European Football

Italy door still open for Del Piero, says Donadoni

11:53 GMT, Tue 20 Nov 2007
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ROME, Italy, Nov 20 (Reuters) - Italy coach Roberto Donadoni said on Tuesday that he has not permanently closed the door on Juventus striker Alessandro Del Piero.

Donadoni dropped Del Piero in the latter stages of the Euro 2008 qualification campaign and put his faith in Udinese's Antonio Di Natale, who made a difference with his tricky runs and ability to play on the left.

The coach said he will not make any big changes to the squad that qualified for Euro 2008 with a game to spare after a 2-1 win over Scotland in Glasgow on Saturday.

But he also stressed there is still hope for Del Piero and for 25-year-old forward Antonio Cassano, who is trying to revive his career during a loan stint at Sampdoria after failing to make an impression at Real Madrid.

"It depends on Cassano and Del Piero, on their heads first of all and then on their legs," Donadoni told Rai radio.

"My bad luck, if you like, is that I have so many good players at my disposal."

With Euro 2008 qualification in the bag, Donadoni is expected to rotate his squad for Wednesday's Group B game at home to the Faroe Islands.

The Azzurri coach betrayed some nerves about the group Italy will be handed in the draw for June's finals in Austria and Switzerland.

"We could be very unlucky and get a really hard group," he said. "With France (probably) in seedings pot four, you can see that luck will play a big role". (Reporting by Paul Virgo; editing by Miles Evans)

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