Delayed after experiencing reliable Mexico City traffic, following a flight from Atlanta, Fabio Cannavaro was 75 minutes late on Tuesday for his press conference to preview Uzbekistan’s World Cup opener, against Colombia.
Huddled against the air conditioner in a large hall that serves as a temporary press room, head coach Cannavaro’s pundits will agree that he was worth the wait; save the chap from Uzbekistan who berated an innocent volunteer after missing his turn to ask a question.
Having lasted just six weeks and two matches as China boss, but having managed successes with Tianjin Quanjian and Guangzhou Evergrande, a small smile crossed Cannavaro’s face when asked what the country could learn from Uzbekistan, the world’s number 50 nation who qualified for the World Cup for the first time.
The Central Asian nation’s appointed boss last October, Cannavaro, a talented defender in Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning team, told the South China Morning Post: “One of the things that was important when I decided to sign for Uzbekistan was that the federation invests a lot of money in the academy and facilities (they opened a national football center).
“The future football players of Uzbekistan will grow, and we will see many of them playing in Europe. I am sure of that because the ideas they are working with, and with which they are growing, are very good.”
Having qualified for the first time in 2002, China are missing their sixth consecutive World Cup finals.
