Roberto Donadoni (born 9 September 1963) is former Italian international footballer and former manager of Serie A club Napoli.

An attacking midfielder or winger known for pace and technique, he was a pillar of the powerhouse AC Milan teams of the late 1980s and early 1990s and one of the pioneers of Major League Soccer, where he played two seasons for the NY/NJ MetroStars.

This was followed by a spell as head coach of the Italian national team, succeeding Marcello Lippi, who resigned after having won the 2006 FIFA World Cup. At the Euro 2008 campaign, with Donadoni as coach, Italy reached the quarter-finals of the tournament, losing against Spain. On 26 June 2008, Donadoni was subsequently dismissed despite having signed a contract extension prior to the beginning of Euro 2008, using a clause in the contract which allowed termination if Italy does not reach the semi-final. He was replaced by Marcello Lippi who returned as national team manager.

[edit] Career

[edit] Playing career

Donadoni started his career with Atalanta in 1982. He transferred to AC Milan in 1986 and became a mainstay in the team. Usually playing a right midfield role, Donadoni was a vital cog in a team that won five Serie A titles, three European Cups, three European Super Cups, and two Intercontinental Cups. A member of the Italian national team, he played in the 1990 and 1994 FIFA World Cups, helping Italy to third and second place finishes respectively. Unfortunately, he missed one of the penalties in the shoot-out in 1990, in the fateful semi-final against Argentina.

The MetroStars of Major League Soccer made him a centerpiece of their franchise when they signed him in 1996. While with the Metros, he was recalled to the Italian national team. He came back to the MLS, but in the league's first two formative years. He proved a solid performer, being named to the league Best XI in 1996. Unfortunately, Donadoni's play could not bring the MetroStars any success as a club.

He went back to Milan after the 1997 MLS season, and promptly helped them to another Serie A title, his sixth. He ended his career by playing for a short time with Al-Ittihad of Saudi Arabia.

Donadoni scored 18 goals for Milan and six for the MetroStars. He added five for Italy in 63 caps.

[edit] Managing career

After retiring as a player, Donadoni coached Italian clubs Lecco (2001–02), Livorno (2002–03) and Genoa (2003–04). In 2005, he returned to head Livorno in mid-season. After leading them to a surprising ninth-place finish and having the club in sixth place midway through the 2005–06 season, Donadoni resigned over criticism from club chairman Aldo Spinelli.

On July 2006, following the resignation of Marcello Lippi immediately after the Italian national team won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Donadoni was named as new Italian head coach, his first task being to successfully lead the fresh World Champions through qualification for Euro 2008.

On 16 August, Donadoni made his debut as head coach for the Italian national team in a friendly match against Croatia played at Stadio Armando Picchi, Livorno which did not feature any of the 23 World Champions, excepting third goalkeeper Marco Amelia, and ended in a 2–0 defeat.

[edit] Path to Euro 2008

Donadoni's "real" debut came in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers; Donadoni took solace in the fact that Lippi's first match in charge of the Azzurri resulted in defeat to Iceland in a friendly match. Despite this, the Italian media did not express this comfort after the following two matches were deemed as negative results: a home 1–1 draw with Lithuania, followed by a 3–1 defeat against France.

Italian newspaper La Nazione's front page featured "How to reduce Lippi's masterwork to pieces in just three weeks,"^[1] requesting the return of former coach Marcello Lippi. However, despite all the critics, Donadoni led Italy to five wins in a row to Georgia (3–1), Ukraine (2–0) and Scotland (2–0), the former being controversial for his omission of star Alessandro Del Piero from the squad.^[2] One of the main critics addressed by the media on Donadoni is however his alleged lack of pressure in persuading Francesco Totti to play again for the Azzurri. Recently, following a question regarding a possible call-up for the AS Roma star in the June matches, Donadoni jokingly claimed not to know him.^[3]

Italy qualified for Euro 2008 after a successful campaign, in spite of the shaky start, Italy topped the group ahead of France. They defeated Scotland 2–1 in Glasgow to confirm their qualification.

