Italy Facing Pronounced Germany Threat - UEFA Threats 2012

Italy Also Want to Show Some Magic to Germany - UEFA Semi Final Moments

Germany will go into Thursday's game with Italy as UEFA EURO 2012's nine-goal top scorers – despite registering the fewest on-target attempts among the semi-finalists.

Something must give in Warsaw on Thursday when Germany meet Italy for a place in the UEFA EURO 2012 final.
With the Azzurri unbeaten in 14 qualifying and final tournament matches under Cesare Prandelli and Germany having won a world record 15 competitive games dating back to the last FIFA World Cup, each side offers a compelling case for making Sunday's Kyiv showpiece.
The Nationalmannschaft's greater clinical edge, certainly when compared with their opponents', could be decisive, however. Joachim Löw's team have registered more goals than any of their fellow semi-finalists, nine, yet have done so from the joint fewest (along with Portugal) attempts on target, 33. With Italy though, the statistics are reversed – 50 on-target efforts have brought just four goals.
Each nation's respective quarter-final provided a case in point. While the Azzurri struggled to finish off England despite fashioning a plethora of openings, Germany recovered from the shock of conceding an equaliser to Greece by scoring three times in 13 minutes – this having rotated their entire front three.
In Andrea Pirlo, though, Prandelli has one of the championship's classiest performers. The Juventus midfielder controlled the tempo from the outset against England in Kyiv, completing a EURO record 117 passes. That over one third of them were in extra time, when the 33-year-old might have been expected to succumb to fatigue, gives a sound indication of the 2006 World Cup winner's energy levels.
The deep-lying playmaker's duel with Mesut Özil – ten years his junior and the purveyor of as many assists, three, as the whole of the Italy squad at these finals – could be key in determining the outcome of the sides' third meeting in UEFA European Championship history.
Complementing Pirlo's guile has been the graft of Claudio Marchisio. Deployed in a more advanced midfield position than his club-mate, Marchisio, on average, covered 11.177km per game in the group stage, far in excess of the 10.649km mean figure.

Italy Facing Pronounced Germany Threat - UEFA Threats 2012

Italy Also Want to Show Some Magic to Germany - UEFA Semi Final Moments

Italy Also Want to Show Some Magic to Germany - UEFA Semi Final Moments

A semi against Germany would strike fear into the hearts of many, but Richard Aikman says Italy's record against the three-time champions stands them in good stead.

The thought of a semi-final against Germany would strike fear into the hearts of most teams, not least one that were out on their feet after 120 minutes of relentless running on Sunday, but Italy enjoy a good record against their European neighbours.

The first encounter that comes to mind between these two European heavyweights is the classic 4-3 victory for the Azzurri in the 1970 FIFA World Cup semi-final. "It was always the one I referred to as 'that match'," recalled Cesare Prandelli, who was captivated by the seven-goal thriller in Mexico City, aged 13. "I can remember watching it at home with my Dad and I still regard it as the greatest emotion I have ever felt watching a game."

Prandelli was playing for Juventus by the time the two sides met in 1982, which is my own first memory of a World Cup final. I still remember being bewitched by Marco Tardelli and his reaction to his goal, known in Italy as 'the scream', and which remains my favorite goal celebration.

The most recent classic between these sides was played out in Berlin in the 2006 World Cup semi-final and provided similar jubilant scenes for the Azzurri. With the score goalless after 119 minutes and a penalty shoot-out looming, Fabio Grosso curled Andrea Pirlo's reverse pass beyond Jens Lehmann to set up a momentous 2-0 win; his celebration was a tribute to Tardelli's scream.

Any Azzurri fans concerned that Germany are strong favourites for Thursday's match should bear in mind that they were also expected to win in 1970, 1982 and 2006, yet Italy came up trumps each time. Although Prandelli's charges have had significantly less recovery time than Joachim Löw's side, they are also unbeaten in their last five meetings with their trans-Alpine neighbours.

Not since 1995 has the Tricolore been lowered by Germany, who still have Pirlo to contend with. And as Alessandro Diamanti said the other day, "even a tired Pirlo is still the best player in the world".

