Euro 2012 Semi Finals: Italy - Germany (June 28, 2012) [R]

Congratz everyone now that we've reached the Semi finals, I'm so hype couldn't wait any further so decided to create the thread lol

Hope it'll be a good match and we put another good football display win or lose, playing Germany is a guaranteed classic!


The Good:
- We have an amazing tournament record vs Germany, they never won a single tourny game vs the Azzurri and that will have some sort of psychological effect (boost our confidence while lowering theirs)

- The Azzurri hope to continue their momentum considering they're the underdogs of the final 4 and they usually deliver when most people expect them not to.

- If Pirlo and Buffon played a good match we'll be in good hands and have a good chance to advance! Other than being legendary players, they've been 2 of the best players in the entire tournament IMO.

The Bad:
- The Mannschaft have been amazing with a perfect record so far in this tournamnet and they simply outclass the Azzurri, their attack is amazingly good who can actually convert chances into goals which we can only dream of (Italy will cause you 7 heart attacks before they score a damn goal lol).

- The German were already more fit than the Azzurri, now that we had a long 120 minutes match AND they had 2 extra days off while playing a fairly relaxed QF, we can only pray to God that won't be the main reason for losing to them.

The Ugly:
- Chellini could still be out, we need him vs Germany because they're going to be testing our defensive abilities to the maximum and WAY more than England.

- De Rossi got a minor injury, missing him for the Semi Finals would hurt a Lot.

- Maggio is out because he's suspended, I read that Abate was subbed because he was injured, I really hope it was just to prevent a real injury and he'd be just fine for the match, not having both is a disaster.

Cards should be cleared by now so that's good news considering we had a bunch of those.


Finally, I'm honestly happy that we've reached the semi finals considering this is one of the weakest teams Italy has had in a while talent wise, even though I'd be upset for sure if Italy were knocked out and I'll probably shed a few tears because I'd like to see Italy lift the European championship once in my life time now that I've already witnessed a WC win, it still wouldn't be so bad against a classy team like Germany (yeah we'd lose our record but lets face it that will eventually happen anyway if not now then sometime in the future).

Plus the German fans are pure class, I've always respected them and their team, from my experience they respect their opponents and don't go out there mindlessly talking trash like a lot of the other teams even though they're a football powerhouse and have an amazing history.

Most of all I hope to see a clean match with some great football, may the better team wins.

Forza Azzurri !

Damn forgot to add an [R] in the title, could some of the mods please do that? I can't seem to be able to edit the thread title.

I hope it's a good game too...

The biggest thing for Italy is that Germany have never beaten them in a tournament...

But who knows streaks end sometime, will it be this time??

The Germans have a really, really, REALLY good team.

Yeah even better than Spain's pass ball all day long team IMO, if they ever want to take vengeance vs Italy now is their absolute best time to do that, who knows who'll be in the Azzurri when they face us again.

Italy goes into this as clear underdogs.

Beware Germany as this is when Italy are often at their best, like for instance against Spain in the opener.

Wonder if DiNatale will get some time? I'm sure he could have done just as good or as bad (depending on different points of view) as either Balotelli or Cassano did.

If it wasn't for the injury subs (De Rossi & Abate) I'm sure he would have gotten some play time vs England, I have no doubt he'll get some play time vs Germany as a sub for Cassano in the 2nd half or even maybe start with Balotelli and bring on Cassano later, that would would be interesting.

I would've liked to have seen a second striker out there v England. Balotelli really looked isolated at times up against 3 opponents or more.

I just don't understand why all of a sudden Di Natale is no longer an option when IMHO, he has played pretty well when called upon.

Based on his 4 performances so far I have changed my mind and have decided that Balotelli is better value coming off the bench. Whilst he has been great at making position and getting the opportunities to score his finishing has let Italy and himself down. Cassano and Pirlo should be able to create sufficient chances for Di Natale without Balo's presence. And Italy needs goals.

