Germany captain Philipp Lahm said he was looking forward to a classic encounter with Italy in the semifinals of Euro 2012 — although Germany have never beaten the Italians at a World Cup or European Championship.
“What more do you want than a real classic in a semifinal. We can all look forward to it. Our big aim is to be in the final,” he said. Lahm was a member of the Germany team, which lost 2-0 in extra-time to Italy in the semifinals of the 2006 World Cup on home soil.
“Of course we still have that (match) in our minds,” he said.
Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger of the present squad were also on the pitch in Dortmund that evening.
“I think Italy are stronger than England, very clever, tactically well schooled. They are difficult to beat,” the full-back said.
“You think of 2006. It was the last important match against Italy. We weren’t as far (in our development) then as we are now.”
