ROME (AFP) - It should have come as little surprise to Roberto Donadoni that his tenure as Italy coach came to an end after his team lost out to Spain in the Euro 2008 quarter-finals by penalty shoot-out.

After all as a player Donadoni was involved in two penalty kick heartbreaks with the Azzurri.

In the semi-final of World Cup Italia 90 it was the AC Milan winger's failure to find the net that ended the dream of a home nation victory.

Then four years later at World Cup USA 94 he could only watch and despair as Italy teammate Roberto Baggio blasted his penalty high into the Pasadena Rose Bowl crowd to become the first team to lose a World Cup final on penalties.

Donadoni's appointment as Italy coach was something of a surprise in a country that sets great store by having an experienced person in charge of the national team.

Whilst predeccesor Marcello Lippi had won a Champions League title and numerous Serie A championships with Juventus, Donadoni had less than three year's experience in charge of a club.

Following spells at Lecce and Genoa, his best achievement came when he returned to coach Livorno and helped then to sixth place during the 2005-2006 season, before he resigned mid-season.

However, his appointment was in keeping with the football trend of appointing high achieving players who could inspire teams with their reputation, no matter their lack of years or coaching experience.

As a player his reputation went before him. He was a key member of the Arrigo Sacchi Milan side that won back-to-back European Cups in 1989 and 1990 and helped them to five Serie A titles, before he enjoyed spells in the United States and Saudi Arabia.

Like Lippi, Donadoni's era began with a defeat, 2-0 at home to Croatia in Livorno.

Worse was to follow in the Euro 2008 qualifiers, a 1-1 draw with Lithuania and a 3-1 loss to France.

Donadoni held his nerve though and was rewarded with an excellent run that resulted in eight wins from nine to secure qualification for Austria and Switzerland, though it did need a last-minute Christian Panucci header against Scotland to send them through.

Even before reaching their home base in Austria questions were being raised about pre-tournament preparations. Donadoni's team only played one warm-up match - a 3-1 win over Belgium - and there was confusion as to why he called a squad of 24 only to discard the unfortunate Riccardo Montolivio after three days.

Worse was to come when captain and defensive lynchpin Fabio Cannavaro was ruled out with a knee injury before a ball had even been kicked in the Alpine countries.

That said his performance throughout Euro 2008 was confused and muddled. He constantly chopped and changed playing formation and personnel, dropping players he had trusted implicitly during qualifying for those new to the squad.

Matters improved in the draw against Romania and the win over France, but the side badly missed midfielders Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso in the quarter-final with Spain.

The ultimate contrast with Lippi's reign came from the forwards. Both took six, but whereas in Germany all of them found the net, for Donadoni in Austria and Switzerland the team's three goals came from two midfielders and a defender.

All three came from set-pieces, with there being very little hint in any of the games that they could score from open play.