Italy Also Want to Show Some Magic to Germany - UEFA Semi Final Moments

Proceedings Opened Against RFEF and RFS

Proceedings Opened Against RFEF and RFS

Disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the Royal Spanish Football Federation and the Russian Football Union over spectator conduct at UEFA EURO 2012.

UEFA has opened disciplinary proceedings against the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) for the improper conduct of its supporters (racist behaviour, racist chanting) at the UEFA EURO 2012 Group C match against Italy in Gdansk on Sunday 10 June.
Disciplinary proceedings have also been initiated against the Russian Football Union (RFS) for the improper conduct of its fans (racist behaviour, racist chanting) at the UEFA EURO 2012 Group A game against the Czech Republic in Wroclaw on Friday 8 June.
The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body will deal with these cases on Thursday 28 June.

Proceedings Opened Against RFEF and RFS

Ronaldo Raring to Topple Spanish Dynasty - UEFA 2012

Ronaldo Raring to Topple Spanish Dynasty - UEFA 2012

Cristiano Ronaldo is flying again after a hesitant start to the tournament and he told UEFA.com the pressure is off as he prepares to face Spain, saying: "I knew the goals would come."

It has been a curious tournament for Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portugal forward was either quiet or wasteful in his first two games and seemed to be wearing a permanent frown before the smiles returned in a pair of match-winning performances. With Spain next up in tomorrow's semi-final, he will be confident of making another decisive contribution.
"I have felt good – the truth is I always have," explained Portugal's captain, whose displays against Germany and Denmark were quickly forgotten as he struck both goals in the 2-1 Group B defeat of the Netherlands and found the net in the 1-0 quarter-final win against the Czech Republic.
"The truth is that with a lot of sacrifice from the team, from our players, we started to play better, and I also started to play better. We lost our first match and then won all the others. I think that shows the great mental capacity of this team, and it didn't surprise me because I knew the goals would come. Luckily they have, and I have been able to help the team."
A Ronaldo strike at the Donbass Arena on Wednesday night would be his first in four appearances against the world and European champions, and with a place in the UEFA EURO 2012 final up for grabs there could hardly be a better time to open his account. The sense of occasion will nonetheless be tremendous and, for the man wearing the armband for the Selecção das Quinas, the pressure will be intense – or perhaps not.
"Over the years, you get better at dealing with certain situations," said Ronaldo, currently joint top in the adidas Golden Boot race with Mario Gomez, Mario Mandžukić and Alan Dzagoev. "Sincerely, up until now, I'm not feeling the pressure of playing against Spain or any other team because this is part of my life. I've already been doing this for more than ten years and so I must have become accustomed to it already. I will always have responsibility, but pressure? Not much."
The 27-year-old will also feel reassuringly familiar with many of his opponents after three years at Real Madrid CF, for whom he struck an incredible 46 Liga goals in 2011/12. His composure could also be aided by memories of beating Spain at UEFA EURO 2004, when a 1-0 group stage win for the hosts ended their Iberian neighbours' campaign – La Roja's last defeat in a UEFA European Championship final tournament, in fact.
"I remember that we played very well and Nuno Gomes got the goal, I think," said Ronaldo. "These are always competitive matches and always balanced, because the Spain team always has great players and always has had. I expect it to be the same this year. These are matches which are decided on small details, and I hope Portugal will be stronger in that sense."
A repeat of that result in Lisbon would send Paulo Bento's side through to Sunday's decider in Kyiv, while evening their record in last-four contests after semi-final losses in 1984 and 2000. For Ronaldo, meanwhile, it would be evidence of progress made since the heartbreak of their showpiece loss to Greece on home soil in 2004. "It has a beautiful significance because if Portugal get the chance to play another final eight years on, it's a sign that we've been evolving in recent years, and that's what I believe," he said. "We know the next match will be difficult, but we are one step away from a great final."
Much of the credit for that must go to Bento as well, and Ronaldo praised his former Sporting Clube de Portugal team-mate for lifting the team after being appointed to salvage their qualifying campaign. "He's been doing a great job, not only now at the finals but also during qualification. I think he's done a phenomenal job. From the moment he took on the national team, he has believed in the players and he's getting results now in the final stage. He knows the players more and more, and knows Portugal have a good team." So too, after Wednesday, could the whole of Spain.

Ronaldo Raring to Topple Spanish Dynasty - UEFA 2012