There have been two constants in European international football: Germany and Italy. England, Spain, the Netherlands and France have all had spells of success, but have been far too inconsistent to be considered regular challengers. The Azzurri and Die Mannschaft, however, have eight World Cups between them. It makes sense, then, that these giants of football would be rivals. But this isn’t one built on war or religion, elements outside the football sphere, but rather competition and success. It’s also a rather one sided rivalry.
We’re not used to seeing the Germans bring emotion into football. Englishmen think of the German national team as a Teutonic nightmare; an ever-reliable and destructive presence. Yet, when it comes to facing Italy, fear enters the German psyche, for the Germans have never beaten the Italians at a major competition. It’s a streak that stretches back to 1962.
1962 World Cup – Group Stage – West Germany 0-0 Italy
The Chilean World Cup marked the first meeting between Die Mannschaft and the Azzurri in a major competition. Although both had lifted the World Cup – Germany in ’54 after the ‘Miracle in Bern’; Italy in ’34 and ‘38 – those accolades had marked the beginning of a decline. The Superga tragedy robbed the Italians of a generation of shining talents – ten of their eleven starters at the time were Il Grande Torino players – and as a result the nation crashed out of Brazil ’50 and Switzerland ’54 in the first round and had missed out on Sweden ’58 entirely. Germany, meanwhile, had yet to introduce professionalism to its game – something it did in 1964 when it also created the Bundesliga. Despite their struggles, both possessed amazing talents.
The tournament marked the World Cup debut of Gianni Rivera. Italy’s ‘Golden Boy’ made appearances at the next three tournaments for the Azzurri and is regarded as one of the best attackers to ever grace the blue shirt. He wasn’t the only Milan legend in the team. Cesare Maldini made his only World Cup appearance in ’62, unable to replicate his success at club level for the national team. And behind him stood Inter goalkeeper Lorenzo Buffon – yes, he is related. The Germans, on the other hand, had Willi Schulz, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, one of the best left-backs of his generation, and Uwe Seeler, who scored 43 goals in 72 matches for the national team and was later chosen as one of FIFA’s 125 Greatest Living Players.
Although a lot of great rivalries start out with great matches, this one did not. The Germans had the better of the chances, striking the post on one occasion, but neither team could make the breakthrough. The match finished 0-0. The West Germans went on to top the group, but a 1-0 defeat to Yugoslavia in the next round sent them packing. The Italians didn’t even escape the group.
1970 World Cup – Semi Finals – Italy 4-3 West Germany (AET)
If the 1962 World Cup marked a nadir for both the Azzurri and Die Mannschaft, the 1970 edition highlighted them at their peaks. The Italians had suffered the embarrassment of being eliminated from the ’66 World Cup at the hands of the less-than-mighty North Korea – hope Kim Jong-un doesn’t read this – but came back in style to lift the 1968 European Championship. A fresh generation had emerged to lift the national team out of the slumber it had been in since ’49. Dino Zoff, Giacinto Facchetti, Luigi Riva and Sandro Mazzola all broke through at the same time, creating one of the strongest national teams of the time. The Germans had also made vast improvements.
The introduction of professionalism and the creation of the Bundesliga in 1964 ushered in a new era in German football. The changes yielded immediate results. While England defeated them in the ’66 final in London, there had been a noticeable improvement in the standard of their players. Bayern Munich legends Sepp Maier, Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Muller, all of whom would go on to lift three successive European Cups, and Monchengladbach great Berti Vogts added to a line-up which still included the veteran trio of Willi Schulz, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger and Uwe Seeler. Both the Germans and the Italians boasted brilliant teams, but only one could reach the final of the 1970 World Cup.
It’s not often that a game is declared the ‘Game of the Century’. Yet, there is plaque stating as such on the side of the Estadio Azteca. The game in reference: Italy v West Germany. The Italians struck first, Roberto Boninsegna dancing through the German midfield before lashing the ball past Maier within eight minutes. It appeared that it might be enough for the Azzurri to reach the final. However, in the final minute, Schnellinger received a cross from Jurgen Grabowski and side-footed it into the bottom right corner. The Germans had sent the game to extra-time. At that point all hell broke loose. Der Bomber lived up to his moniker, scoring twice and sandwiching goals from Tarcisio Burgnich and Riva. Four goals in 20 minutes had left the sides on three apiece. But one minute after Muller’s second celebration, the Italians were celebrating a goal of their own. Boninsegna charged up the left flank just after the restart and pulled the ball back across the box to Rivera. The Milan legend fired first time and sent it straight through the centre of the German box and into the net. The goal concluded an exhilarating 21 minutes of football.
The exhausted Italians held on to progress to the final. Unfortunately for them, the side they were meeting was that Brazil team. The Selecao demolished them 4-1.
