After taking a look at what Buffon and Hummels offer to Italy and Germany respectively in the first part of this article, it is now time to take a step forward and analyze the likes of Mesut Ozil and Andrea Pirlo in this part
and conclude our coverage of the players to watch out for in the Italy versus http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Germany-c2904 semi-final...
Mesut Ozil
Germany’s creative inspiration, Ozil has been a sight for sore eyes ever since he captured the international stage as his very own at the FIFA 2010 World Cup. His performance against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/South-Africa-c757 was
perhaps his best ever for the German national team but now he must step up his game to make things happen for Germany against Italy.
Ozil is the heart of Germany’s well oiled machine which functions as a unit to destroy anything in its path. The Real Madrid midfielder is not a complete midfielder but not a proper striker as well. He thrives as a trequartista,
a traditional no. 10 finding spaces between midfield and attack and providing service to the likes of Klose and Gomes to work their magic.
Ozil’s main attribute has been his vision for a pass, the former Werder Bremen star has been keen to impose himself on matches and with the likes of Schweinsteiger and Khedira providing him back up from the midfield department,
it is not hard to see why. Against Italy, Ozil will have to contend against man-marking skills of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Daniele-De-Rossi-c10112. It is quite likely that Rossi will miss the encounter against Germany which makes Ozil all the more dangerous to the Italians and their hopes
of making it to yet another EURO semi-final.
Andrea Pirlo
The Italian playmaker has been to Italy what Ozil has been to Germany. Whilst Ozil plays further up the field than Pirlo for Germany, Pirlo’s expertise is seen in the central midfield department where he acts as a human metronome
and controls the tempo of the match. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Italy-c2926 have been ticking through their opponents courtesy of Pirlo’s fine run of form which also saw him notch up 13 assists for Juventus in their unbeaten run to the Serie A trophy. Pirlo was inspirational against England
as well and in the end he had the audacity to cap it off with a chipped penalty in the shootout after the match had ended in a stalemate. Before that, Pirlo did well against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Croatia-c2879 in the group stages of the European Championships as well, a consistent
run which has been a testament to his form in the European Championships.
Khedira and Schweinsteiger will be on Pirlo’s case in the semi-final of the European Championships but there are still doubts about Schweinsteiger fitness levels. One thing is for certain for Italy to win in the semi-final; Pirlo
must fire on all cylinders. With the likes of Balotelli and Cassano having an average campaign thus far, the responsibility has fallen on the Juventus midfielder’s shoulders to carry the Azzurri forwards. Thus far the former A.C Milan playmaker has not shied
away from this responsibility and it is expected that he will the key to unlocking the miserly German defence when Italy line up to take on their old European rivals.
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