Coach Roberto Donadoni's future on the Italy bench appeared very uncertain following the team's quarterfinal defeat against Spain on Sunday night.
Even though he only just renewed his contract, Donadoni has always said that he would step down if Italy's failed to achieve its objective.
In fact, in his renewed contract a relatively low severance pay was set to for his departure, just over 500,000 euros.
Should Donadoni get the boot, most observers believe that 2006 World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi appeared the most likely choice to lead Italy towards qualification for the 2010 Wold Cup in South Africa.
Speaking after Sunday's defeat, the chairman of the Italian soccer Federation, Giancarlo Abete, said that any decision would be made not in the heat of the moment but when the waters had calmed.
''There are no doubts in regard to the quality of Donadoni's work. But we must understand whether the shortcomings we have demonstrated are short-term or structural,'' Abete observed.
''There are other national squads, like France, which left this tournament with a clear verdict: a cycle had ended,'' he added.
Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon was philosophic about Sunday's defeat and observed that ''soccer gives and it takes away, it is all a matter of episodes. At the last World Cup we were given an immense joy, now this disappointment''.
''We never give up and we always lose in overtime or with penalties. But in Euro 2008 we only won one game so we must examine each match in a different way. Against Romania we should have won,'' Buffon added.
As for Donadoni's future, Buffon said ''I have nothing to do with it. All I need to have is the pride of wearing our national colors and of defending these colors''.
