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ZURICH, SWITZERLAND — Exactly as one might expect, it was a calm, measured response.
There was the “Disastro Donadoni” headline in Corriere dello Sport, and the one that read “Italy KO'd By Donadoni” and the one that implored “Give Us Back Lippi – Donadoni Sinking Italy,” and there was that question during the postmatch news conference about why, in addition to his tactical ignorance and in addition to fielding the wrong lineup, Roberto Donadoni insisted on speaking in an emotionless monotone.
“ Mamma mia,” he answered, perhaps just to make a liar of his interlocutor, but that wouldn't keep them at arm's length for long.
As the soccer world well knows by now, the World Cup holders were humiliated 3-0 by the Netherlands in their opening match at Euro 2008 – the first time they've opened a big tournament with a loss since the World Cup in 1994 (when, by the way, they wound up in the final before losing to Brazil on penalties.) Tonight, they will play Romania here, certainly no pushover, understanding that another defeat would spell elimination.
Two years ago in Germany, with a match-fixing scandal raging back home, Italy's coach, Marcello Lippi, did a masterful job of holding his team together, playing the calm centre, deploying his weapons brilliantly, staying the course and eventually winning the World Cup – an outcome that the same Italian soccer press didn't exactly see coming.
Lippi wisely stepped aside after that great triumph, a national hero, leaving Donadoni the impossible task of following his act. He started out badly, but eventually pulled his team together and qualified for this tournament by virtue of a 2-1 win over Scotland in soggy Hampden Park. (As it turned out, that famous victory earned Italy a spot in this year's version of the Group of Death.)
But that two-year contract extension Donadoni was handed just before this tournament began wasn't going to provide even a modicum of insurance, and the injury that sidelined World Cup hero Fabio Cannavaro wasn't going to be any kind of an excuse.
The moment things went pear-shaped, it was all going to come down to the skipper, who would surely be fired for anything less than a trip to the final.
And so in the wake of the Netherlands debacle, of reports that disgruntled Azzurri have been text-messaging their complaints about the coach to former teammates back home, this was a batting-practice fastball for the most insular, self-important group in all of the planet's sports media – like shooting pesce in a barrel.
From an outsider's stand, it was fascinating to watch the dance yesterday afternoon, when Donadoni, actor-handsome, wearing a crisp, white team Italy T-shirt, sat down to face his tormentors. He seemed determined not to give them an inch as they probed him about tactics and lineup changes (at least three or four with Alessandro Del Piero and Giorgio Chiellini confirmed as starters), determined, except in the most subtle ways, not to get into a fight over his own fitness for the job.
“There has been a debate about the lineup…” one reporter began.
“A debate among who?” Donadoni countered. “Among journalists?”
He obviously understands with whom he is dealing. But how do you answer a question that begins like this?
“Tomorrow, the clock is going to be ticking inexorably forward. … There can only be one result for us. We have to win ...”
Donadoni denied having insulted Romania during a previous news conference, dismissed the notion that spies might be watching practices (“This is not the time for James Bond stuff”) and then waxed eloquently about whether he, or his charges, might be a little afraid heading into a match that might make them national whipping boys.
“I believe that fear is not a negative emotion,” he said. “Fearing something is natural – it's part of being human beings. Otherwise, we would be robots.
“Fear can and should be managed, though. I'm talking about healthy fear – not the fear that handcuffs you and makes it impossible to move.”
Against a Romanian side that has nothing to lose, fear might settle in quickly – say, if the underdogs score first.
Whether it's the healthy kind or the other could determine Italy's progress.
Either way, you know the headlines are already written, for a stay of execution or for an obituary. Italy's coaches come and go, but that forever remains the same.
