#4 Germany-Italy
Competition breeds success. The statement holds heavy weightage for the Azzurri and Die Mannschaft, arguably two of the most successful European teams in terms of World Cup wins (8 total, 4 each) as well as European Championships (4 for Germans, 1 for Italians). However, this might be the most relevant rivalry in terms of sportsmanship.
(Video Courtesy: Zizou The Maestro YouTube Channel)
Most famously of all, these two fiercely contested the 1970 WC semi-final, a match of such epic proportions, that it came to be coined as the “Game of the Century”. The Italians went on to win the match 4-3, (with 5 of the goals coming in extra-time). The match reached such intensity that the Italians, allegedly, were battered in the finals (against Brazil) due to the sheer exhaustion of the semi-finals.
The two have met several times over the past decades, with the Italians heavily dominating over the most gifted German teams of the ages, including the 1982 WC final and semi-final match-ups in 2006 WC and 2012 Euros.
Such had been the ‘curse’ of Azzurri for the Germans that the latter had never won against their rivals in a competitive fixture till the 2016 Euro quarter-finals. A hard-fought and gritty match in itself, it served as a perfect testament to a rivalry which has only got better with age in pure footballing terms.
