The Italian defender reflected on the situation at the club at the start of last year, when Zaragoza were also the opponents, and set out his goals for the rest of the season.
Madrid were some way behind Barcelona and were struggling to impress under Fabio Capello, but a sudden upturn in fortunes saw them take the title and then make a strong start to the current term.
"A lot has happened," he said. "It's been a good year for us. Real Madrid had a great 2007.
"We won the championships after an agonizing final and now we're a strong team coming off the win against Barcelona and booking our place next round of the Champions League.
"Before we depended on individual talent of players like Ronaldo, Raúl, (Ruud) Van Nistelrooy. Now we're a team in every area of the pitch. A team can win everything with a good defence and players capable of scoring.
"If our back line is successful, everything else becomes a lot easier. This year we got players like Heinze, Metzelder, and Pepe. The team is strong in defence, and you saw it against Barcelona.
"It's a lot harder to achieve success based on individual play. Before a lot of us attacked and only three defended. That's why we had so many problems. A team like ours attacks together and defends together. Balance is the key."
Looking ahead to the second half of the season, Cannavaro had no doubt that Madrid should be aiming to not only win the title, but also go for their tenth Champions League.
"You should always set goals for yourself," he continued. "We need to win then league again, but Madridistas want the Champions League.
"The club made the moves to build a competitive team that can aspire to both titles.
As for his own future, Cannavaro reiterated that he could see out his career in with his hometown club, but was not ready to make any promises.
"I have one year left on my contract and I haven't ruled out retiring here," he said. "I've been asked several times if I would return to Napoli, but who knows."
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