1978 World Cup – Second Group Stage – Italy 0-0 West Germany
Germany dominated European football in the mid-seventies. After recovering from their defeat to the Azzurri, the Germans lifted the European Championship in ’72 and the World Cup in ‘74. During this period, Beckenbauer’s Bayern clutched their resilient hands around European Cup, lifting on three successive occasions. However, all periods of domination must come to an end. The reigning champions lost their European Championship on penalties to Czechoslovakia – the last time the Germans lost a shootout at a major tournament – and looked off the pace in the ‘78 World Cup. The Italians, meanwhile, were on an opposite trajectory.
Italy missed out on the ‘72 and ‘76 European Championships and crashed out of the ‘74 World Cup in the first round, losing to Poland. However, another era began for the Italian national team. Paolo Rossi broke through at Vicenza, scoring 24 goals for the promoted side as the team went on to finish second in Serie A. The striker shone for the national team alongside Roberto Dettega and Franco Causio, collecting the Silver Ball for being the second best player at the tournament. With Antonio Cabrini, Claudio Gentile and Gaetano Scirea in defence, and a burgeoning Marco Tardelli holding in midfield, the Italians could boast one of the strongest teams in Argentina.
Both teams had progressed through the initial group stage to reach the second one: the Italians had a perfect record, winning all three of their games, including a 1-0 win over eventual champions Argentina, and the Germans squeezed through ahead of third place Tunisia. Their meeting, however, proved to be more like their 1962 match than their ‘Game of the Century’ classic. A scoreless draw had little impact on the finish of the group. The Netherlands trashed Austria 5-1 and defeated the Azzurri 2-1 to reach the final.
1982 World Cup – Final – Italy 2-0 West Germany
It hadn’t been plain sailing for the Azzurri since the planting the seeds in ’78. The team finished fourth in the European Championships in ’80 and did it without their star striker. The Totonero scandal ended up with Paolo Rossi being banned from the game for three years, although later reduced to two. And what a difference a year makes.
The Germans, on the other hand, had lifted their second European Championship in the Stadio Olimpico. This generation was based around a midfield including Bernd Schuster and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and built upon a defensive foundation consisting of Uli Stielike and Karlheinz Forster. Schuster didn’t make it to the ’82 World Cup, though, after suffering a bad injury to his right knee. His absence meant the return of Paul Breitner, who’d retired from international duty years before.
Both Italy and West Germany were fortunate to squeeze through their respective groups. The Germans suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Algeria in their opening game, one of the biggest shock results of the time, and came close to crashing out of the group stages. Coming into their final game against Austria, with Algeria having beaten Chile the day before and thus on four points, the Germans knew that a win would be enough for them to scrape through on goal difference. The match between them and Austria has come to be known as the Schande von Gijon or the Disgrace of Gijon. Horst Hrubesch scored inside ten minutes…and the game ended. Not literally, of course. But both teams stopped attacking; passing the ball around their defences and making no effort to score. One German commentator refused to comment once he realised what was happening. The Algerians lodged an official complaint but neither team had done anything wrong. Austria and West Germany progressed, and a furious Algeria headed home. Italy, on the other hand, were lacklustre. Three tired and pedestrian performances secured them three draws, enough for them to progress ahead of Cameroon thanks to their superior number of goals scored.
Something clicked in the next round, though. The Italians came to life. Goals from Tardelli and Cabrini were enough to beat Argentina and a superb Rossi hat-trick defeated a classic Brazil team – one that featured Falcao, Socrates, Zico and Luizinho. The Germans held England to a goalless draw in their second group and then defeated Spain. In the semi-finals Rossi again struck gold. The clinical striker grabbed a brace against Poland and secured a place in the final. The Germans had a tougher route. Their 3-3 clash with France is regarded as one of the greatest World Cup games. Michel Platini even called his ‘most beautiful game’. Harold Schumacher saved Maxime Bossis’s spot-kick; the frustrated Hrubesch scored his; and West Germany progressed to another World Cup final.
The Italians never looked like losing inside the Santiago Bernabeu. Rummenigge had yet to recover from a knock he’d sustained earlier in the tournament and Hansi Muller was relegated to a place on the bench. The Germans were more content with stopping the Italians from playing; and thus the first-half had little to it. Cabrini missed the chance to put the Italians in the lead after 24 minutes, after Hans-Peter Briegel lunged in on Bruno Conti and conceded a penalty. Enzo Bearzot refused to let his team’s heads drop. In the second half the Azzurri came alive and demolished the turgid Germans. In the 57th minute Tardelli took a quick free-kick that caught out the unorganised German defence. Claudio Gentile put the ball in the box, where it evaded a host of blue and white shirts before the perfectly-timed foot of Paolo Rossi poked it past a stunned Schumacher. The Italians didn’t settle for one, though, and ripped the ill-disciplined Germans apart. A second came soon after. Some precise and slick passing sliced open the opposition defence and led to Tardelli rifling a second in. He sight of his manic and ecstatic frame charging from the scene of his goal, his arms pumping and his mouth agape, towards a huddle of blue shirts is one of the classic World Cup memories. A third rounded off a spectacular second-half performance. Conti spearheaded a sudden counter-attack and ran half the length of the pitch to the edge of the German box. The befuddled defence swarmed to him and thus opened up a huge gap in the centre. Conti’s simple pass found Alessandro Altobelli, who took one touch to take it around an onrushing Schumacher and then fired the ball into the unprotected net. A late Breitner strike squeezes past a 40-year-old Dino Zoff for a consolation goal but game is all but done – Breitner can’t even bring himself to celebrate.
