Italian football coach Fabio Cannavaro is reportedly close to being the next manager of the Chinese team Tianjin Quanjian FC. The former player is set to replace under-fire Brazilian Vanderlei Luxemburgo, local media reported on Tuesday.

Luxemburgo, 64, a former coach of the Brazilian National Team, is under pressure as Tianjin Quanjian are ninth in the league. The football club is aiming to be number one in the Chinese Super League (CSL) next season.

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The second-tier club made headlines during the winter transfer window with prodigious offers for the likes of Alexandre Pato in the Brazilian Championship. 

There are unconfirmed reports that the club sacked former Real Madrid manager Luxemburgo this week.

Cannavaro, 42, the former coach of CSL champions Guangzhou Evergrande, is being touted as Luxemburgo's replacement at Tianjin Quanjian.

In November 2014, Cannavaro was named the coach of Guangzhou. However, he was replaced  by Felipe Scolari of Brazil last year. Under Cannavaro's watch, the Southern China Tigers registered 11 wins, six draws and six losses in 23 matches.

After the Chinese job, the Italian coach was hired by the Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr. Cannavaro, who replaced Uruguay's Jorge da Silva, revoked his contract with the Saudi Professional League club in February.

As a player, he was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2006 and bagged the Ballon d'Or award in the same year. Cannavaro was also inducted into the Italian Football Hall of Fame in 2014.

TagsFabio Cannavaro, Vanderlei Luxemburgo, Tianjian Quanjian, china league one, Chinese Super League, real madrid