Former Real Madrid defender Fabio Canavaro says he almost became assistant boss to Carlo Ancelotti but was piped to the post by Zinedine Zidane.
Zidane spent 12 months working under the Italian in the 2013-14 season, the year in which Los Blancos created history when they became the first team to win 10 Champions League trophies.
The 1998 World Cup winner has since go on to take over the Real Madrid Castilla side and is widely seen at the man to one take take over at the Santiago Bernabeu hotseat.
But speaking to Cadena Ser, Cannavaro, who captained Italy to World Cup glory in 2006, says he was close to getting the assistant manager’s job.
“I think it was Florentino who decided to choose Zidane and not me,” he commented.
Cannavaro then went on to discuss Rafa Benitez’ regime so far, saying it is too early still to judge the boss. Real sit just four points behind Barcelona in the league and are into the last 16 of the Champions League. But there have been plenty of off-field problems this season, with Real thrown out of the Copa del Rey for fielding an ineligible player.
“We can only say that Benitez is a good coach for Madrid at the end of the season if he wins titles. We all know the club culture and mentality of the fans,” he stated.