Balo has looked at his best when coming off the bench, so I would still use him as a super sub against tiring opponents. Maybe he gets so pissed when he is dropped from the starting 11 that he forgets to be nervous and just focuses his anger on the job he needs to do.

Germany is good. Really good. But, there back line can be exploited. Hummels and Badstuber can't physically match up with Balotelli. I think he could get behind that defense. We have to play a very different game against Germany. We have to absorb and counterattack.

Italia's greatest strength this tournament however is its ability to adapt and change as needed. They have been a real chameleon.

Perhaps Germany will get too much rest. A lot of their key players will be fresh...but perhaps a bit rusty too. We have to jump on them early.

Balotelli has been a great asset when it comes to supporting the team in defense and midfield and thus keeping up the pressure, I've noticed a lack of Italian pressure when he's not in the game.

His physical strength is useful and he keeps the defenders busy, yeah he lost some sitters but at the end of the day leaving him out affects our overall game IMO.

I'm a huge Cassano fan and I'd say it might be a better idea to start Di Natale instead of him and see what happens then bring Cassano later to go through the defense when they're a bit tired. I don't think that would happen though since Cesare loves using Di Natale as a super sub.

@'Uaglio

That's what's giving me hope in this match, Germany's defensive abilities isn't as good as their offense, if we were able to hold them off for at least 30-40 minutes to affect them mentally and get into their heads, we might have a good chance to win this match because unlike the English who packed their entire team in front of the goal, I'm sure our attackers have a much easier time going through their defense.

My biggest fear is Germany getting a quick goal 10-15 minutes into the game, we might see a devastating result if that happened.

But he is not scoring goals and he is often the only out and out striker (Cassano is more of a support or second striker) in the side. If we played a Motta or Nocerino rather than a Montolivo than that may compensate a little for his absence.

We were able to play with a high defensive line pushing up against Spain we should have the confidence and ability to do the same against Germany. Reverting back to a defensive strategy is a step backwards.

Cassano for Di Natale is not a good swap one is a creator and the other is a finisher. With Balo and Di Natale up front that leaves the entire creative duties on Pirlo. We need at least one second option like Diamanti, Giovinco or Cassano

Great semi final. The whole football world wants a Spain vs. Germany final. It will be great if we play spoiler again just as we did in Euro2000 where everyone wanted France vs. Holland.

I think however that maybe our good record vs. Germany will finally end. They are a better team on paper and they should win. One advantage we do have is the psychological one. Italians always get up for Germany.

Also when Germans have nightmares at night, their dreams are filled with blue lights and images of these guys :

Italy are our bane, there is no denying that

I hope it's a good match, injury free and fair..

May the best team win..

The world thanks you for beating that abomination of football team today

one thing for sure, u have to finish this game in 90 min. going extra time = a loss, if not in semis then in the final for sure....3 games in 1 week is just hell

im nervous but at least losing to germany wont be so bad....i hope italy can score first and keep possession, u cannot play sloppy defense against germany

England, the power of tradition...they have known how to fail since 1966.

As for Germany game, I suggest Cassano should be benched. His stamina gets lower and lower.

Onto a good Match guys! This encounter has "classic" written all over it.

Didn't seem that Balotelli or Cassano tracked back and defended either. Hopefully, he will play on Thursday.

Thanks for sending England packing! I was rooting for you guys in the QF, as I think most Germany fans were.

It's going to be an epic semi-final. I think Italy has improved in every game you've played, so it'll definitely be a tough match. Good luck (but not too much luck, of course)!

Thanks. Italy seemed to dominate even though they couldn't score. Let's hope they will get a goal or two against Germany.

I really feel we can beat Germany with our best XI, the problem to my mind is that we may not have our best XI and the Germans have so much more depth than us. If we can recover De Rossi, Abate, and Chiellini and get in a really good preparation over the next few days, I know we can do well. I'll be praying that Dr. Castellaci can perform some miracles.