Super Mario Doubles Up

Step aside, Mario Gomez. There’s a new Mario in line for the golden boot. Mario Balotelli and the Azzurri stunned the footballing world with their sheer dominance over the Germans in Warsaw, paving their way to the final against defending champions, Spain. The world stood baffled at how a team that barely scraped by against England with a win by penalties, could so soundly defeat the German powerhouse.

The stats of the match certainly favored the Germans. The Germans had more attempts than the Italians, both on target and off target. In addition, Germany had 14 corner kicks, whereas the Italians did not have a single one. Even with having less possession than the Germans, the Italians capitalized on their every opportunity to defeat Germany. Despite the oddities of the statistics, the scoreline saw a victorious Italian side.

Cesare Prandelli put his best players forward, with Mario Balotelli, Antonio Cassano, Daniele De Rossi,Riccardo Montolivo and the experienced Andrea Pirlo leading the attack. The consistent pressure from the Azzurri surely spread out the Germans and created many opportunities to score. In the 20th minute, Cassano took a pass from Chiellini down the left, and sent a perfect chip to an awaiting Balotelli in the area, sealing the deal with a world class header.

The early goal certainly caught the Germans off guard and it wasn’t long before the goal-hungry Super Mario struck again. After goalkeeping legend Buffon saved a shot from Sami Khedira, the ball was picked up by Montolivo, who immediately sought Balotelli. Balotelli raced away to blast a shot deep into the far corner of the net with a goal that left Manuel Neuer and the rest of the world frozen and awestruck.

The second half brought several changes for the German lineup, with Joachim Löw bringing on Marco Reus and Miroslav Klose for Mario Gomez and Lucas Podolski. German captain Phillipp Lahm was somewhat successfull in stabilizing the Germans and increasing the attacks on the Italian defense, but it was too little, too late. Despite a very late penalty kick scored by Mesut Ozil in the 92nd minute, even Manuel Neuer’s daring diving headers to keep the ball outside his half were futile. The whistle blew, and the crowd roared for the Azzurri, whose spectacular performance earned them their rightful spot against Spain at the final in Kyiv come Sunday night.

Mario Balotelli’s performance not only silenced his critics, but all the German supporters who made up a majority of the stadium’s attendance. He made his way to his adoptive mother, Silvia, and dedicated his goals to her before calling the night “one of the best nights of [his] life”.

Regardless of his vivacious performance, the Man of the Match was awarded to the captain, Andrea Pirlo, whose consistency and pressure in the midfield has kept the Azzurri always a step ahead of the opponent. The Azzurri captain called it "a perfect game" and "a piece of art" and it certainly was his leadership that orchestrated such a victory.

The question lies in how a footballing powerhouse such as Germany could allow themselves to be dominated by the Italians, and halted their 15 game streak of consecutive competitive victories. There are many points to consider: firstly, the Germans may have been overconfident, secondly, they clearly lacked consistency in their passes, often giving the ball away to the Italians due to sloppy play, and lastly, their inability to get close enough to the goal for a finish.
 

German captain Phillipp Lahm commented post match, saying “Every defeat is bitter and painful, especially if you get this far in a tournament....Today we didn’t succeed.”

Bastian Schweinsteiger admitted the Italian side was “clever” and “experienced”, and remained positive for the future of Die Mannschaft. “We have a very young and talented team and if every player stays on their path, then the quality will improve for the next tournament.”

Still sitting on the bench alone after the whistle had blown was Mario Gomez, who looked frozen and emotionless. After the match, Gomez said, “Congratulations to Italy, they played an excellent match. We didn’t....Getting beaten for the fourth time [in a semi-final] is very bitter.”

Very bitter, indeed. The Germans will be left with the bitter taste of defeat until their next chance at international success, the 2014 World Cup.

(Photo Credit : Joern Pollex/Getty Images)

written by Madena Sharef