Italy legend Fabio Cannavaro finally picked up his first win of the 2017 Chinese Super League season after Tianjin Quanjian pulled off a 1-0 victory over Henan Jianye at their home field of Haihe Educational Football Stadium last Saturday.

Cannavaro, a former Guangzhou Evergrande head coach, was hired by Quanjian as its new manager in June last year when the club was still competing in the China League One.

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The former Italy international replaced Vanderlei Luxemburgo, who lost seven-straight games before he was sacked. Cannavaro has turned things around for Quanjian since his takeover, leading the squad to a first-place finish in the Chinese second division at the end of last season.  

The former Juventus, Real Madrid, Napoli, and Inter Milan defender had a bad coaching start for Tianjin this season, being winless in his first two games which were both played on the road.

Tianjin was blanked by Guangzhou R&F, 0-2, in their season-opener on March 4 at the Guangdong Provincial People's Stadium before settling for a 1-1 draw with powerhouse team Shanghai Shenhua on March 11 at the Hongkou Stadium.

Cannavaro's boys were not to be denied in their first home game this season, though, as local defender Liu Yiming netted the game's winning goal in the 21st minute off an assist by Brazilian import and former Chelsea flop Alexandre Pato, according to Soccerway.

It was the first win of Quanjian as well this season as the team is now tied on points with three others teams, namely Shanghai Greenland Shenhua, Beijing Sinobo Guoan, and Tianjin Teda. The team has the lowest goal differential of the four clubs, and they are now settled in the 10th spot of the 16-team China top-flight table.

Quanjian will next face Yanbian Funde in the fourth round of competitions in a match schedule to take place at their home field in Tianjin.

TagsChinese Super League, Chinese Super League 2017, 2017 Chinese Super League, Fabio Cannavaro, Tianjin Quanjian FC, Henan Jianye FC