The Italians matched Brazil’s record of three World Cup victories and had done so at the expense of the West Germans.
1988 European Championship – Group Stage – Italy 1-1 West Germany
Both the West Germans and the Italians had declining fortunes after the World Cup final. The Azzurri failed to reach the 1984 European Championship and a 2-0 defeat to France eliminated them from the World Cup in the round of 16. Following a first-round elimination from the ’84 Euros, West Germany turned to former captain Franz Beckenbauer. The Germans rebounded under the leadership of Der Kaiser and reached the final of the ’86 World Cup, losing to Argentina 3-2. The old rivals met once again at the 1988 European Championships in the group stage and the first match of the tournament.
The match highlighted another generation of young stars for both teams. The Germans boasted Lothar Matthaus, Jurgen Klinsmann and Rudi Voller; the Italians Carlo Ancelotti, Roberto Mancini, Gianluca Vialli, and the defensive duo of Franco Baresi and Paolo Maldini. Mancini made his mark first: the Sampdoria striker pounced on a defensive error and hit the ball first-time past the fingertips of Eike Immel. But Italy’s lead didn’t last. An indirect free-kick bounced off Andreas Brehme and beat Walter Zenga. Beckenbauer and Azeglio Vicini had to settle for a share of the spoils that afternoon.
Both the Azzurri and Die Mannschaft won against Spain and Demark and thus secured progression to the semi-finals. There, however, the Germans lost to that Marco van Basten strike and the Italians succumbed to the Soviet Union in a 2-0 loss.
1996 European Championship – Group Stage – Italy 0-0 Germany
Beckenbauer’s West Germany went from strength-to-strength after the disappointment of losing to the Netherlands in ’88. They reached their third consecutive World Cup final in ’90 and defeated Argentina to get revenge for their defeat in ’90, before Berti Vogts replaced the outgoing Beckenbauer. Euro ’92 welcomed the unified Germany, who reached another final but lost out to Denmark. A shock defeat to Bulgaria in the quarter-finals eliminated them from the ’94 World Cup.
The Italians had had mixed success at the same time. The Azzurri missed out on lifting the World Cup in Rome after losing 4-3 on penalties to Argentina in Naples in 1990 and then missed out on Euro 1992 altogether. Roberto di Baggio’s high spot-kick cost them the World Cup final in ’94. Their fortunes did not improve in 1996.
The Italians and Germans again found themselves meeting in the group stages. Another goalless draw followed. Germany had already progressed anyway, but the result meant Arrigo Sacchi’s side missed out on the knockout rounds of the tournament. The Germans would go on to lift the cup, defeating Croatia, England and the Czech Republic on route.
2006 World Cup – Semi Finals – Italy 2-0 Germany (AET)
The Azzurri flourished after Euro ’96, reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup in ’98 and the final of Euro 2000. On both occasions, however, the Italians came out second best to France’s ‘golden generation’. Another dip followed, though. Controversial officiating cost them in their last 16 tie against South Korea in 2002, and they then failed to escape their group at Euro 2004.
The Germans had also been in decline after lifting the European Championship in Wembley. Croatia thrashed them 3-0 in the quarter-finals of France ’98 and a 3-0 drubbing by Portugal left them bottom of their group at Euro 2000. These performances led to the change in system that has brought about this current generation of stars. The Germans had low expectations heading into World Cup 2002. Die Mannschaft had missed out on automatic qualification and had looked disjointed through the campaign. However, at the tournament itself, a relatively simple route led them to the final – Paraguay, the US, and South Korea stood in their way. A Ronaldo double ended any hopes they had of lifting another World Cup for the time being. A first-round exit at Euro 2004 continued their previously terrible form at major tournaments. Many expected that to continue in 2006.
