Roberto Donadoni visits SCHWAN'S USA CUP, presented by PUMA

By Greg Hutton, NSC Media Intern

This year's SCHWAN'S USA CUP, presented by PUMA, featured celebrity, Roberto Donadoni, has immersed himself with Schwan's USA CUP activities since his arrival in the Twin Cities Monday evening.

Donadoni participated in Opening Ceremonies last night and conducted two interactive on-field clinics with selected players and coaches today. He will watch the Schwan's USA CUP Soccer Challenge tonight and is scheduled for a "meet-and-greet"/autograph session tomorrow afternoon from noon to 1 p.m. in the PUMA Lounge.

Donadoni anchored the midfield of a powerful A.C. Milan squad in the late 1980s and early 1990s before traveling overseas to play with the New York/New Jersey MetroStars of Major League Soccer during the 1996 and 1997 seasons. He was also a mainstay on the Italian national team in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, the latter including a penalty kick (3-2) defeat to Brazil in the championship game.

While Donadoni's playing days with A.C. Milan occurred before I really became familiar with the sport, I most certainly remember him roaming the field MetroStars. Click here to view more information about his MetroStars career as well as photos (courtesy of Metrofanatic.com).

I was fortunate enough to be able to spend five minutes interviewing Donadoni for Kick TV following Tuesday's first clinic. The Italian legend shared some of his thoughts of the tournament as well as insight into the Italian culture, from a soccer perspective.

It's interesting that even though Donadoni played on a world stage in front of capacity crowds, he never took part in an event quite like Schwan's USA CUP.

When asked his opinion of the 1,006-team tournament, Donadoni candidly remarked:

"Everything is nice - it's beautiful."

Be sure to check out Wednesday's feature article on Donadoni in the Soccer America Tournament Edition, our on-site daily newspaper for Schwan's USA CUP.