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World Cup veteran record holder Zoff resigns 

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The wives and companions (unidentified, except for Adriana Karembeu, third right) of French soccer national team players celebrate with the Euro 2000 trophy Monday, July 3, 2000, on the balcony of a Parisian hotel in front of some 20,000 fans who gathered on the Place de la Concorde. The soccer World Champions triumphed 2-1 over Italy in the Euro 2000 final. (AP Photo/Remy de la Mauviniere)

July 5, 2000   

ROME (AP) - Dino Zoff, fresh from guiding Italy to the finals of the Euro 2000 soccer championships, resigned Tuesday in response to harsh criticisms from government opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi.

"I was offended as a man," said Zoff, in announcing his resignation. "I don't see why people must publicly denigrate the work of others." 

Zoff said he had trouble sleeping Monday night after learning of the put downs of his performance by Berlusconi, a media magnate who leads Italy's center-right Polo coalition and owns the AC Milan soccer club.

"I cannot continue to work under these conditions," Zoff said.

Berlusconi called the defeat in Sunday's final to France, in which Italy allowed the tying goal with just 30 seconds left, "dishonorable."

Calling Zoff's decisions those of an "amateur," he blamed the coach for not focusing more defensive attention on France's star Zinedine Zidane, who nevertheless was relatively ineffective in the final.

Zoff, a former goalkeeper, and the only Italian to win both a European Championship and World Cup, nearly became the first man ever to win a European title as both player and coach.

"I don't take lessons in dignity from Mr. Berlusconi," Zoff added.

The former coach of Juventus and Lazio overcame a groundswell of pre-tournament criticisms to lead Italy to its first European Championship final since 1968, the year he stepped into the starting

goalkeeper slot at the age of 26.

Berlusconi, whose political coalition has made recent gains in elections, may risk losing sympathy from those who were pulling for Zoff and his players to complete their surprise run for the 

championship.

"I can't believe it," Berlusconi said, after hearing word of the coach's resignation. "I never offended anyone, especially not Zoff. I didn't denigrate his work. I made a technical critique, one that I still deeply believe."

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