It’s no secret the two football teams don’t really like each other, but Germany and Argentina definitely respect each other when they meet on the pitch. The two powerhouses are set to kick off in their quarterfinal match at Cape Town on July 3rd.

Most of the bad blood can be traced back to the last World Cup in Germany in 2006 when the host team knocked Argentina out of the tournament in the quarterfinals by beating them 4-2 on penalty kicks. When the shootout ended, all hell broke loose as the teams kicked and punched each other during a melee that also involved team officials.

The two countries had met before in classic World Cup matchups as Germany beat the South Americans 1-0 to win the World Cup final in 1990 in Italy, and Argentina beat them 3-2 to lift the trophy in 1986 in Mexico.

German captain Philipp Lahm basically got the ball rolling on July 1 by calling the Argentines hot heads. He said their players are temperamental and impulsive and don’t know how to lose. Midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger said the day before that Argentina doesn’t show any respect for their opponents and the referees and the 2006 brawl hasn’t been forgotten by his teammates. He added that their body language and movement is usually used to try and influence the officials, but his team will have to adjust to it and just concentrate on their own game. Team manager Oliver Bierhoff added the Argentines are provocative and aggressive during games, but are wonderful, friendly people off the pitch.

However, Argentina’s manager Diego Maradona laughed when he heard about the remarks and stated that Schweinsteiger must be getting nervous as Argentina is looking for revenge for the 2006 loss. Argentina’s defender Martin Demichelis stated the best way to deal with the issue is to just win the game. He added that Argentina’s win over Germany in a friendly in March means the Germans likely respect them a little more now.

Lahm admitted his team was looking forward to the match and was tense, but not nervous.

If you want to join in the trash talk leading up to this game you should check out the thread of comments going on in our Germany vs. Argentina preview.