Fabio Cannavaro says Zidane beat him to Real Madrid assistant role

Fabio Cannavaro has revealed that he was in the running for the Real Madrid assistant coach role in 2013, but the club opted for Zinedine Zidane instead.

The 2006 World Player of the Year took the retired Zidane's famous No. 5 shirt when he signed for Los Blancos following his World Cup triumph with Italy, and looked to begin his coaching education at the Bernabeu seven years later.

"I think it was (club president) Florentino (Perez) who decided to choose Zidane and not me," he told Cadena Ser via Goal.com.

The former defender, who is currently in charge of Al-Nassr FC in Saudi Arabia, also spoke on current Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez, and appreciates that the Spaniard has landed one of the toughest jobs in world football.

"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 said.

Despite picking up two La Liga titles in three years with Real Madrid, Cannavaro is unashamedly an admirer of its great rival Barcelona. He spoke of how highly he rates Lionel Messi, but also 31-year-old midfielder Andres Iniesta.

"Iniesta deserved to win the Ballon d'Or. To win it, you have to be lucky that the attackers have not done so well. If Messi and (Cristiano) Ronaldo score 50 or 60 goals, they will always give it to them," he said.

He is also a fan of the economy that Luis Suarez has when given opportunities.

"All people look at Messi and Neymar, but Suarez is impressive. He makes a difference, because he is a 'killer' that never fails front of goal," Cannavaro said. "Suarez will kill you and I love that."