Germany Have the Chance to Overcome Trauma in Euro 2016 Quarter-Final vs. Italy

Germany head coach Joachim Low knew before the penultimate round-of-16 match on Monday evening that he'd face a nemesis of sorts in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016. Both Spain and Italy had proved to be insuperable foes in the 56-year-old's 12 years with the national team.

The only time his men didn't face either Spain or Italy was in 2014 and, promptly, they finally hoisted another trophy after an 18-year wait.

At the home World Cup in 2006, back when Low was still Jurgen Klinsmann's assistant, Italy ended the dreams of an entire country in extra time in the semi-final. Two years later, Spain beat Germany in the final of Euro 2008. In 2010, Spain were the end of the line in the semis, just as Italy were again two years later.

Whereas La Furia Roja have only developed into a bogey team in recent years, the Squadra Azzurra have always had the upper hand over Germany in tournaments. The two rivals have met eight times at Euros or World Cups, and Italy have yet to suffer a defeat.

The rivalry really started in Mexico in 1970. The 4-3 win for the Italians, as one of the most dramatic matches in football history, has gone down in lore of both countries, as the match is known as the "Jahrhundertspiel" in Germany and "la Partita del Secolo" in Italy—the Match of the Century.

Roberto Boninsegna had put Italy in front after only seven minutes in the mythical Estadio Azteca, and Germany were in full desperation mode until injury time, when full-back Karl-Heinz Schnellinger equalised. Bleacher Report's Sam Lopresti relived the drama in 2014:

"

"Schnellinger, of all people!" exclaimed German TV commentator Ernst Huberty as the Germans mobbed the defender.  It was indeed a rare thing to see—in 47 international appearances this would be the only goal he ever scored.  It was all the more ironic considering the fact that Schnellinger played 284 of his 387 career club matches Italy's Serie A with Mantova, Roma and AC Milan.

"

Extra time developed into a mad rush of goals, with Gerd Muller putting Germany in front, Tarcisio Burgnich equalising and Luigi Riva scoring the go-ahead goal in the first half. Muller made it 3-3 four minutes into the final 15 minutes of the game, but Germany's joy would barely last a minute, as Gianni Rivera put Italy up for a third and final time.

Helmut Schon's side had been dominant for the entire match, but the more clinical Italians beat them nonetheless. The feeling among German fans that Italy would be able to nick results from their team no matter what they do was born on that day and still resonates 46 years on.

For younger fans, of course, the most poignant memory came in 2006. Only two years removed from a shameful group-stage exit at the Euros, Klinsmann's men revitalised the bond between team and fans with a refreshing exuberance in their play that Germany hadn't shown for years.

Winning the home World Cup felt like their destiny, and not even the Italians would stand in the way. The semi-final in Dortmund's Westfalenstadion, where they had never lost a competitive match, was one of the most anticipated matches in the history of German football and turned into perhaps its biggest heartbreak.

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Ask any Germany fan and they will know exactly where they watched the match and what they felt when Fabio Grosso scored in the 119th minute. They may, however, not remember that Alessandro Del Piero added another seconds before the final whistle, for they may not have seen the goal through their tears—or the bottom of their glasses.

Italy were deserved winners—Alberto Gilardino and Gianluca Zambrotta both hit the woodwork just one minute apart in extra time, for example—but there was a distinct sense of "what could have been" had Bayer Leverkusen's Bernd Schneider not missed his big chance in the first half, when he was running toward Gianluigi Buffon's goal all by himself but pulled his shot over the goal by a hair.

Six years on, anger, not heartbreak, was the theme of another semi-final loss. Anger about Low, too, who clearly got his tactics wrong. He benched Marco Reus, who had played a great match and scored against Greece in the quarter-finals, in favour of Toni Kroos, whose sole task was man-marking playmaker Andrea Pirlo.

Pirlo ran riot, masterfully orchestrating an Italian attack that assaulted Germany with dangerous counter-attacks. Mario Balotelli scored both goals, but it was the then-34-year-old AC Milan midfielder who pulled the strings.

It didn't help that Germany's defence with Jerome Boateng at right-back and the centre-back pairing of Mats Hummels and Holger Badstuber had their first bad match of the tournament, and even captain Philipp Lahm looked awkward for the second goal.

Balotelli's shirtless celebration not only turned into a meme, it also became etched into Germany's collective remembrance.

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A win on Saturday in Bordeaux wouldn't erase those bad memories, but it would still be more than a regular quarter-final win over a team such as France or Belgium would have been.

There's reason for optimism in the German camp. Despite Low's praise for Italy, the gulf in individual class between the two sides has rarely been greater.

Italy may well be the best-coached team at Euro 2016 under Antonio Conte, but Germany have more players who can decide a match.

Tactically speaking, Italy are a more favourable matchup than Spain would have been, as Tobias Escher detailed for German daily Welt. Essentially, Conte's men are a much better version of teams Germany have faced countless times in recent years: very solid at the back and dangerous on the counter.

Germany have got better and better as the Euros have progressed so far, and Low won't have to make too many adjustments for the meeting on Saturday. Spain, on the other hand, would have required a plan B.

With their attack clicking since the inclusion of Mario Gomez at the top of their formation, Germany have firmly entrenched themselves as the team to beat in France.

Now, if there's one team that could thwart their march to Euro glory, it's probably Italy.

With the ageless wonder Buffon in goal and centre-backs Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci having a fantastic tournament to this point, their defence will be Germany's biggest test in quite a while.

And although neither Graziano Pelle nor Eder will strike fear into Boateng, Hummels and Manuel Neuer, and even though Italy don't have a playmaker of Pirlo's caliber in their squad, the round-of-16 win over Spain showed that Conte's men can be dangerous going forward, too.

Still, Germany should relish the chance of finally beating Italy in a major tournament. If not now, when will they ever get over that hump?

Ever-improving in France so far and as World Cup holders, confidence, even against the team that has caused them so much misery over the years, won't be an issue.

Lars Pollmann is a Featured Columnist who also writes for YellowWallPod.com. You can follow him on Twitter.