EURO 2016 MATCH ANALYSIS: ITALY vs GERMANY

MATCH ANALYSIS: ITALY vs GERMANY

EURO 2016

Billed as the final before the final and the biggest game of the European Championships, Italy vs Spain did live up to expectation as a tactical masterclass and a chess game between two  great footballing nations.  It was the calm, assured and body-sniffing Low versus the animated, enthusiastic and mouthy Conte.

FORMATIONS

Germany  altered their starting formation for this game. Was it a mark of respect to the Italians or was it a tactical necessity as a way to gain the advantage? Howedes came in as an extra centre-back alongside Hummels and Boateng who played in the middle of the three. Kroos and Khedira played as the central midfielders with Hector and Kimmich stationed out wide in wing back roles.  Ozil played off Gomez and Muller upfront in a 3-4-1-2.

Italy had lost De Rossi to injury and Motta due to a second yellow in the previous game against Spain. A lack of available holding midfielders meant Parolo played as the holding player with Sturaro and Giaccherini as the box to box midfielders in central midfield. The rest of the team was much the same from the previous game.

TACTICAL LINE UP – ITALY VS GERMANY

GERMANY TACTICAL ADAPTATION

Low had seen the Italian’s tactical organisation take away control of the game from the Spaniards. Hence he switched from a 4-2-3-1 to a 3-4-1-2 for this game in order to evenly match up the Italians all over the pitch. He sought to neutralize the Italian threat especially the high press against the back four, the dynamic runs in behind of Giaccherini and effective combination play of Eder and Pelle with the supporting runs from the wingbacks and box to box midfielders.

HIGH PRESS AND COUNTERPRESSING

When building up from restarts, Germany’s front three pressed on the Italian back three with the player in the middle of the three ensuring to put Parolo in his cover shadow while at the same time limiting Bonnuci’s ability to distribute. Parolo’s lack of movement and possibly lesser understanding of the role meant Italy struggled to build up play. The situational 5v3 build up which had been great against the Spaniards was at times ineffective.

PRESSING ACTION OF THE GERMANY FRONT PLAYERS

In open play, when the ball was lost deep in the Italian half, the German’s immediately counter pressed with success and kept the play in the Italian half. It often meant that when Italy won the ball back it was about 20 yards deeper than it was against Spain and had to cover more ground in a counter-attacking situation. Also, Giaccherini was much deeper and unable to offer immediate support to the frontline.  The loss of  Khedira to injury meant that Swinsteiger came on to initially perform a similar role in the centre of midfield for Germany.

GERMAN OFFENSIVE TENDENCIES

The stationing of Hector and Howedes high and wide enabled the German’s to stretch the middle 5 of the Italians.  With the Italian middle three electing to stay narrow and protect the centre and the wing backs going out to match the Germany wing backs, opportunities arose for Muller or Gomez to drop deep into half-spaces to receive a diagonal ball from either Hummels, Boateng or at times Neuer when they were pressed high. This enabled the German’s to bypass the first pressing block of the Italians.

RECEIVING THE BALLS IN DEEP SPACES

With the tactical chess match that was ongoing, it always looked like goals would only come from errors. It was a long ball from Neuer which was miscontrolled by Florenzi that led to the goal. The play was seized upon by Gomez who could observe Hector moving into the half space and fed him the ball. A square into the box was deflected off Chiellini and was neatly finished by Ozil.

THE ITALIAN COMEBACK EFFORT

The Italian build up had been frustrated by the Germans. Now a goal up with the unfortunate loss of Gomez to injury, the German’s adapted tactics to a 5-3-2. Low brought on Draxler to partner Muller upfront and moved Ozil from a number 10 role to play alongside Schweinsteiger as a double 8 with Kroos holding. This gave the Italians a better opportunity to build up play front the back and stage attacks as the game progressed. Bonnucci also moved situationally to join the Italian midfield as Italy sought a way back into the game.

Another error this time from Boateng led to the penalty. The referee had previously stopped set pieces to intervene due to grappling in the box. It was with this in mind that Boateng kept his hand in an unnatural position attempting to show he was not impeding Chiellini in any way. The flick on from the Italian then struck the German in the hand and the referee had no choice but to point to the spot.

Upon getting the equaliser, Conte also adapted his midfield arrangement with Sturaro now sitting slightly deeper close to Parolo with only Giacherrini pushing on to support the frontline in offense and stiffle Kroos influence in defense. With both teams evenly matched all over and no one wanting to commit errors to give away the game, the game fizzled out into extra time and eventually penalties.

THE PRESSURE OF KNOCKOUT PENALTIES 

Conte had used the extra time period to bring on Zaza and Insigne who would be penalty kick takers. Zaza came on in the final minute of extra time but Insigne came on for Eder in the second half of extra time as Italy changed to a 5-4-1 when out of possession while looking to use Insigne’s explosiveness to support Pelle when they had the ball .  The Germany substitutions of Sweinstieger and Draxler had only been due to injury with Low electing not to use his third substitution to refresh his options for the penalty takers.

Given the tactical quality of the game, it was surprising the poor quality of penalty kicks on display. It can only be concluded that the pressure got to the players with Pelle telling Neuer he was going to dink it and Zaza’s unconventional run up. Great technicians such as Ozil, Muller and Schweinsteiger for the Germans and Bonnuci for the Italians also missed from the spot.  Neuer emerged the hero and the man of the match as Hector buried the decisive penalty.

CONCLUSION 

This was a tactically intriguing matchup between great footballing nations. The Italian’s will feel hard done by but should raise their heads and feel proud for what they have been able to accomplish with a bunch of players from whom much was not expected.