set-pieces. He was also a powerful striker of the ball from distance with either foot, despite being naturally right-footed, and an effective free kick taker. Michel Platini described him as Italy's greatest player of the 1990s. Regarding his playing style, Donadoni once commented "My greatest satisfaction comes from making the pass that leads to the goal." Managerial career Early club career: Lecco, Livorno, and Genoa After retiring as a player, Donadoni trained to become a coach. His first job was as Lecco and he made his debut on 12 August 2001 in the Coppa Italia Lega Pro. This was followed by jobs with Livorno (2002–03) and Genoa (2003). In 2005, he returned to head Livorno in mid-season. After leading them to a surprising ninth-place finish and having the club in sixth place midway through the 2005–06 season, Donadoni resigned over criticism from club chairman Aldo Spinelli. International career In July 2006, following the resignation of Marcello Lippi three days after the Italy national team won the 2006 World Cup, Donadoni was named as new Italian head coach, his first task being to successfully lead Italy through qualification for UEFA Euro 2008. On 16 August, Donadoni made his Italy head coaching debut in a friendly match against Croatia played at Stadio Armando Picchi, Livorno, which did not feature any of the 23 world champions, save for third goalkeeper Marco Amelia, and ended in a 2–0 defeat. Donadoni took solace in the fact Lippi's first match in charge of the Azzurri was also a friendly defeat, to Iceland. Path to Euro 2008 Donadoni's competitive debut came in Euro 2008 qualifying. Italy drew its first match 1–1 with Lithuania, then lost 3–1 to France. Accordingly, Italian newspaper La Naziones front page featured, "How to reduce Lippi's masterwork to pieces in just three weeks," requesting the return of Lippi. However, despite all the critics, Donadoni led Italy to five wins in a row to Georgia (3–1), Ukraine (2–0) and Scotland (2–0), the former being controversial for his omission of star Alessandro Del Piero from the squad. One of the main criticisms addressed by the media towards Donadoni was his alleged lack of pressure in persuading Francesco Totti to play again for the Azzurri. Following a question regarding a possible call-up for the Roma player, Donadoni jokingly claimed not to know him. Italy qualified for Euro 2008 after a successful campaign, topping the group ahead