2006 Ballon d’Or Winner: Fabio Cannavaro. FIFA’s Heroic Poster Boy.

In 2006, Fabio Cannavaro became the first Ballon d’Or winning defender in a decade.

Typically, defensive players are largely absent from the Ballon d’Or history books which begin way back in 1956. In fact, from its inception, it would take a full 16 years for Franz Beckenbauer to be named first defender to win the accolade in 1972 and again in 1976, while another two decades passed before German sweeper Matthias Sammer was honoured in 1996.

The merit of Italian centre-back Fabio Cannavaro’s triumph would raise questions with some believing that FIFA had valued the defender’s contribution on the international stage in their own tournament and seemingly overlooked his club record.

Was Fabio Cannavaro a deserved winner or simply FIFA’s heroic poster boy?

The Worthy Contenders

The 2006 Ballon d’Or was arguably wide open going into the voting process and three other worthy contenders with a chance of winning.

Runner-up Gianluigi Buffon had been absent during the early parts of the 2005/06 season through a string of injuries and the Goalkeeper managed only 24 games for club side Juventus. However, upon this return to action, Buffon finished the campaign strongly and helped Italy reach the World Cup final – where they beat France on penalties following a 1-1 draw.

Third place Frenchman Thierry Henry had produced a world-class season. Scoring 33 goals in 45 games across all competitions and propelled Arsenal into the Champions League final where the Gunners lost out to Barcelona.

Henry was also epic on the international stage, winning 16 caps and scoring eight goals for France as they reached the World Cup final for a second time.

Brazilian wizard Ronaldinho came fourth having enjoyed an immense season of his own. In 2006, the playmaker won three major honours including La Liga, the Supercopa de Espana and Champions League. Ronaldinho scored 26 times in 45 games for an increasingly formidable Barcelona side.

Yet through a sea of challengers, one man would rise to the top of World football and write his name into footballing legacy.

Planet Cannavaro

Granted, Fabio Cannavaro’s displays at club level during 2006 were impressive with Juventus finishing as Serie A Champions for a second season in a row. The central defender played consistently, featuring 48 times and even contributing four goals.

Yet it was his near-flawless performance across the 2006 World Cup tournament that captured the hearts of a global audience and the minds of footballing experts.

Cannavaro was paired with Marco Materazzi as Italy conceded just two goals during the whole competition, once against the USA during their second group match and then in the final against France as Zinedine Zidane netted with an early penalty.

Fabio Cannavaro became FIFA’s heroic poster boy. He is still the only non-German defender to win the Ballon d’Or and the only defender to win their World Player of the Year award over the course of its entire 19-year existence.

No	Name	Country	Pos	League	Club
1	Fabio Cannavaro	Italy	DF	Italy	Juventus
2	Gianluigi Buffon	Italy	GK	Italy	Juventus
3	Thierry Henry	France	FW	England	Arsenal
4	Ronaldinho	Brazil	FW	Spain	Barcelona
5	Zinedine Zidane	France	MD	Spain	Real Madrid
6	Samuel Eto’o	Cameroon	FW	Spain	Barcelona
7	Miroslav Klose	Germany	FW	Germany	Werder Bremen
8	Didier Drogba	Côte d’Ivoire	FW	England	Chelsea
9	Andrea Pirlo	Italy	MD	Italy	Milan
10	Jens Lehmann	Germany	GK	England	Arsenal
11	Deco	Portugal	MD	Spain	Barcelona
	Kaká	Brazil	FW	Italy	Milan
13	Franck Ribéry	France	MD	France	Marseille
14	Gennaro Gattuso	Italy	MD	Italy	Milan
	Patrick Vieira	France	MD	France	Internazionale
15	Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	MD	Italy	Juventus
16	Frank Lampard	England	DF	England	Chelsea
	Lukas Podolski	Germany	DF	Germany	FC Köln
17	Carles Puyol	Spain	MD	Spain	Barcelona
18	Juninho	Brazil	FW	France	Lyon
19	Lionel Messi	Argentina	FW	Spain	Barcelona
20	Luca Toni	Italy	FW	Italy	Fiorentina
21	John Terry	England	DF	England	Chelsea
22	Gianluca Zambrotta	Italy	DF	Italy	Juventus

His 2005/06 Série A win would be the second of Fabio Cannavaro’s four league titles in a row having found success in Italy the previous year and going on to claim two La Liga titles with Real Madrid.

Gianluigi Buffon’s time at Juventus lasted an incredible 19 years with two separate spells from 2001-2018 and again between 2019 and 2021.

Thierry Henry’s 33 goals across the 2005/06 campaign was not only his highest goal tally for Arsenal in a single season but also the greatest number achieved at any club over the course of his entire career.