ROME - Italian football federation president Giancarlo Abete will open talks about a new deal for Azzurri coach Roberto Donadoni in the next few days.
Donadoni's current contract expires after Euro 2008 but the 44-year-old looks set to be rewarded with a fresh deal after successfully steering the world champions through a tough qualifying group to reach Austria and Switzerland.
Speaking after Donadoni guided the Azzurri to their sixth win on the trot with a 3-1 friendly triumph over Portugal on Wednesday, Abete confirmed that a new deal would soon be on the table although he refused to specify whether there was a clause tying the contract to a good display at Euro 2008.
"There will be a meeting in the next few days," he said. "There is not a problem with a clause, we are awaiting this meeting calmly.
"I am confident that we will find an agreeable solution to establish a common path that I hope will be for as long as possible.
"There's trust there and our coach also knows that perfectly."
Donadoni had previously insisted he was not worried about the question of a new contract, preferring to concentrate on continuing preparations for emulating France's back-to-back World Cup and European Championships titles in 1998 and 2000.
But the former AC Milan midfielder admits he is delighted that the deal is all but done.
"Abete has confirmed his intention to move forward together," added Donadoni. "And this really pleased me.
"At the right moment we will sit down at a table, listen to each other calmly and each one of us will have their say.
"I believe in the value of words, but if there is trust and these words have already been discussed then there is no problem in writing them down."
