Fabio Cannavaro shared his impressions on Real Madrid with Spanish newspaper El País. Il Capitano is a champion of Fabio Capello's system, and is convinced that success only comes through hard work.
What do you think of the fans at the Bernabéu?
They're not as organised as Italian fans, who constantly sing in unison. They live the match differently here in Madrid, but the essence is the same: they cheer if you play well and whistle if you don't.
What does Real Madrid lack to become a solid team?
Results. In football, a good result relaxes and allows you to prepare for future matches with ease. Winning teams have fun and play without worries. We're just starting; we have new players, a new coach, a new Board... We search for unity, even with the audience.
Do people whistle more in Spain than in Italy for not having ball possession?
Possession is pointless if you have the ball 80 percent of the time but don't score. It is better to receive the ball once, head it, score, take the three points and go home. At the end of the day, the only thing that really matters in football is getting good results. A team like Real Madrid has to play well, but good results are more essential.
What is playing well?
Winning.
That is a typical Italian point of view.
I'm happy with this mentality. We won a World Cup in which we even played well in some matches. I think the most important thing was that we won. I realise, though, that I'm in a country in which fans expect more football, more spectacle. Personally, I think to win is to give spectacle.
People say Capello is disciplined, organised, rigorous... What does all that mean?
Hard work. He demands we give our best every day, starting with the first training session on Mondays. This gets you into a routine that makes you perform well every Sunday. Other coaches and players aren't so tough and don't win because they haven't got used to this kind of routine. You can't just light up on the day of the match, that doesn't work. I am used to giving my best every day, it just feels natural to me.
What is Capello working for tactically speaking?
He likes a regular 4-4-2 system. He wants us to constantly feed the ball to the forwards, and to help them in the attack. I think people think he's a defensive coach simply because he's Italian, but he's shown he's quite the opposite. He's always lined up two strikers, two very capable centre midfielders, and a left and right midfielder. In the end, the only two defensive elements left are two centre backs and one midfielder. People just tease us saying that we always play catenaccio style merely because we're Italian. That style doesn't even exist in Italy anymore! On the Italian national team we use two centre backs and Gattuso. Pirlo creates ball movement, so does Zambrotta, Grosso also attacks... In some matches, we centre backs have been left on our own for two-on-two plays.
Sometimes, Capello's schemes seems very simple, as if he didn't like to complicate things much. It seems six players defend and the rest attack.
He doesn't say defenders can't attack. He wants a balanced team in which eleven attack and eleven defend. If only four players are left to defend, you eventually concede a goal. That an attacker has to defend doesn't mean he's got to mark a player like Emerson and myself do. It means they have to help reduce space for the other team and to help their teammates steal the ball in order to counterattack. It is difficult in today's football to have everybody chasing a single attacking player heading for your goal.
Does this way of taking up space determine who has to clear the ball?
I can move forward easily if there's no one blocking my way. If, on the other hand, there is, I have to pass the ball to a winger. It's less dangerous to advance down the wings.
Getting the defence organised is your responsibility. How does Capello tell you to position yourselves?
We must keep a distance between each other. Sacchi was the man that introduced distance between defenders in Italy, and he actually worked for Real Madrid not long ago. According to his system, if the ball is in the midfield, a defender shouldn't be near the box. He must pressure in order to avoid the attacker getting near it. On the other hand, if there is a wide space left between the midfield and the defence, the opponent might find spaces to break in and score. Capello follows this system, but so do other coaches.
Then, why does he have so much prestige? What makes him different from Lippi and other coaches?
People find him imposing when they look at him. It's because of his body language, his way of staring... He asks the same as everybody else, but in a stronger way so that you understand it better.
This Real Madrid finds it difficult to start plays. Who should start them? Emerson or the wingers?
I doesn't matter as long as it's done quickly. Capello says that you are predictable when slow, and unpredictable when quick. It benefits you to be a better and faster player than the rest.
