Lippi resigns, Donadoni appointed

Marcello Lippi has resigned as coach of Italy after leading his country to a fourth World Cup title. Despite widespread calls for him to stay at the helm after Italy's win over France he says the time is right to go.

"I believe that I have achieved what I set out to achieve as coach of the Italian team," Lippi declared. The 58-year-old feels he and his son, Davide, were attacked personally in the match-fixing scandal tainting Italy's domestic game.

After two years and 17 days in charge, Lippi said his decision came at the end of "an extraordinary professional and personal experience", but he did not reveal his future plans. "I want to thank the federation for the confidence it had in me during the last two years of work crowned by a result that will rest in the annals of Italian football and live on in the memory of our fans," he added.

Italian Federation vice president Giancarlo Abete said Lippi had told him during the second round of the World Cup that he intended to quit regardless of his team's performance. In a statement, Abete praised Lippi for his "extraordinary professionalism and his ability leading the team."

He was said to be tired of hearing his name mentioned in connection with the match-fixing scandal involving some of Italy's top Serie A clubs, including champions Juventus, with whom he won five Serie A titles and the 1996 Champions League in two stints as coach between 1994 and 2004.

While he was not under investigation, Lippi was questioned by prosecutors before the World Cup about alleged pressure he received to select certain players for Italy's national team. Davide Lippi works at a player agency linked to the scandal and is under investigation for "illegal competition with threats and violence".

Lippi took over from Giovanni Trapattoni after Italy's poor performance at Euro 2004. In two years in charge Lippi lost just two matches - a 2-0 defeat on his debut against Iceland and a 1-0 loss in World Cup qualifying against Slovenia. But following that reverse Italy went 25 games unbeaten, a run, their longest since 1939, that culminated in a first world title since 1982 and a leap up the world rankings to second behind Brazil.



After achieving glory under Lippi, one of the most successful and experienced coaches in Europe, the Italian Football Federation turned to the inexperienced Roberto Donadoni to lead them into Euro 2008.

"We decided to bet on a youngster who could become truly great," said Demetrio Albertini, the FIGC vice-commissioner upon Donadoni's appointment at the age of 43 on 13 July, the day after Lippi ended his two-year tenure. Donadoni has been passing his knowledge on to players since 2001 when he took charge of Serie C club Lecco. He temporarily quit midway through that season before going back and leading them to a ninth-place finish.

The following season he moved on to Livorno, then of Serie B, and secured tenth place before heading to Genoa. He was sacked after three games in charge and would resurface at Livorno midway in January 2005, with the Tuscan club in the top flight. A very respectable ninth-place finish served notice of Donadoni’s potential. Things got even better in the 2005/06 campaign with Livorno up to sixth before Donadoni resigned that February following a disagreement with the club president. It would be his last job before Italy came calling.

As a player, Donadoni served Italy to distinction on 63 occasions. He twice suffered penalty heartache at two FIFA World Cups, missing in the semi-final shoot-out defeat by Argentina in 1990 and then watching as Brazil won on spot-kicks in the final four years later. At club level, Donadoni made his Serie A debut with hometown club Atalanta before joining AC Milan in 1986. He was a key component of a side which won five Serie A titles (1988, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996) and three European Champion Clubs' Cups (1989, 1990, 1994) under illustrious coaches such as Arrigo Sacchi and Fabio Capello. Before retiring, he had spells in the United States and Saudi Arabia with New York/New Jersey MetroStars and Al Ittihad respectively.