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Sympathy for the Donadoni?

June 26th, 2008 | By: Daryl | 10 Comments »

Roberto Donadoni (or Gonagoni as he was cruelly nicknamed by, er, us) has been tossed a mouldy lifejacket and told to jump off the good ship Azzurri. Meanwhile 2006 World Cup winner Marcello Lippi has been welcomed back on board and saluted as captain, as if he’d never been away.

The FIGC (Italian Football Federation) couldn’t have sent a clearer message if they’d tried: this boat has been off course for two years and we want to go back in the other direction.

But, though he basically did a horrible job at Euro 2008, can anyone out there find any sympathy in their hearts for the now jobless Donadoni?

First of all, following a World Cup winner was never going to be easy. Donadoni could never live up to the standards set by Lippi. Even if Donadoni had won Euro 2008, it’s still an inferior achievement. And seeing 2006 mainstays like Alessandro Nesta and Francesco Totti step out of international football probably wasn’t the perfect welcome to work present.

And then can you imagine Donadoni’s face when heard about Fabio Canavarro? To lose your best defender, captain and inspiration to a training ground tackle is ridiculously bad luck. And unless Donadoni had secretly told Giorgio Chiellini “the only way you’ll get in this team is if something bad happens to Fabio” then Donadoni can’t really be blamed for that huge misfortune.

And yes, he made some awful mistakes. Why Daniele de Rossi didn’t start the first game against the Netherlands will forever remain a mystery. But by the time Donadoni had gotten his act together, the vultures were already circling. So much so that rumours of Lippi’s impending return were already circulating long before Italy were even out of Euro 2008.

I’m not arguing that Donadoni did a good job. Clearly he didn’t. But I think it’s worth recognizing that international football is tough and Donadoni was inexperienced. Maybe he shouldn’t have taken the job in the first place, but hell, who’d say no to managing their national team? I know I wouldn’t.

Hard to say what the future holds for Donadoni’s coaching career. But if you consider that Steve McClaren failed to even get to Swissautria and has since landed a job at a Chamopions League club, then Donadoni at least deserves a chance to resurrect his reputation with a decent club job.

Tags: Euro 2008 News, Italy, Marcello Lippi, Roberto Donadoni

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Comments

By Louise | June 26th, 2008 at 3:55 pm

He’s no Steve McClaren, certainly, and it was an incredibly difficult situation to come into, but really there were only two redeeming things about his tenure (1) beating Scotland in Scotland in a must win (of course, the reason it was a must win was a horrible start to Euro 2008 qualifying) and (2) the win over France (but was that really France or just a huge Domenech mistake?). Donadoni didn’t have the experience or the man management skills necessary to handle the Azzurri.

And the absence of Nesta and Totti can at least partially be placed at his door as well. Especially with Nesta–yes, injury was a serious concern for him, but you don’t sit Alessandro Nesta on the bench in favor of Marco Materazzi. I don’t blame him for losing faith in Donadoni.

So farewell, Roberto Donadoni and good luck. You left in a classy manner and I’m sure you’ll find a good job. You just never should have been hired to manage the Azzurri.

Posted from United States

By tito | June 26th, 2008 at 3:58 pm

I definitely feel sympathy for him - he was out of his depth, but he did an honest and honorable job. (And, yes, a lousy one.) He really was in an impossible situation. If things had only been slightly different - Canna hadn’t been hurt, that first “goal” vs. Holland was disallowed, Pirlo wasn’t carded, Toni wasn’t deaf+dumb+blind, De Rossi made his penalty, &tc &tc - he might well have pulled through. Very tough luck for the guy. The media and Marcello Lippi hanging over the proceedings didn’t exactly help matters.

Ultimately, the FIGC should be ashamed of *their* performance. Donadoni did his best and should only be proud. And, hopefully, continue learning…

Posted from United States

By A. | June 26th, 2008 at 4:28 pm

One criticism that can fairly be made of him is that he never had a game-plan B. It was obvious that the Toni focused attack was not working from the start and yet he persisted with it till the end. He didn’t even try a like for like change by bringing in Borriello.

