Donadoni feels pride in defeat

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni insisted his side "can hold their heads up high" despite being knocked out of UEFA EURO 2008™ on penalties by Spain.

Penalty heartache
Luis Aragonés's side prevailed 4-2 in the shoot-out after a goalless draw at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, leaving Donadoni to muse over the fine line between success and failure. "In general I haven't been lucky with penalties," he said. "The Under-21 Championships [in 1986], a World Cup semi-final [in 1990], a World Cup final [in 1994] and the European Championship in England [in 1996 when Gianfranco Zola's penalty miss against Germany cost Italy a place in the knockout stage]. But I've won some too.

'Start again'
"I feel sorry for the lads, after fighting so bravely," he continued. "You should have seen the players who couldn't play, they really supported the rest of the team. I'm very disappointed and feel very sorry for the players. I told the lads they should keep their heads up. They should be proud of their performance and of what they achieved, they gave their best and should learn from this experience. Tomorrow we start again and look forward." 

'Happy'
It has been a tumultuous campaign for the 44-year-old coach whose side opened with a 3-0 defeat by the Netherlands and looked to be on the way out after a 1-1 draw with Romania. The world champions, though, showed their mettle by beating France in their final Group C game to reach the last eight. "I live day by day, moment by moment," Donadoni said. "It's been an exhilarating experience, an exciting experience and a productive experience in terms of growth. We've done everything we could do. I'm happy with how we've worked."

Aquilani praise
Italy's chances in the tournament were hampered by injury to defenders Fabio Cannavaro and Andrea Barzagli and Donadoni's hands were tied still further on Sunday by suspension to midfield pair Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo. Donadoni, though, had praise for their replacements. "I felt [Massimo] Ambrosini and Alberto Aquilani both played well, Aquilani in particular. He's a young man and showed he can do it. Cannavaro and Barzagli, among others, weren't here either but those that came in more than made up for them." Donadoni also defended his strikers who failed to register a goal between them in four games  "I don't want to make an issue out of this," he said. "The attackers worked hard. Of course you expect them to score, which they didn't, but for me they still performed in a positive way."

Talented Spain
Donadoni was gracious in defeat, and feels Spain are good enough to go on and win the tournament. "We expected Spain to play well and tried to counterattack whenever we could," he said. "In the end the boys were worn out. Spain are a very good team and have all the right qualities to go all the way. But as you've seen over the past few days, things can always change. Chance plays a part too. But in terms of the Spanish team, they certainly have the talent."