I don’t pay attention to criticism – Cannavaro

On October 9, the Uzbekistan national team played a friendly match against Kuwait in Tashkent, securing a 2:0 victory. After the match, the head coach of Uzbekistan, Fabio Cannavaro, spoke at a press conference.

“No game is easy. You have to take every opponent seriously. We started the match well, and the ideas we worked on in training paid off. I’m happy that the players are listening to me. But there are still many things we need to improve. It was important to start with a victory. Now I have more information about the players,” said Cannavaro.

Cannavaro also responded to the criticism directed at him, saying that he does not pay attention to it.

“There are always negatives. Have there been criticisms so far? Of course there have. But I don’t pay attention to them. I always focus on my own work. You must respect those who are struggling. I told the players to be a bit more aggressive. We need to work on playing without the ball. Even if the opponent doesn’t press, we must be ready. The first goal was the result of our training,” he noted.

The coach also commented on the missed penalty during the match.

“Penalty kicks are taken by the players, but first they need to feel confident about it. We will continue to work on this aspect. In football, everything can be improved through training. Fayzullaev is in good condition — we’ve spoken with the doctors about it. We must continue to improve ourselves. When we’re leading, we need to focus more on ball control. At 2:0, we lost possession too easily. The key is not to give the opponent a chance. But overall, the players executed what I asked of them,” said Cannavaro.

The Italian specialist also highlighted areas that still need improvement.

“We need to work on ball control. It’s impossible to just run for 90 minutes. The players must understand each other better. Our football demands a lot. I hope to communicate more with the players. Although we’re not always together, we’ll try to build confidence and work through video sessions,” he explained.

For reference, the Uzbekistan national team will face Uruguay in Malaysia on October 13.