Italy coach Roberto Donadoni insists Sampdoria striker Antonio Cassano and Juventus skipper Alessandro del Piero are worthy inclusions in his Euro2008 training squad.

"Antonio isn't a gamble," Donadoni insisted. "Enough with the talk of a gamble. That was maybe the case at 16,17 or 18-years-old, but that period is over.

"He has a great chance. He knows what it means to be in this group and he will adjust to that.

"I don't want to talk about the past now. I don't care much about what Cassano was yesterday - he needs to start with a clean slate, like everyone else."

Donadoni also discussed Del Piero, whose devastating form this term surprised many critics.

"Alex didn't shock me," the former Livorno man claimed. "He had some physical problems but he overcame them and now he is back to show his quality."

Italy's provisional Euro 2008 squad:

Goalkeepers: Gigi Buffon (Juventus), Marco Amelia (Livorno), Morgan De Sanctis (Sevilla)

Defenders: Christian Panucci (Roma), Fabio Cannavaro (Real Madrid), Marco Materazzi (Inter), Gianluca Zambrotta (Barcelona), Andrea Barzagli (Palermo), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Fabio Grosso (Lyon)

Midfielders: Mauro Camoranesi (Juventus), Andrea Pirlo (Milan), Gennaro Gattuso (Milan), Massimo Ambrosini (Milan), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Simone Perrotta (Roma), Alberto Aquilani (Roma), Riccardo Montolivo (Fiorentina)

Strikers: Luca Toni (Bayern Munich), Antonio Di Natale (Udinese), Quagliarella (Udinese), Alessandro Del Piero (Juventus), Marco Borriello (Genoa), Antonio Cassano (Sampdoria)