[edit] Euro 2008 campaign

On 9 June 2008, Donadoni was handed the biggest defeat for Italy's national team in over 25 years by former Milan team-mate Marco van Basten: a 3–0 loss to the Netherlands. The Italian captain and winner of the Ballon d'Or, Fabio Cannavaro, was unable to play due to injury. Donadoni was widely criticised for his choice of players for that match. His team drew the subsequent match with Romania on 13 June, despite some controversial officiating which saw a goal called back in each of these games creating intense criticism of the officials. The team beat France 2-0 on 17 June to progress to the quarter-finals against a much-fancied Spanish team. The two teams played out a 0–0 draw, Italy being the only team to hold eventual Euro Cup winners Spain scoreless in regular time. However, the Spaniards won 4–2 on penalties. On June 26, 2008, he was sacked as the Italian coach after the Italian Football Federation terminated his contract because of the Azzuri's disappointing performance in the Euro 2008.^[4]

The Italian Football Federation later replaced Donadoni and re-appointed Marcello Lippi as coach.

[edit] Napoli

On 10 March 2009, Napoli officially announced to have sacked veteran head coach Edoardo Reja after five years at the helm of the team, and also confirming to have appointed Donadoni as his replacement.^[5] His first match in charge against Reggina ended in a 1-1 draw.

After a 2-1 loss to Roma on October 6, 2009 he was relieved of his duties as Napoli manager and replaced by former Sampdoria coach, Walter Mazzarri^[6].

[edit] Managerial career

Team	Nat	From	To	Record
				G	W	D	L	Win %
Lecco		2001	2002	21	7	7	7	33.33
Livorno		2002	2003	38	12	13	13	31.58
Genoa		2003	2004	3	0	0	3	0
Livorno		2004	2006	43	16	15	12	37.21
Italy		July 13, 2006	June 26, 2008	23	13	5	5	56.52
Napoli		March 10, 2009	October 6, 2009	18	4	6	8	22.22

As of 6 October 2009.

[edit] References

v • d • e Italy squad – UEFA Euro 1988 semi-finalists 1 Zenga • 2 Baresi • 3 Bergomi • 4 Cravero • 5 Ferrara • 6 Ferri • 7 Francini • 8 Maldini • 9 Ancelotti • 10 De Agostini • 11 De Napoli • 12 Tacconi • 13 Fusi • 14 Giannini • 15 Romano • 16 Altobelli • 17 Donadoni • 18 Mancini • 19 Rizzitelli • 20 Vialli • Coach: Vicini

v • d • e Italy squad – 1990 FIFA World Cup Third Place 1 Zenga • 2 Baresi • 3 Bergomi • 4 De Agostini • 5 Ferrara • 6 Ferri • 7 Maldini • 8 Vierchowod • 9 Ancelotti • 10 Berti • 11 De Napoli • 12 Tacconi • 13 Giannini • 14 Marocchi • 15 Baggio • 16 Carnevale • 17 Donadoni • 18 Mancini • 19 Schillaci • 20 Serena • 21 Vialli • 22 Pagliuca • Coach: Vicini

v • d • e Italy squad – 1994 FIFA World Cup Runners-up 1 Pagliuca • 2 Apolloni • 3 Benarrivo • 4 Costacurta • 5 Maldini • 6 Baresi • 7 Minotti • 8 Mussi • 9 Tassotti • 10 R. Baggio • 11 Albertini • 12 Marchegiani • 13 D. Baggio • 14 Berti • 15 Conte • 16 Donadoni • 17 Evani • 18 Casiraghi • 19 Massaro • 20 Signori • 21 Zola • 22 Bucci • Coach: Sacchi

v • d • e Italy squad – UEFA Euro 1996 1 Peruzzi • 2 Apolloni • 3 Maldini • 4 Carboni • 5 Costacurta • 6 Nesta • 7 Donadoni • 8 Mussi • 9 Torricelli • 10 Albertini • 11 Baggio • 12 Toldo • 13 Rossitto • 14 Del Piero • 15 Di Livio • 16 Di Matteo • 17 Fuser • 18 Casiraghi • 19 Chiesa • 20 Ravanelli • 21 Zola • 22 Bucci • Coach: Sacchi

v • d • e Italy squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Buffon • 2 Panucci • 3 Grosso • 4 Chiellini • 5 Gamberini • 6 Barzagli • 7 Del Piero • 8 Gattuso • 9 Toni • 10 De Rossi • 11 Di Natale • 12 Borriello • 13 Ambrosini • 14 Amelia • 15 Quagliarella • 16 Camoranesi • 17 De Sanctis • 18 Cassano • 19 Zambrotta • 20 Perrotta • 21 Pirlo • 22 Aquilani • 23 Materazzi • Coach: Donadoni