-old guided Italy to their first World Cup trophy since 1982. He also captained Juventus to the Serie A last year before the Turin club was stripped of the title and demoted to Serie B for its role in a match-fixing scandal. Cannavaro became only the third defender to win the prestigious honor after Franz Beckenbauer (1976) and Matthias Sammer (1996). "This is a double honor," said Cannavaro. "It is given to the best player, and the fact I am a defender makes it even more special." The talismanic defender who is known for his leadership skills as well as combative style on the pitch, appeared selfless as he paid tribute to all those who helped him over the past year. "I want to thank Real president Ramon Calderon and my teammates from Juve and the national team who had an important part to play in my winning this award," said Cannavaro.
Cannavaro joined Real Madrid from Juve this summer "Of course I will bring this trophy back to Madrid, but I would also love to bring it to Turin," he added. Cannavaro also showed loyalty and gratitude to his hometown, Naples. "I would like to show the trophy to Naples as it is a very special city, where I grew up. I used to play football in the streets of Naples. "I would love to show it to the kids who are in difficulty over there." Cannavaro, who made his debut for Italy in 1997 and won over 100 caps for his country, began his professional career at local side Napoli in 1993 and joined Parma two years later. He also played for Inter Milan between 2002 and 2004 and enjoyed a successful two year stint with Juventus before joining Real Madrid this summer. He succeeds Barcelona's Ronaldinho who won the award in 2005.
