International Soccer - Germany It's amazing how a country which was heavily involved in both World Wars and had to go through major economic, politic and social struggles managed to be so successful as a soccer country. Germany beat all odds, winning the World Cup on three occasions, in 1954, 1974 and 1990, reaching another 4 finals in 1966, 1982, 1986 and 2002 and obtaining 3 bronze medals in 1934, 1970 and 2006. German soccer clubs are also extremely powerful in European competitions and the German Bundesliga is considered one of the top championships in the World, next to the Italian, Spanish and English.
International Soccer - Italy If England invented modern soccer, it's Italy that brought in the concepts of tactics and defensive play. Basically, Italian players were always renowned for their tactical and defensive prowess and the Italian Serie A is considered one of the toughest championships from this point of view. The Italy national squad managed to take advantage of these new soccer concepts and won the World Cup on 4 occasions, in 1934, 1938, 1982 and in 2006. Although Italian soccer was always accused of being too score-driven and lacking beauty, it's certainly the most efficient out there.
