Italy coach Roberto Donadoni was barely holding onto his job Monday after the World Cup champions were eliminated from the European Championship quarterfinals.
Spain beat Italy 4-2 on penalties following a dull 0-0 draw on Sunday, and the consensus in the Italian media the following day was that Donadoni had reached "the end of the line."
But Donadoni is refusing to bow out until he is ordered to do so.
"If you guys have fresher news than me, I don't know, but I'm calm, and I'm not very worried about it," Donadoni told a packed press conference, adding that he never considered resigning. "Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I don't see why decisions like this should be made if a game is won or lost on penalties, with everything decided by one meter more or one meter less. It seems like stupid reasoning.
"I don't see why I should resign. That would seem excessive."
Donadoni was given a two-year contract extension before the tournament, but the deal includes an escape clause.
"Over the next few days we will reflect and make a decision," Italian football federation president Giancarlo Abete said immediately after the game. "It doesn't make any sense to make a decision in the heat of the moment."
Donadoni said that too much should not be read into Abete's words.
"I think the fact that he doesn't say much might be part of his character, which is similar to my own," Donadoni said. "I don't want to force anyone's hand. That's not the way I think. I'm moving forward serenely. We'll see over the next 10 days. It's useless to make calculations."
Italy's attack was criticized as overly dependent on an out of form Luca Toni, and the Azzurri's only victory over four games was a 2-0 win over 10-man France.
Marcello Lippi, who guided Italy to the 2006 World Cup title, is reportedly set to return in charge if Donadoni is fired.
"They've been writing about his return for 15 days," Donadoni said. "Anyhow, since I've been here, I decided not read any criticism, neither positive nor negative. Everything that I did, I did very seriously and with hard work. Everyone can judge for themselves."
Donadoni was hired to replace Lippi four days after Italy's World Cup victory, and he never quite escaped the former coach's shadow. At 44, Donadoni was criticized as too young, too inexperienced, and too introverted since the day he was hired.
If Donadoni's tenure is finished, he will leave with a record of 13 wins, four draws and five losses.
"An hour ago, I spoke with Abete during breakfast," Donadoni said, taking on a tone of resignation. "I simply told him that I was happy to have shared these two years together. I come out more enriched, more mature and with more knowledge. It was a great experience, and I will never cease to thank the federation for the opportunity it offered me."
When Lippi resigned after the triumph in Germany, Donadoni's arrival was seen as a move by Italian soccer federation vice president Demetrio Albertini to hire his old teammate at AC Milan. The federation was in crisis mode amid the Italian match-fixing scandal and Albertini had just been appointed.
Donadoni proved some naysayers wrong by qualifying Italy for Euro 2008, but the federation seemed hesitant when it included an escape clause in his contract extension.
Donadoni only began coaching with Lecco in Serie C1 in 2001-02.
He moved to Livorno in Serie B the next season, then was fired after three games with Genoa in 2003. He made his Serie A debut by returning to Livorno in January 2005, guiding the club to a ninth-place finish, then left Livorno in February 2006 with the team sitting sixth in the standings.
Donadoni's record as a player was much more impressive, including 10 seasons with AC Milan and 63 appearances for Italy.
