Cannavaro praises the most prominent player in Real Madrid: “When you face him, you only have to pray”

Fabio Cannavaro, former Real Madrid defender and Ballon d’Or winner, spoke about the Champions League semi-final second leg match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium next Wednesday.

The first leg ended in a positive draw with a goal for the same in the Santiago Bernabeu, but the Italian defender who won the 2006 World Cup believes that Real Madrid is still the strongest candidate to win and pass to the Istanbul final.

Cannavaro said about the second leg: “Because of the kind of football Real Madrid plays with Ancelotti, those weapons that he has, even with playing away from home, he is the favorite in the second leg. I hope they can qualify for the Champions League final again.”

When asked about the way to stop Vinicius Jr., he replied: “Vinicius cannot be stopped. When you face Vinicius with all his speed, you just have to pray (laughs).”

He added, “The only way to stop him is for a defender to get the help of one of his teammates, because if that is not the case, then when he faces you one-on-one, his way of dribbling and passing is incredible.”

On the possibility of winning the Golden Ball, Cannavaro said: “I still don’t know if Vinicius has reached the level of being considered the best in the world. What is clear is that it has improved a lot. And in this amazing progress he’s made in recent times, there’s someone who really made the difference for the Brazilian.”

He continued: “This person is Ancelotti. The coach is the one who gave him the calmness that we are watching him play with now. It gave him the peace of mind to try things, the confidence that he could feel safe and say, “I’m a solid player on this team, capable of doing whatever I want on the field to win every game.”

Source: As