Roberto Donadoni

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Roberto Donadoni
Personal information
Full name	Roberto Donadoni
Date of birth	September 9, 1963 (age 43)
Place of birth	Cisano Bergamasco, Italy
Height	1.73 m
Playing position	Manager (former Midfielder)
Club information
Current club	Italy
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1982-1986 1986-1996 1996-1997 1997-1999 1999-2000	Atalanta AC Milan NY/NJ MetroStars AC Milan Al-Ittihad	52 (?) 261 (18) 49 (6) 24 (0) 15 (0)
National team2
1986-1996	Italy	63 (5)
Teams managed
2001-2002 2002-2003 2003 2004-2006 2006-	Lecco Livorno Genoa Livorno Italy
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of July 20, 2006. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of July 20, 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Roberto Donadoni (born September 9, 1963 in Cisano Bergamasco, Province of Bergamo, Lombardy) is an Italian football (soccer) manager and former player. He was a pillar of the powerhouse A.C. 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.

On July 13, 2006, the Italian Football Federation announced Roberto Donadoni as the new head coach of the Italian national team^[1], succeeding Marcello Lippi who resigned after having won the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

Contents 1 Career as a player 2 Career as a manager 3 Controversy 4 References

[edit] Career as a player

Donadoni started his career with Atalanta B.C. in 1982. He transferred to Milan in 1986 and became a mainstay in the team. Usually playing a left 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.

The MetroStars of MLS 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 MLS, but in the league's first two formative years, Donadoni's class was often wasted. He still proved a spectacular 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 AC 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 21 goals for Milan and six for the MetroStars. He added five for Italy in 63 caps.

[edit] Career as a manager

After retiring as a player, he 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.

In July 2006, following the resignation of Marcello Lippi after the Italian National Team won the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Donadoni was named as Italy's new head coach, his first task being to successfully lead the World Champions through qualification for Euro 2008.

On August 16, 2006, Donadoni made his debut as head coach for the Italian National team in a friendly match between Italy and Croatia, but the Italians suffered a humiliating 2:0 defeat.

[edit] Controversy

After the loss in a friendly to Croatia (2:0), Donadoni's next matches would be the UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifiers. Donadoni had solace in the fact that Marcello Lippi's first match in charge of 'The Azzurri' resulted in defeat, however, the Italian media did not express this comfort after the following two matches were deemed as negative results; a shocking (3:1) defeat against France, following a draw with Lithuania.

Italian newspaper La Nazione's front page featured "How to reduce Lippi's masterwork to pieces in just three weeks."^[2] Requesting the return of former coach, Marcello Lippi, however 'The Azzurri' are still favoured among the teams whom will qualify for Euro, despite Italy's recent performances. Recently, Donadoni was also criticized for his ommission of star Alessandro Del Piero from the squad before the match against Georgia [1]. However, despite all the critics, Donadoni led Italy to two wins in a row to Georgia (3:1) and Ukraine (2:0).

[edit] References

Preceded by Marcello Lippi

Italy managers 2006 – present

Incumbent

	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

	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