Italian maestro praises Swiss team

Keystone

Roberto Donadoni, the manager of the Italian national squad, believes the level at Euro 2008 is world-class and that the Swiss side is "young and fresh".

The former AC Milan star also acknowledges the Swiss disappointment – especially among Italian immigrants – that the World Cup holders will be based in Austria despite playing their group games in Switzerland.

“It was not an ‘anti-Swiss’ decision,” he told swissinfo in Milan. “There were not many possible places to stay and train during the tournament and other teams were quicker than us. In the end we thought that Baden in Austria was the best choice.”

But Donadoni is certainly counting on large support in both countries.

“We feel a great responsibility towards these fans. We played a friendly against Portugal in Zurich where we felt the fans’ enthusiasm. I think they were satisfied with our performance,” he said.

And how does he rate the Swiss squad? “It is a fresh, young team that has already shown what is it capable of,” he says. “A few players play for Italian clubs – and with good results. For such a small country, it is astounding that Switzerland plays at such a high level.”

Donadoni adds that there were no longer any “easy” teams – “and that also goes for Euro 2008”.

“In my opinion the quality of the teams is basically at World Cup level. It’s hard to pick a favourite. European tournaments always throw up a few surprises. It’s no coincidence that Italy hasn’t won a European tournament for 40 years.”

He says there are always some teams that are rated by so-called experts as second-class at the start of the competition but which go on to win. “I’m thinking of Denmark [who won in 1992] or Greece [the defending champions]. The rule with every team is ‘Pay attention!'”

Man of few words

Turning to the Italian team, the local press are once again stirring things up, and the question on everyone’s lips is whether Del Piero and Cassano will make the squad.

Donadoni smiles. “The press always knows who should play. There’s nothing new there. It would, however, be new if they also said who shouldn’t play – that practically never happens. And what’s certain is that journalists never have to pay for getting it wrong.”

He has a good relationship with the press, but you couldn’t call it affectionate. That’s down to his character and temperament. Donadoni is a man of few words in a country where the smallest issues trigger animated debates.

Donadoni inherited a team of world champions from Marcello Lippi but he’s not worried that he might not measure up to past standards.

“That would be absurd,” he says. “Winning the World Cup in 2006 was a fantastic moment for Italy. But life goes on. Being world champions should not be a psychological burden for us.”

National cohesion

More Italian players than ever are earning their living outside Italy, but Donadoni doesn’t think that presents a problem for the unity and cohesion of a national team.

He says the fighting spirit of players such as Cannavaro or Toni, who play for big European clubs [Real Madrid and Bayern Munich respectively], will definitely be an advantage for the national team.

And fighting spirit will certainly be necessary, for in their qualifying group Italy face France, the Netherlands and Romania.

“We’ve landed in a difficult group,” Donadoni admits. “There’s a lot of interest and expectations for our match against France [who lost against Italy in the 2006 World Cup final]. Certain comments have ensured that this match will be explosive.”

Regarding the Dutch, Donadoni says he is happy that the team has been coached by Marco van Basten, with whom he played at AC Milan. “It’s nice to know that in the opponents’ dugout is not only a colleague but also a friend.”

swissinfo, Aldo Sofia in Milan

In brief

Co-hosts Switzerland and Austria qualified automatically for the tournament, which takes place from June 7-29, 2008.

The 31 games will be played in four cities in Switzerland (Basel, Bern, Geneva and Zurich) and four cities in Austria (Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Salzburg and Vienna). The final will be held in Vienna on June 29. Switzerland will play its three group matches in Basel.

The finals will be broadcast in 170 countries and are expected to achieve total audience of eight billion viewers spread over the tournament.

Up to 5.4 million football fans are expected to follow the tournament in Switzerland, including 1.4 million from abroad.

Roberto Donadoni

Donadoni was born in September 1963 in Cisano Bergamasco, province of Bergamo, Lombardy.

He was an attacking midfielder or winger for AC Milan in 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.

Since July 2006 he has been manager of the Italian national football team, succeeding Marcello Lippi who stepped down having won the 2006 World Cup.

Italy and Switzerland at Euro 2008

Italy is in Group C and will play the Netherlands (June 9 in Bern), Romania (June 13 in Zurich) and France (June 17 in Zurich).

Switzerland is in Group A and will play the Czech Republic (June 7 in Basel), Turkey (June 11 in Basel) and Portugal (June 15 in Basel).

If Italy and Switzerland meet, it will not be until the final in Vienna on June 29. Until now, the two teams have met 56 times – Switzerland have won eight times, lost 28 times and drawn 20 times.