Italy forward Ciro Immobile (left), midfielder Alessandro Florenzi (centre) and forward Lorenzo Insigne strike a pose at a press conference ahead of their quarter-final against Germany. (Photo: AFP)
Italy forward Ciro Immobile (left), midfielder Alessandro Florenzi (centre) and forward Lorenzo Insigne strike a pose at a press conference ahead of their quarter-final against Germany. (Photo: AFP)
The gap in class that recently seemed so great between Germany and Italy is not so big now.
In fact, it might have closed completely when the two old rivals meet Saturday in the Euro quarter-final.
Italy’s standout performances at Euro 2016 — a pair of 2-0 wins to end Spain’s reign on Monday and unsettle Belgium in their opening match — rank high among the tournament’s best.
They also repaired much of the damage done in March when Germany easily beat Italy 4-1 in a friendly.
“Perhaps the score-line was a bit harsh on us,” Italy coach Antonio Conte said as he looked ahead to a German reunion on Saturday. “But I remember our self-confidence, our faith in us, really dropped a great deal after that fixture. Now, we are trying to win back that confidence, that self-belief,” the Azzurri coach said.
Three months ago, Conte said after the rout in Munich that he chose the World Cup winner as an opponent to “measure the gap between us and Germany.”
Conte’s mastery of management is clearly a big reason for Italy outperforming those limited expectations.
So when he praises Germany as “the best side in the European Championship,” it sounds like a clever mix of honesty and pre-match mind games. “I think Germany are a cut above the rest. I’ve got no problem stating that. We will need a titanic effort against them from every perspective,” Conte said.
For his next challenge, he wants to ensure his team approach the 2014 World Cup winner without feeling satisfied at simply ousting the 2010 champion Spain. “It must not really quench our thirst for victories, our thirst to amaze people, our thirst to get people talking,” Conte said.
