The duel between Italy and Germany has a long history. Recently, the DFB selection was more of a front. But it was different for a long time.
Benjamin Zurmühl reports from Milan
On Thursday evening, the first leg of the explosive European League quarter-finals between Germany and Italy will increase in Milan. National coach Julian Nagelsmann and his team in the Giuseppe-Mazza Stadium want to lay the foundation for reaching the next round.
But the Italians are a strong opponent, even if the European Championship was rather disappointing in summer. The “Squadra Azzurra” ended in the round of 16. And that also achieved the team of coach Luciano Spalletti only with oh and noise. However, Italy has been changing since the European Championship.
Spalletti’s players beat France and Belgium away, moved into the quarter -finals of the Nations League as the best group second. Central defender Riccardo Calafiori perceives another Italy since the tournament in summer. “We accepted the difficult defeat at the European Championship. The France game was crucial, we improved a lot,” said Arsenal player. The duels against Germany are now important to see where you stand.
The special history of the games between the two countries is aware of the 22-year-old. “Germany against Italy is not just a game. I have a lot of memories: I think of the World Cup semi-final (2006, note of the editor) or that at the European Championship (2012, note of the editor),” he said at the press conference on Wednesday.
Calafiori did not know why Germany is often serious during this time. At the same time, the central defender added: “Maybe they were a little cocky, a little arrogant and we brought them back on the floor.”
The 22-year-old received a few laughs of the Italian journalists and finally added: “But every game is different. We stay humble and focus on giving everything.” The quarter-final first leg starts on Thursday in Milan (from 8:45 p.m. in the live ticker at T-Online).