For those who speak ill of Roberto Donadoni; they would be right in stating the facts which show that in the European championship Italy’s record was one win, two loses and a draw which is hardly legendary specially because Italy only made it as far as the quarterfinals. Italy was also world champion going in to the tournament with great players therefore traditional logic dictates if a team combines these two features and does not win the fault must lie in the coach. This is what “conventional wisdom” says but is it always right? Are matters that simple?

Roberto Donadoni, whom I stand up for not because he was an AC Milan player and I am a diehard “Milanista” did not after all win the world cup in 2006 but if he had would he be excused for not making it further then the quarterfinals? I believe he would be and I give the examples; first of how in 1982 Enzo Bearzot coached Italy on to their third world cup title and by virtue of which was allowed to keep his job till the 1986 World Cup though he even failed to quality to the 1984 European Championship. Second I would give the example of how Arrigo Sacchi did not even win the 1994 World Cup but reached the final and again due to this was not dismissed from his post as national head coach even after his decision to leave Roberto Baggio off Italy’s 1996 Euro squad. This being the reason which many would argue led to Italy being eliminated in the first round by the Czech Republic.

On both occasions these two head coaches were allowed to keep their positions though the results they obtained were also less then admirable with neither of them making it as far as Donadoni did. One could even say that Donadoni’s Italy lost to the team many are now picking to win this tournament for the second time in their history; in a loss that came in penalties which technically speaking is not loosing on the field of play where the coach’s tactics can make a difference but rather only his ability to pick those who are to take the five direct shots.

It is true Italy had historically speaking always gotten the better of Spain; at least in big matches such as the 1934 World Cup quarterfinals in which Italy and Spain had to play two games to settle the issue with the first one finishing one to one and the second one nil in Italy’s favor. This given the fact that penalties were not applied as a formula for settling draws until Argentina 78 though they were not utilized till Spain 82 when Germany and France had to use this method to settle which one would be in the final. It was again in the 1994 World Cup that Italy would top Spain; 2 to 1 with goals by Roberto and Dino Baggio in a match that the Spanish will remember mostly for Tassotti’s (Italian defender) elbow which broke the nose of Spanish forward Luis Enrique.

However that was 14 years ago and times have moved on as then Donadoni was a player on the field as opposed to being a coach seeing his team loose. Spain won on Sunday much to my disappointment but was this Donadoni’s fault anymore then it was Sacchi’s or Bearzot’s for the lack of positive results they obtained after the World Cups in which they both reached the final? I even believe that if the same results had been obtained by Marcelo Lippi (world cup winning coach in 2006) his job would not be on the line as he would be forgiven due to having won the world cup. This even making me believe that Lippi gave up the job as head coach after winning the 2006 World Cup because he knew it would not be so easy to obtain the same results in the Euro after which he could always come back if the next coach failed to do so; naturally as the “savior” of the team.

Some would argue that a team trained by Marcelo Lippi would have done better but this is speculation as the third condition always is but let us now analyze what Donadoni did and really had to work with. First off all as soon as he took over the job; Francesco Totti (AS Roma) both a great playmaker and leader quit the team, claiming he wanted to concentrate on playing for his team.

This alone would have been a big resignation to any team but Donadoni did manage to qualify to European Championship despite being in the same group with France. Whom granted he did loose to by 3 to 1 in Paris with the second French goal being a clear off sides though he came close to beating in Italy and would have; if that ball had not hit the post but gone in.

In judging Donadoni’s performance as manager however there are certain other factors I do claim must never be overlooked if one is to be fair. First, when a team wins a world cup being that this is such a big event; the motivation of its players tends to go down as there is nothing higher for them to achieve. In stating this it should be clear that if the motivation of those who win a world cup tends to go down the motivation of their rivals to beat them undoubtedly increases. It being the prestige of beating those who are world champions that encourages them to push themselves harder then they would do against another team. This meaning that even “weak teams” like the Faroe Islands will play or try to play above themselves in order to get any positive result against the world champion even should it be a draw or a gentleman’s loose as was the case when Italy won 2 to 1 on their home soil. Of course this also applies to stronger teams such as Scotland and Ukraine whom Italy also had to meet on its way to qualifying to the Euro 2008.

As if all these problems were not enough the draw was not exactly generous to Italy; putting it in a group with the Netherlands (winner of this tournament in 88 while semifinalist in 92 and 2000), Rumania (team who qualified ahead of the Netherlands in the same qualifying group to the 2008 Euro) and France. A team whose credentials need not even be mentioned to any football fan. Qualifying top two in a group like this would have been difficult under any circumstances and as if this were not enough Donadoni lost; arguably his best defender (Cannavaro) before the start of the tournament to injury.

Regardless of these problems Donadoni did not fail to qualify Italy to the next round in spite of loosing 3 to 0 to a very inspired Dutch team, whose first goal was a clear offside while Italy could and should have scored on at least one of the many occasions they created; many of which thanks to Luca Toni they missed. I naturally would have preferred to see Inzaghi in Toni’s place who let’s face it did not play all that well in any of the 4 games he started in. Italy however would go on to qualify to the quarterfinals despite this result by drawing against Rumania in a match in which even the referee later admitted that the goal which Italy scored in the first have should have been allowed as it was wrongly ruled off sides and dominating against the French in a two nil victory.

Perhaps Donadoni made some tactical mistakes against Spain but then again is not hindsight always 20/20 for those who did not have to face one of the top teams in the world without two of their starting midfielders in the form of Gatusso and Pirlo. Of course there are those who will say he had other players; which he did such as Toni, Grosso, and Buffon however none of them are midfielders let alone capable of doing what Gatusso and Pirlo are capable of.

Loose Italy did to Spain but let us not rule out that it was not before penalties had to deicide the issue which came down to two players missing who if theirs had been scores Italy would have won given that Buffon did save one of the Spanish penalties. Naturally an Italian win in that game (which easily could have been) would have meant reaching the semi-final against Russia which would have at least looked more decorative even had Italy lost this game like they did to the then Soviet Union in the 88 version of this tournament and perhaps Donadoni’s job would not be on the line.

For my part in all this I believe that Donadoni should be given one more chance as was Franz Beckenbauer in Germany who would go on to win the world cup in 90. After all it was Beckenbauer who no offense to him also did not get off to flying start as head coach of Germany who in their first match with him at the helm lost 3 to 1 to Argentina while playing at home and went on to be eliminated from Euro 84; the following year in the first round by Spain.