Warsaw: So much praise is so often heaped on Germany for the mental toughness they display in football, often topped with a slice of arrogance ' and there was more evidence of that with the Bild declaring: "No-one can stop us now" as the team prepared for Thursday's semi-final against Italy.
And yet the Italians are a formidable proposition: Germany have not beaten them for 17 years and never in a major tournament in a record that covers three defeats, in the closing stages of World Cups, and four draws.
The statistics meant the striker Miroslav Klose felt moved on Tuesday to claim it was "silly" to suggest Germany had a "mental block" when it came to playing Italy even if the wounds of the 2006 World Cup semi-final defeat, a 0-2 loss after extra-time, on home soil, have left scars.
"I think it is silly to talk about a mental block (against Italy)," Klose, one of two survivors, along with captain Philipp Lahm, from that bitter encounter argued.
"Yes it was a trauma [in 2006]. It lasted a bit but now it is gone. This was six years ago and we have a different team and I am convinced we will do things differently."
Klose now plays in Italy, of course, having joined Lazio last summer and speaking at the team's training base outside Gdansk ahead of the semi-final he joked that he was "a bit of a spy" for Germany.
"I suppose I will try and pass on info to my teammates if needs be," the 34-year-old striker, who displaced Mario Gomez in the 4-2 quarter-final victory over Greece, said.
"They [Italy] always give their best. All the German qualities, however, the Italians take with a pinch of salt. They are a more laidback people, also in football. But, for this match, it might be an advantage for the Italians."
Klose, who scored against Greece, taking his total international goals to 64 in 120 appearances, is again proving himself to be an important player at a major tournament, having scored five headers in the 2002 World Cup and finishing top-scorer four years later.
He also struck in Germany's 1-1 friendly draw with Italy in Dortmund in February.
Klose, referring to Italy's record, said Germany, seeking to win this competition for a fourth time, were in a "mood to change history" although coach Joachim Loew maintained the match, in Warsaw, is not about gaining retribution. "In football there is no such thing as revenge,"
Loew, who was J�rgen Klinsmann's assistant during that competition, said. "The past plays absolutely no role for us or for our young players who may know things only from history… no game has anything to say to us. Not the old ones and not the one in 2006."
Both teams are now different, Loew said, describing Italy as "stronger in offence" under Cesare Prandelli, although he dismissed the coach's suggestion that Germany had the advantage because they had more time to recovery from their quarter final. "Four days is enough to recover and I did not see them tired," Loew said. "Quite the opposite, it was the England players who looked tired after a certain stage."
Germany have had their own fitness concerns over Bastian Schweinsteiger, who Loew admitted had been "poor" against Greece, but he is expected to be fit.
"He is one of our leaders," Loew said. Such is the mood of confidence in the German camp, despite a row over the leaking of the team for the quarter-final, that the only breaking news on Tuesday was that the squad were heading for a special screening of the yet-to-be released film The Amazing Spider-Man.
