Donadoni plays down tough draw

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni was philosophical about his team being drawn alongside France, Holland and Romania for the Euro 2008 finals.Donadoni admitted the group was tough, but claimed to be unperturbed at the quality of opposition the Azzurri will face in Switzerland and Austria.

"I had a feeling prior to the draw that we would have been drawn in a hard group," admitted Donadoni. "I hoped that we would be fortunate but it's fine as it is.

"Now we face another challenge which we will take in our stride. In life the real worries are others."

The match between Italy and France is bound to rekindle a rivalry which has reached epic proportions over the last 18 months.

There has been no love lost between the two sides, with the Azzurri having finished ahead of France in the Euro 2008 qualifiers - although France had the edge in the head-to-head games.

However, there has been tension between the teams since the World Cup final, won by Italy on penalties.

The bust-up in the final between Zinedine Zidane and Marco Materazzi, which led to Zidane's sending-off for headbutting the chest of the Italy defender following verbal provocation, fuelled the bad feeling.

And comments made by France coach Raymond Domenech earlier this season to a newspaper about fixed matches in Italian soccer infuriated the Azzurri camp and earned him a suspension.

However, Donadoni played down any notion of a grudge match, saying: "The fact that we face France again doesn't give me any particular feeling.

"I can only say that in order to avoid any controversies or venom between Italy and France, those who are involved should rely on common sense."

Against Holland, Donadoni will pit his wits against Marco van Basten, his former team-mate in the great AC Milan team of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Donadoni said: "We have not been lucky either. I also had a gut feeling on the way it would turn out but you can not change the rules.

"I spoke to Marco van Basten before the draw and told him I thought we would be playing each other. We've got France again but all past matches are history."