Donadoni wants to prove critics wrong

ROME (AP) - Roberto Donadoni wants to prove he belongs.

Italy's coach has been criticized as too inexperienced, too young and too introverted since he was hired four days after the Azzurri won the 2006 World Cup.

When Marcello Lippi resigned after the triumph in Germany, Donadoni's arrival was seen as a move by Italian soccer federation vice president Demetrio Albertini to hire his old teammate at AC Milan. The federation was in crisis mode amid the Italian match-fixing scandal and Albertini had just been appointed.

Donadoni already proved some naysayers wrong by overseeing his team's qualification for this year's European Championship, but the federation seemed hesitant when it offered him a contract extension with the stipulation he guide the team to at least the semifinals.

Donadoni refused to sign such a deal and enters the tournament with his future in question.

"I want to continue coaching the Italian national team. I've never hidden that desire," Donadoni said recently. "I don't have anything else in mind right now. All my thoughts are focused on the European Championship."

While Donadoni's focus is on the tournament in Austria and Switzerland, the World Cup champion label - and Lippi's shadow - loom large.

"The fact that Italy is the world champion is important, but we were the world champions two years ago," Donadoni said. "It's a new day now and a different tournament and I think we're up to the task."

Donadoni is still relatively new to coaching, his first job coming with Lecco in Serie C1 in 2001-02.

He moved to Livorno in Serie B the next season, then was fired after three games with Genoa in 2003. He made his Serie A debut by returning to Livorno in January 2005, guiding the club to a ninth-place finish, then left Livorno in February 2006 with the team sitting sixth in the standings.

Donadoni's record as a player is much more impressive.

After beginning with his hometown club, Atalanta of Bergamo, Donadoni spent 10 seasons with AC Milan, winning five Serie A titles, three Champions League titles and two Intercontinental Cups.

He then moved to the MetroStars for two seasons in Major League Soccer, came back to Milan and won one more "scudetto" before finishing his career with Saudi Arabian club Al-Ittihad.

"I think I decided to become a coach when I was in the U.S. and started explaining some things to my less-experienced teammates," Donadoni said.

Donadoni made 63 appearances for Italy and was a fixture in the Azzurri midfield for two World Cups, finishing third in 1990 and losing the 1994 final on penalty kicks to Brazil.

While his curly hair has turned gray, at 44 Donadoni is still trim and looks match fit. He often jogs with his players during training and provides crosses from the right flank - his old position - in drills.

At Milan and with Italy, Donadoni was coached by two masterminds of Italian soccer, Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello.

"I learned my tactics from Sacchi, and how to deal with the players in the locker room from Capello," Donadoni said.

Unlike Sacchi and Capello, however, Donadoni shies away from the spotlight. He often comes across as indifferent and soft-spoken.

Maybe that's because Donadoni isn't completely consumed by soccer. His father was a trucker and manual laborer who used to leave the house before dawn and return after dark.

"I know my work will never be even 10 percent as hard as my father's," Donadoni has said. "That's one of the reasons why soccer will always be a big thing for me, but it won't take over my life."