Cannavaro captained Italy to success in Germany and was runner-up behind Frenchman Zinedine Zidane in the voting for the Golden Ball, which was awarded to the tournament's best player.

Real is looking to rebuild after three years without a trophy, and having last week appointed former Juve boss Fabio Capello as its new coach, is now hoping to raid the Italian champion for the 32-year-old Cannavaro.

"We've made good headway in getting him here and we're going to continue trying hard," Pedja Mijatovic, Real's new sports director, told the club's website. "I'm sure there will be some news in the next few days."

Cannavaro joined Juve in 2004 from Internazionale and has been an integral part of the side that, under Capello, has won the Italian title in the last two seasons.

"If you focus on what he's contributed over the last two years, I would keep him here until he is 40 years old," Mijatovic said. "His philosophy, winning attitude, and desire make him a unique defender.

"I can appreciate that Cannavaro was a huge reason why Juve won two Scudetti and why Italy won the World Cup."

Juventus, which on Monday appointed Didier Deschamps as its new coach, is currently embroiled in a match-fixing trial with the prosecution recommending it be relegated to Serie C.

Real also has been linked with other Juve players such as Gianluca Zambrotta and Emerson, but Mijatovic denied that transfer dealings would be made any easier if the Turin giants were demoted.

"It's not that easy," he said. "They have clauses that require paying Juventus, whether they are relegated or not. The good thing is they all want to come to Madrid, making the process a bit easier."

Although Cannavaro and Emerson are both over 30 and Zambrotta is 29, Mijatovic also insists age is not a concern for Real as it seeks to build a side capable of wresting the Spanish and Champions League titles from arch-rival Barcelona.

"After three bad years without any titles, we need to build a winning team as soon as possible," Mijatovic added. "We can sign some young players down the road, although we might make an exception for one now. Capello knows what he wants and I'm sure we'll know what we need for the following season by the time November rolls around.

"But right now we're obliged to sign players who can help Madrid under these circumstances. We're planning everything to win a title this year. We cannot make any mistakes."

Mijatovic, who scored the winning goal for Madrid in the final of the Champions League in 1998, says the club also still is hoping to bring Kaka, Cesc Fabregas and Arjen Robben to Spain.

Ramon Calderon had pledged during his presidential campaign to sign the three players if he gained power, and Mijatovic claims that is still the aim.

"We're doing our best to get them here," the former Real Madrid striker explained.

"Starting Thursday, I'm meeting with their respective clubs so that our members see that we are men of our word, just as we proved when we signed Capello and Michel (the new reserve team coach and director of the youth system)."

Mijatovic conceded it will not be a straightforward task to bring the three to the Bernabeu, however.

Calderon claims to already have an agreement with Arsenal midfielder Fabregas about a move but the player on Monday said he is happy in England.

Meanwhile, Chelsea has contacted FIFA over an alleged illegal approach from Real for their Dutch winger Robben while Milan took a similar course of action over playmaker Kaka.

The Brazilian recently signed a contract extension with Milan that ties him to the San Siro until 2011, but the Rossoneri are caught up in the match-fixing scandal and if found guilty of wrongdoing and relegated they may sell players.

"We got Capello and Michel here without any problems, and now we're focusing on Kaka," Mijatovic said.

"It's not easy, but there's still a possibility. I will be speaking with Milan. Of course it's possible to sign Kaka. But we need to respect FIFA rules. I've never given up in football. Plus, there's no hurry. There's still a lot of summer left and the players are on vacation."