[Thunderball]

Edit: GirlySports beat me to it... and yes, I'm very happy!


A lot of Italian writers are saying he was let go not only because Italy didn't make the final four... but because his player selection was poor and he resorted to "catenaccio" to survive as long as they did. Italy apparently hired Donadoni to be more offensive and free flowing than Lippi was (by Italian standards, not Portugese/Braziliian standards), and he ended up being too much like Trapattoni. Up until the Euro, Italy played a 4-3-3 with 3 forwards. That's why Italy named 6 strikers to the team, rather than the typical 4-5 and an AM.

Some even went so far as to say the best game Italy played was actually the Holland one, because it was a counterattacking 4-3-3, despite the bad luck and critical lineup errors. They noted the game was ruined by the first offside goal, and the critical lineup errors... but that the system at least had the potential to be exciting, interesting, and most importantly, competitive. They also noted that Russia played Holland in a similar way. After that game, he panicked, he resorted to ugly defensive football, and took his roster notes from the Italian media. That is why he's gone.