Roberto Donadoni has been confirmed as the new Italy coach. The former Azzurri midfielder was tipped to succeed Marcello Lippi, whose resigned after winning the World Cup last weekend
An Italian FA spokesman said: "Roberto Donadoni is the new coach of the national team and will be presented on Tuesday."
Donadoni's first match in charge will be on August 16th when Italy play Croatia in a friendly.
The 42-year-old was thought to be the preferred choice of Italian FA chief Guido Rossi and comes with a glittering CV.
A cornerstone of the AC Milan side which dominated domestic and European football in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Donadoni was also one of the pioneering figures in Major League Soccer in the United States.
He started his coaching career with Lecce in 2001 before moving on to Livorno and Genoa.
He returned for a second spell at Livorno, guiding the team to a position of respectability in Serie A before an acrimonious split in February following a row with club president Aldo Spinelli.
Meanwhile, Italy's four clubs involved in the match-fixing trial should discover their fates tomorrow when the verdict is expected to be delivered in Rome.
But two of the four Serie A sides involved - AC Milan and Juventus - have tried to put a brave face on what might await them.
Those two, along with Fiorentina and Lazio, could be relegated if they are found guilty of wrongdoing.
But AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi has launched a fierce attack against the trial and Juventus have promised to do all they can to hang on to their stars, even if they are not in Serie A next season.
Berlusconi believes relegation would not be a fair punishment for all the clubs involved.
"The eventual punishments shouldn't hit players or penalise fans who have no responsibility whatsoever," Berlusconi said. "I am against relegation and I don't speak just as president of Milan.
"Should Juve be relegated it would hinder other clubs that would lose the revenue they take when they play against a team like Juventus.
"One also has to think of the damage this would create to sponsors and televisions companies that have signed contracts with these clubs."
PA
