With Milan he won five Serie A league titles and three European Cups before deciding, at the age of 33, to play for the Metrostars in Major League Soccer. He returned to Milan in 1997 for two seasons before ending his career at the age of 37 in the United Arab Emirates with Al-Ittihad.

His Milan background will add to speculation that the Federation is looking to appoint ex-Milan and Italy coach Sacchi as an overall director of footballing affairs as part of a post-scandal restructuring of the game.

Currently football affairs at the federation are being handled by Donadoni’s former Milan team mate Albertini.

Donadoni began his coaching career in 2001 with Lecco in the third division Serie C but quit the club midway through his debut season after a dispute before rejoining to save them from relegation near the end of the season.

The following season he took Livorno to 10th place in Serie B and then he moved to Genoa for a brief spell before rejoining Livorno for the 2004-05 season.

Donadoni took Livorno to a highly creditable ninth place but the following campaign, with the Tuscan club flying high in an unprecedented sixth place, he left after a row with the club president. The coach was linked with a possible move to Juventus before the club, who face relegation if found guilty in the match-fixing trial, opted for Frenchman Didier Deschamps.

-Simon Evans