Despite Italy’s envious record against the Germans, it is the Germans who hold all the cards.
Very few sides have escaped being taught lessons in football in the past few years aside from Spain of-course. In the past few years, Argentina has been battered, England has been bulldozed and the likes of Uruguay, Brazil, the Dutch and the Portuguese have been put away without too many worries. The last team to beat Germany in a major tournament before Spain was Italy in 2006.
Italy has never been beaten by the Germans in a major tournament. The French possessed a similar record to the Italians over Spain but was sent tumbling out not too long ago. The Dutch had never suffered defeat in the hands of the Germans in the European Championships but we all saw how that game in the group stages this time virtually ended in the 38th minute.
Cessare Prandelli is a really brave man- or perhaps it was the euphoria of victory that prompted him to say that his side will attack Germany. Superior attacking sides than Italy have sat back in fear. If he does decide to take this approach, his team will be vulnerable to counter-attacks and this might lead to an embarrassing first ever defeat for the Italians against their German counter-parts.
In 2006, the Italians won using a different approach. That year, both the Italians (to a certain extent) and the Germans were seen as surprise semi-finalists in the first place. Italy had just about escaped against Australia in the Round of 16. On semi-final day, Gianluigi Buffon used his skills to keep out the then dynamic German (Polish) forward duo of free-scoring Miroslav Klose and the tournament’s best young player Lukas Podolski.
As the seconds ticked down to a penalty shoot-out, Italy punished the naivety of Juergen Klinsmann and Joachim Loew’s side by breaking them down twice in the final two minutes. German hearts were broken that day. And of-course, Italy went on to conquer the world by defeating France, ironically by a shoot-out in the final.
Italy endured shoot-out heart-break in Euro 2008 themselves against the Spanish in the quarter-finals. It is using spot-kicks that they have arrived at this spot of the tournament. While they were clearly deserved winners and the stats told a story against England, the flaws in this Italian side were clear for all to see.
Italy has stopped being defensive. They have come out and impressed the world with a style of football that resembles ironically Bayern’s possession styled play and Prandelli’s former side Fiorentina’s flair. The gaps exist in defence and up-front though.
At the front, Mario Balotelli leads the line very well and can trouble Mats Hummels and Holger Badstuber in the air. Balotelli however has missed his fair share of chances. Antonio Cassano, for all his talents, has taken the wrong option various times throughout the tournament. Antonio di Natale has not gotten a chance to shine as of yet in a starting role.
Scoring four goals in four games is a poor stat coming into a game against a side that has scored a tournament high nine goals and can notch up a goal from anywhere really considering six different players have scored for them including a left-back, a right back and a defensive midfielder.
In defence, Italy looked leaky against a poor England side. There were two occasions when England would have found it easier to score than to miss. Buffon bailed them out. Loew will be hoping that Buffon doesn’t replicate this performance and his performance from 2006 in this match. He will have to if Italy is to escape unscathed.
What definitely does not help Italy’s cause is the lack of depth caused by the match fixing scandal, injuries and suspensions. Thiago Motta’s and Georgio Chiellini’s absences do not benefit the Italians at all. A Daniele de Rossi injury would really give Prandelli tonnes of headaches now. Christian Maggio, who caused Lahm his fair share of problems when Bayern played Napoli in the Champions League, is suspended as well.
Antonio Nocerino, Riccardo Montolivo and Alessandro Diamanti can cause the Germans trouble. Andrea Pirlo will be the main creative force; Germany has previously shut down teams with one potent creative force in Portugal and Argentina. Sami Khedira is having a great tournament. Pirlo is fantastic but he hasn’t been marked out really by any team yet.
The last meeting between these two sides came in 2011. Germany absolutely battered Italy but was thwarted by Buffon and the game finished in a 1-1 draw with Giuseppe Rossi canceling out Miro Klose’s goal late in the match. Germany really has to get this ‘monkey’ off of their back and perhaps this is the time to do so. Few teams in this generation have a talented side as Germany. They are young, dynamic and fearless. And now, they have a fearless coach in charge of them.