The teams met in a pre-tournament friendly before the World Cup and the Italians crushed the Germans 4-1. Jurgen Klinsmann’s stock had reached ground level. But, like in 2002, the Germans again came together at just the right time. Ecuador, Poland and Costa Rica were all put to the sword in the group stage. Lukas Podolski grabbed a brace to eliminate Sweden in the round of 16 before penalties put them through to the semi-finals at the expense of the tipped Argentina. The Azzurri had also been convincing throughout. The Italians strolled through their group and then dispatched Australia and Ukraine in the knockout rounds. The 3-0 thrashing of the latter secured them their semi-final against the hosts in Dortmund. They’d also conceded just one goal – an own-goal – in the entire tournament.
On paper, the Italians held the advantage. This was not a classic Germany side. Michael Ballack captained a team including Tim Borowski, Sebastian Kehl, Christoph Metzelder and Arne Friedrich – all good, but not great, players. Italy, on the other hand, had a centre-back pairing of Marco Materazzi and Fabio Cannavaro, who collected the Ballon d’Or in 2006, Pirlo and Gattuso in centre-midfield, and Francesco Totti and Luca Toni up front – one of the strongest spines you could ask for.
Like in 1982, the organised Germans looked to stifle the attacking flair of the Italians. Ballack and co had a smattering of half-chances but Gigi Buffon was more than capable of handling their desperate attempts. Italy couldn’t find the breakthrough: Alberto Gilardino danced through the German defence but his tight-angled shot struck the post and Gianluca Zambrotta’s blasted shot cannoned off the crossbar. The Germans had held the Italians off for 119 minutes when their hope of taking the game to the coin-flip that is penalties came crashing down. A failed clearance from a corner landed at the feet of Pirlo. The maestro attracted the attention of four white shirts, leaving Fabio Grosso in acres of space in behind. Pirlo slipped the ball through to the left-back, who hit a first-time shot straight into the bottom left corner. The Germans looked stunned. A couple of minutes later the blue shirts broke on the counter-attack. Gilardino held up the ball as the small legs of Alessandro Del Piero caught up. The Juventus legend angled his run and flicked the ball around the rooted Jens Lehmann.
The Italians had reignited a feud that had died down since 1982. Not that the Azzurri cared. It was they, in Berlin, who lifted the World Cup, as Germany had done so in Rome 16 years before.
2012 European Championship – Semi-Final – Italy 2-1 Germany
The Germans’ failures at the turn of the century had led them to restructure their system. In the years that followed that disappointment in Dortmund, they began to see those plans come to fruition. Joachim Low replaced Klinsmann and led them to a runners-up finish at the 2008 Euros and a semi-final spot in South Africa – both times the Spanish ruined their tournaments. The Italians had been less successful since their World Cup triumph. Roberto Donadoni took the reins from the departing Marcello Lippi and took them to Euro 2008. The Italians squeezed through their group after losing 3-0 to the Netherlands and being held to a 1-1 draw against Romania. Donadoni’s spell came to a premature end after his side exited at the quarter-final stage losing on penalties to eventual champions Spain. Lippi returned but he couldn’t recapture former glories. The blues lost to Slovakia and were held by Paraguay and New Zealand, and thus left South Africa at the group stage. There wasn’t expected to be a huge improvement heading into Euro 2012.
However, Cesare Prandelli’s team far exceeded expectations, holding Spain and Croatia and besting the Republic of Ireland. A tight victory over England on penalties sent them to the semi-finals, where they met a familiar foe. The Germans had smashed their group, defeating the Netherlands, Denmark and Portugal without leaving first gear. A 4-2 win over Greece put them up against their rivals in blue.
The Germans had been firm favourites coming into the game, but Mario Balotelli provided a rare glimpse of the talent that lay beyond his flashy exterior that day – one that highlighted why clubs like Liverpool and the Milan sides are desperate for him to succeed. On the 20th minute, Antonio Cassano held up the ball, spun around to dodge the desperate challenges of Jerome Boateng and Mats Hummels and flicked a cross into the six-yard-box. The dome of Balotelli rose high as Holger Badstuber raced back into position. The striker powered the ball past a helpless Manuel Neuer. Cesare Prandelli’s side celebrated a second 16 minutes later. Riccardo Montolivo, trapped deep in his half, picked out a lonesome Balotelli with a stunning long-range pass that eliminated almost the entire German team. Balo let the ball drop and then raced into open space. Philip Lahm was fast catching but Balotelli kept cool and rifled the ball into the top right corner. He ripped off his shirt and posed like statue – but not even the emotionless expression he spread across his face could mask the true jubilation he felt inside. He hugged and smiled the second he ended his façade. The score remained the same until the final minute. Like in 1982, the Germans reduced the deficit but couldn’t change the result. The ball struck the chest/arm area of Federico Balzaretti and French referee Stephane Lannoy deemed it enough to warrant pointing to the spot. Mesut Ozil dispatched his penalty and ran back to the centre-circle. But it was too late, Italy had completed their 8th win over their German rivals in major competitions.
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Really well written, interesting piece!