Posted from Australia

By Rob | June 26th, 2008 at 5:52 pm

In the end he was sacked because of penalty kicks. What kind of luck is that to be fair? Of course he made mistakes, but if Cesc misses that pen and then Italy go on to win, then he keeps his job. Crazy.

Posted from United Kingdom

By Chris | June 26th, 2008 at 6:10 pm

He wouldn’t have kept his job. Even if they won on PK’s, his inability to get a full team working and meet basic Italian expectations has been glaring since his tenure began.

Lippi reportedly signed the contract last week, and I tend to believe it. Donadoni simply wasn’t of the required quality.

By Ashley | June 26th, 2008 at 9:37 pm

I have a little sympathy for him because like you said, he had to follow up a world cup winning coach and was expected to be just as amazing. However, the majority of my sympathy is reserved for people like De Rossi. This tournament isn’t the first time Donadoni has inexpicably excluded him. Throughout his tenure as coach he has allowed roots to grow under De Rossi’s butt on the bench for some odd reason. If you noticed, De Rossi was actually usually absent from the Don’s lineup. And yes I am a fan of De Rossi, so that’s why it really stings, but the facts spoke for themselves starting in the 2nd game of the Euros. Also what was the point of the other strikers he brought to Swiss/Austria. Not once did Borriello see the field, despite the epic failure of Toni. With Lippi, such things did not exist. He used every player on that squad list at least once(with the exception of the extra keepers). And that worked. In fact, it worked so well they won the world cup. Donadoni made a lot of tatical mistakes that I felt could have been avoided but his ego would hear no such thing.

So, yes, he wasn’t completely horrible, but you must admit his decisions were mind boggling and smacked of desperation sometimes. La nazionale does not run on desperation, it thrives under expertise. And that’s what Lippi will give back to this team that sorely needs it.

Posted from United States

By Shreyas | June 26th, 2008 at 11:40 pm

I am glad Lippi’s back, but considering the sort of pressure he was under after Lippi, and with a lot of the veterans gone, things could have been a lot worse. He picked what seemed to be a decent squad at the time, well balanced, but perhaps was unlucky with Canna out and Toni turning into the wreck he was. If Toni and the forward line had not messed up so badly, the decision to leave Pippo out wouldn’t have been questioned. As it stands, there was no one in the team willing to just make a desperate attempt to make contact with the ball in front of goal the way Pippo would have, and about 10 crosses just flew past the box against Spain… I would have liked to see Borriello on for Toni with Italy up 2-0 against France. They could have done with at least attempting to use another target man for a trial.
All in all, yes, I’m glad Lippi’s back and don’t think Donadoni was ready for such a big job yet. But I will give him credit for a few things. He went with a balanced squad (unlike the extremely partial Domenech), even if his choices within the squad were a little off the mark. And this is the most crucial thing for clubs to notice, he learns from his mistakes, he’s not unwilling to change things. People like Domenech and Steve McClaren failed miserably cos they tried stupid stuff and kept trying it no matter how badly things were going. Donadoni’s strength is his willingness to modify his setup if he finds something wrong [even if he won't admit in the post match interview that he messed up...]

By shelby | June 27th, 2008 at 12:25 am

I strongly sympathise Donadoni as i feel he has done his very own best! Imagine losing a strong mentor like Cannavora in an important tournament will be catastrophic for the whole team, worse still injured by the own member. Then, the players shall be responsible as well for the horrible defeat, especially Toni who did not score a single goal though being called the top striker for German league.

Besides, Azzurri shall stop blaming the coach and look into the replacemet of the ageing players! What can they do for the coming World Cup 2010 as they are seriously lack of talented strikers!

Anyhow, ALL THE BEST FOR DONADONNI in all his future undertakings…

Posted from Malaysia

By adam | June 27th, 2008 at 7:01 am

i feel sorry for him, because hes a good man, but glad because hes a bad coach…

By john | June 27th, 2008 at 11:59 am

NO NO NO Sympathy. I am glad he is gone. The Don was given a Lamborghini and didn’t know how to drive it.

That being said he conducted himself with class and left with honour, not even wanting a fee for termination of his contract. FIGC offered 700K to be inserted into his contract but he refused.

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