So, how does Loew set out his team? Considering what Prandelli said, Loew could go for a cautious approach and hit them on the counter. Considering his team can control possession as well and controlled more possession than any other side in the quarter-finals (76%), he could go with care-free attackers in the mould of Andre Schuerrle and Marco Reus. In a third option, he could mix the two.
This is how I feel Joachim Loew will most probably set his side out:
Manuel Neuer
Jerome Boateng- Mats Hummels- Holger Badstuber- Philipp Lahm
Toni Kroos- Sami Khedira
Thomas Mueller- Mesut Oezil- Marco Reus
Miroslav Klose
The reason why Kroos might start is because of Schweinsteiger’s ankle problems. Kroos is a playmaker similar to Andrea Pirlo- of-course his youthfulness gives him more pace. Mueller is a safer option than Andre Schuerrle. Schuerrle, despite his dynamism, lost the ball too easily in the earlier round.
Boateng requires a bit of protection playing out of position which Mueller can give him and Schuerrle cannot. Reus is dynamic and creative- much more than Lukas Podolski. Klose makes Oezil a better player and Loew needs Oezil firing on all cylinders if the Italians do sit back and defend.
Balotelli will be marked out by Badstuber and Hummels, especially by the latter. Lahm will have a defensively suspect Federico Balzaretti to deal with. Kroos or Schweinsteiger and Khedira will be in charge of marking Pirlo out of the game. Schweinsteiger did a brilliant job on Messi in the 2010 World Cup.
Very few big rivalries stick out as much as Germany vs. Italy does. At the moment, there is only one German international playing in Italy- Klose. Many famous Germans have crossed the border to star in the Serie A. Some Italians have done the same. The rivalry is one sided and Germany will be looking to change things.
After Bayern’s heart-breaking loss in the UEFA Champions League final, Germany now expects their national team to deliver them a first trophy since 1996 more than ever. They have the players, the coach and most importantly no excuses. They have no suspensions to deal with.
Now the question is: can Germany convert brilliance on and off the pitch into, finally, a victory over the Italians? In 1996, en-route to their last triumph, they ensured that Italy was sent out early by drawing in the group stages against their opponent. That was somewhat a victory. Germany will need to believe to win out this year.
But as every German fan and players knows, count the Italians out at your own peril. Finish them off when you can as they always come biting back, even in the 120th minute….
Italy has never been beaten by the Germans in a major tournament. The French possessed a similar record to the Italians over Spain but was sent tumbling out not too long ago. The Dutch had never suffered defeat in the hands of the Germans in the European Championships but we all saw how that game in the group stages this time virtually ended in the 38th minute.
Cessare Prandelli is a really brave man- or perhaps it was the euphoria of victory that prompted him to say that his side will attack Germany. Superior attacking sides than Italy have sat back in fear. If he does decide to take this approach, his team will be vulnerable to counter-attacks and this might lead to an embarrassing first ever defeat for the Italians against their German counter-parts.
In 2006, the Italians won using a different approach. That year, both the Italians (to a certain extent) and the Germans were seen as surprise semi-finalists in the first place. Italy had just about escaped against Australia in the Round of 16. On semi-final day, Gianluigi Buffon used his skills to keep out the then dynamic German (Polish) forward duo of free-scoring Miroslav Klose and the tournament’s best young player Lukas Podolski.
As the seconds ticked down to a penalty shoot-out, Italy punished the naivety of Juergen Klinsmann and Joachim Loew’s side by breaking them down twice in the final two minutes. German hearts were broken that day. And of-course, Italy went on to conquer the world by defeating France, ironically by a shoot-out in the final.
Italy endured shoot-out heart-break in Euro 2008 themselves against the Spanish in the quarter-finals. It is using spot-kicks that they have arrived at this spot of the tournament. While they were clearly deserved winners and the stats told a story against England, the flaws in this Italian side were clear for all to see.
Italy has stopped being defensive. They have come out and impressed the world with a style of football that resembles ironically Bayern’s possession styled play and Prandelli’s former side Fiorentina’s flair. The gaps exist in defence and up-front though.
