Euro 2012: Germany pip Italy in market values

Warsaw: A mouth watering clash is on the horizon as Germany will go head on against the Italians for an all important spot in the grande finale.

Striker Mario Gomez leads the chart as he is valued the most. Let us see how the other players faired: Germany have an upper hand in the goalkeeping department. Neuer, the Germany number 1, is valued at €30m and rightly so. Among the best goalkeepers in the world, Neuer has established himself at the heart of the German defence. His short stopping skills coupled with an ability to deal with the long balls has seen his stock rise over the last two-to-three seasons. Italy`s first choice keeper Buffon is priced at €16m at an age of 34 and still is rated as one of the best in the business. The second (Wiese) and the third choice (Zieler) keepers of Germany fail to match the calibre of Neuer and are way down the pegging order. As for Italy the second choice goalkeeper Sirigu is just there around Buffon`s valuation, almost double that of Germany`s second choice, whereas the third choice De Sanctis is the cheapest among the six custodians. Overall Germany lead the bank roll in terms of goalkeepers thanks to their heavily priced asset Manuel Neuer. Keeping Neuer fit is extremely important for the Germans. No one can doubt the solidarity of the Italian defence. But its surprising to see that a team which thrives on defending lags behind the Germans in terms of market valuation as far as the players are concerned. Lahm costs about €28m whereas it is Chiellini who is valued around €24m. When the second most expensive defenders from either side are compared, Hummels is €6.5m expensive than Bonucci. Although Maradona opines that the Germans back line is weak, in the market value they lead the line ahead of the Azzurri. Germany`s midfield oozes of talent and given that their players are playing for top clubs such as Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, it`s obvious that their market value woul be higher than those of their counterparts. Schweinsteiger is most highly rated at €38m followed by Ozil and De Rossi at €32m. Mario Gotze, who has been struggling to get into the starting XI for the Germans, is rated as high as €30m which only goes to highlight the bench strength Joachim Low has at his disposal. Goal.com