Germany Vs. Italy, Euro 2012: Mario Balotelli Sends Italy To Final

At the close of the 2011-12 season, Mats Hummels’ stock had never been higher. His Borussia Dortmund side had managed to retain their Bundesliga title at a canter, holding off European Cup runners-up Bayern Munich without really breaking a sweat. The attacking players got plenty of (deserved) love, but BVB were built on an incredibly solid core, with Hummels and centre back partner Neven Subotic at the heart of it.

Hummels’ skillset sets him apart from the average centre half. He’s as comfortable on the ball as off it, capable of pulling off mazy, dribbling runs and killer passes. He’s also perfectly capable of stopping them. On his game, he’s one of the top defenders in the world, and he’s on his game most of the time. Add that to his creativity on the ball and you have one incredible player.

He’s perceived by many as petulant and arrogant -- perceptions that are frequently perpetuated by the English media -- but he occasionally comes off as very self-aware. He also correctly categorizes himself as a person who does strange things. This is what Balotelli is known for across the world, but he is also very, very good at football.

It’s very easy to forget that Balotelli, who has always looked like a fully-grown adult and who has been in the international spotlight for four years, is only 21-years-old. At that age, he already has 39 league goals in 99 league appearances in Serie A and the Premier League. He makes headlines for his antics and his quotes that don’t fit in line with what the public expects from professional footballers, and he does this so often that almost no one discusses him in terms of his youth and talent.

This is the same player who was rendered utterly anonymous by an Italy midfield that’s good, but not spectacular. So what gives? It’s pretty simple, really. Schweinsteiger played hurt for much of last season, and continued to play hurt at the Euros. A healthy Schweinsteiger would have enabled Germany to close down the center. Instead, they got a ghost.

At the beginning of the season, Bayern Munich looked unstoppable in both domestic and European play. Midway through, they suddenly didn’t. The turning point was a collarbone injury to Schweinsteiger, who was injured in a collision with Napoli’s Gökhan Inler during a Champions League match in early November. Without their best player, Bayern looked like a shell of themselves, and Toni Kroos dropping into the midfield didn’t make up for their loss.

These enterprising gentlemen were most likely responsible for the resulting 2-1 Italy win.

These guys definitely thought Italy was the Bob-omb! Italy now moves on to the Euro finals after a real Peach of a win, if Yoshi what I mean. You couldn’t Koopa up their enthusiasm even if you tried. These two gents brought a little Mario Sunshine to the proceedings, and were certainly no Shyguys as they supported their team to the fullest.

Things got interesting in the first minute of stoppage time, when Germany were given a lifeline. Federico Balzaretti was whistled for a handball in the penalty area, and Özil converted the resulting spot kick to make it 2-1. Germany spent the next three minutes throwing everyone forward in a desperate attempt to force extra time, but they never created another clear chance as the azzurri held on for a stunning win.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

So much for Germany as favourites to win the competition, eh?

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

Lahm has time and space to pick out a shot, and... blazes well over the bar. Shocking.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

UPDATE: Italy 2-1 Germany, Final Score

It looked like the Germans were going to find the game’s first goal, but things changed quickly in the 20th minute. Cassano provided a brilliant assist for Balotelli for the game’s opening goal, turning away from two defenders before playing a cross into the box. Holger Badstuber couldn’t stay with Balotelli, who rose up and powered a header into the back of the net.

UPDATE: Italy 2-1 Germany, Final Score

An absolute beauty, and Italy are in dreamland - you can’t imagine that they’d ever have been expecting a 2-0 first half lead. Even Mario Balotelli, who early claimed that he doesn’t celebrate goals because scoring is his job, is thrilled. Sort of. I mean, he ripped off his shirt, but didn’t smile. My postman doesn’t do that when he delivers my mail, Mario.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

UPDATE: Italy 2-1 Germany, Final Score

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

We have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.

UPDATE: Italy 2-1 Germany, Final Score

We’ll have live coverage of the match in our Germany vs. Italy, Euro 2012 Semifinals StoryStream. For more on Euro 2012 and the entire world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on Twitter.