At the front, Mario Balotelli leads the line very well and can trouble Mats Hummels and Holger Badstuber in the air. Balotelli however has missed his fair share of chances. Antonio Cassano, for all his talents, has taken the wrong option various times throughout the tournament. Antonio di Natale has not gotten a chance to shine as of yet in a starting role.
Scoring four goals in four games is a poor stat coming into a game against a side that has scored a tournament high nine goals and can notch up a goal from anywhere really considering six different players have scored for them including a left-back, a right back and a defensive midfielder.
In defence, Italy looked leaky against a poor England side. There were two occasions when England would have found it easier to score than to miss. Buffon bailed them out. Loew will be hoping that Buffon doesn’t replicate this performance and his performance from 2006 in this match. He will have to if Italy is to escape unscathed.
What definitely does not help Italy’s cause is the lack of depth caused by the match fixing scandal, injuries and suspensions. Thiago Motta’s and Georgio Chiellini’s absences do not benefit the Italians at all. A Daniele de Rossi injury would really give Prandelli tonnes of headaches now. Christian Maggio, who caused Lahm his fair share of problems when Bayern played Napoli in the Champions League, is suspended as well.
Antonio Nocerino, Riccardo Montolivo and Alessandro Diamanti can cause the Germans trouble. Andrea Pirlo will be the main creative force; Germany has previously shut down teams with one potent creative force in Portugal and Argentina. Sami Khedira is having a great tournament. Pirlo is fantastic but he hasn’t been marked out really by any team yet.
The last meeting between these two sides came in 2011. Germany absolutely battered Italy but was thwarted by Buffon and the game finished in a 1-1 draw with Giuseppe Rossi canceling out Miro Klose’s goal late in the match. Germany really has to get this ‘monkey’ off of their back and perhaps this is the time to do so. Few teams in this generation have a talented side as Germany. They are young, dynamic and fearless. And now, they have a fearless coach in charge of them.
So, how does Loew set out his team? Considering what Prandelli said, Loew could go for a cautious approach and hit them on the counter. Considering his team can control possession as well and controlled more possession than any other side in the quarter-finals (76%), he could go with care-free attackers in the mould of Andre Schuerrle and Marco Reus. In a third option, he could mix the two.
This is how I feel Joachim Loew will most probably set his side out:
Manuel Neuer
Jerome Boateng- Mats Hummels- Holger Badstuber- Philipp Lahm
Toni Kroos- Sami Khedira
Thomas Mueller- Mesut Oezil- Marco Reus
Miroslav Klose
The reason why Kroos might start is because of Schweinsteiger’s ankle problems. Kroos is a playmaker similar to Andrea Pirlo- of-course his youthfulness gives him more pace. Mueller is a safer option than Andre Schuerrle. Schuerrle, despite his dynamism, lost the ball too easily in the earlier round.
Boateng requires a bit of protection playing out of position which Mueller can give him and Schuerrle cannot. Reus is dynamic and creative- much more than Lukas Podolski. Klose makes Oezil a better player and Loew needs Oezil firing on all cylinders if the Italians do sit back and defend.
Balotelli will be marked out by Badstuber and Hummels, especially by the latter. Lahm will have a defensively suspect Federico Balzaretti to deal with. Kroos or Schweinsteiger and Khedira will be in charge of marking Pirlo out of the game. Schweinsteiger did a brilliant job on Messi in the 2010 World Cup.
Very few big rivalries stick out as much as Germany vs. Italy does. At the moment, there is only one German international playing in Italy- Klose. Many famous Germans have crossed the border to star in the Serie A. Some Italians have done the same. The rivalry is one sided and Germany will be looking to change things.
After Bayern’s heart-breaking loss in the UEFA Champions League final, Germany now expects their national team to deliver them a first trophy since 1996 more than ever. They have the players, the coach and most importantly no excuses. They have no suspensions to deal with.
Now the question is: can Germany convert brilliance on and off the pitch into, finally, a victory over the Italians? In 1996, en-route to their last triumph, they ensured that Italy was sent out early by drawing in the group stages against their opponent. That was somewhat a victory. Germany will need to believe to win out this year.
But as every German fan and players knows, count the Italians out at your own peril. Finish them off when you can as they always come biting back, even in the 120th minute….
