Occasionally, DFB.de highlights a national team player who is set for a special encounter with his club and this week it’s the turn of Sami Khedira. His Juventus side will take on Inter Milan this Sunday in a fixture steeped in tradition - the D'Italia.
The Derby D'Italia has produced many great stories, moments and drama over the years and the whole of Italy gets excited when the two sides clash. The derby has a tradition of more than 100 years, it's produced heroes and villains, decided championships and written football history. Inter's honorary board member Massimo Moratti says that “a hardened rivalry exists between Juve and Inter, it has always existed and will always exist. The derby is football, memories, emotions, fears, joy and pain. It's magic and a spectacle - all of this is the derby."
Juve win when Khedira plays
Last season, the derby lacked its usual magic however, as the encounter in Milan ended in a stalemate. It was Sami Khedira's second game for Juve, having made his debut a week earlier against Bologna, where he also managed to bag a goal. He nearly became an instant hero for Juve in the derby but missed the best opportunity of the game when his shot from inside the box struck the post.
You could say Inter achieved an impossible feat that day as thanks to Khedira, an unwritten rule has been added to Italian club football - if Khedira plays, Juve win. Since his move to the Italian giants, Khedira has made 23 appearances, recording 22 wins.
Khedira lethal in the Serie A
The only game he didn’t win in Serie A with Juventus was this one in Milan and in actual fact, Khedira has an unlucky track record at the Giuseppe Meazza - the Germany international is still waiting for a win there. With Real Madrid, he recorded a 2-2 draw away to Inter in the Champions League and a 1-1 draw with the DFB Team in November 2013. This game marked the start his so-far-unsuccessful relationship with the stadium, not because of the result though, but because of the injury he sustained in that game. 208 days prior to the World Cup in Brazil, Khedira ruptured his cruciate ligament. He still made it to the World Cup however, demonstrating his resilience.
Only Khedira knows how much his past will affect him as he returns to the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on Sunday. The roles in this edition of the Derby D'Italia are clear - Juventus have got off to a solid start in the league while Inter have struggled. Khedira and Co. have managed a perfect three wins from as many games, while Inter have recorded one win, one draw and one defeat, meaning Sunday's fixture will see the table toppers take on eleventh place.
Gazetta: Khedira "a killer in the Championship"
Inter will want to recover from their scrappy start and end their negative run but in recent history, the classic encounter has been fairly one-sided. The last time Inter managed a victory over Juve was in November 2012, where they scored three goals in 30 minutes to overturn a 1-0 deficit in Turin. Since then, they have lost four games and recorded three draws in seven Serie A encounters with Juve.
Both teams did not have the best outings during the week, as Inter suffered a humiliating 2-0 home defeat to Israel's Hapoel Beer Sheva in the Europa League and Juventus were held to a 0-0 draw at home by FC Sevilla in the Champions League. One more reason why seemingly only Juventus will win on Sunday, according to Leonardo Bonucci, is: "The Derby D'Italia is the Derby D'Italia and since we didn't manage to win on Wednesday, we will be even hungrier for the win."
Occasionally, DFB.de highlights a national team player who is set for a special encounter with his club and this week it’s the turn of Sami Khedira. His Juventus side will take on Inter Milan this Sunday in a fixture steeped in tradition - the D'Italia.
The Derby D'Italia has produced many great stories, moments and drama over the years and the whole of Italy gets excited when the two sides clash. The derby has a tradition of more than 100 years, it's produced heroes and villains, decided championships and written football history. Inter's honorary board member Massimo Moratti says that “a hardened rivalry exists between Juve and Inter, it has always existed and will always exist. The derby is football, memories, emotions, fears, joy and pain. It's magic and a spectacle - all of this is the derby."
Juve win when Khedira plays
Last season, the derby lacked its usual magic however, as the encounter in Milan ended in a stalemate. It was Sami Khedira's second game for Juve, having made his debut a week earlier against Bologna, where he also managed to bag a goal. He nearly became an instant hero for Juve in the derby but missed the best opportunity of the game when his shot from inside the box struck the post.
You could say Inter achieved an impossible feat that day as thanks to Khedira, an unwritten rule has been added to Italian club football - if Khedira plays, Juve win. Since his move to the Italian giants, Khedira has made 23 appearances, recording 22 wins.
Khedira lethal in the Serie A
The only game he didn’t win in Serie A with Juventus was this one in Milan and in actual fact, Khedira has an unlucky track record at the Giuseppe Meazza - the Germany international is still waiting for a win there. With Real Madrid, he recorded a 2-2 draw away to Inter in the Champions League and a 1-1 draw with the DFB Team in November 2013. This game marked the start his so-far-unsuccessful relationship with the stadium, not because of the result though, but because of the injury he sustained in that game. 208 days prior to the World Cup in Brazil, Khedira ruptured his cruciate ligament. He still made it to the World Cup however, demonstrating his resilience.
Only Khedira knows how much his past will affect him as he returns to the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on Sunday. The roles in this edition of the Derby D'Italia are clear - Juventus have got off to a solid start in the league while Inter have struggled. Khedira and Co. have managed a perfect three wins from as many games, while Inter have recorded one win, one draw and one defeat, meaning Sunday's fixture will see the table toppers take on eleventh place.
Gazetta: Khedira "a killer in the Championship"
Inter will want to recover from their scrappy start and end their negative run but in recent history, the classic encounter has been fairly one-sided. The last time Inter managed a victory over Juve was in November 2012, where they scored three goals in 30 minutes to overturn a 1-0 deficit in Turin. Since then, they have lost four games and recorded three draws in seven Serie A encounters with Juve.
Both teams did not have the best outings during the week, as Inter suffered a humiliating 2-0 home defeat to Israel's Hapoel Beer Sheva in the Europa League and Juventus were held to a 0-0 draw at home by FC Sevilla in the Champions League. One more reason why seemingly only Juventus will win on Sunday, according to Leonardo Bonucci, is: "The Derby D'Italia is the Derby D'Italia and since we didn't manage to win on Wednesday, we will be even hungrier for the win."
Furthermore, there is the unwritten rule that Juventus always win in the league when Khedira is on the pitch. However, after their draw in the Champions League, the Germany international has had to face some criticism from the media. Gazzetta dello Sport wrote: "In the Champions League he misses his chances," the newspaper did however concede that he’s a “killer in the league”. Bad news for Inter then that Sunday's game is not a Champions League match.
