Germany-Spain, an unprecedented face-off

Semis have never been a duel between two countries

The head-on collision between Spanish and German football in the coming semi-finals of the Champions League will define an era. In just nine days, these two footballing giants aim to settle which league is top-dog in Europe, with an unprecedented double-duel in Europe's flagship footballing competition.
Furthermore, it's the first time that Germany has ever got two teams through to the Champions League semi-finals. Spain, on the other hand, has managed to get up to three teams into the semis in the past, eventually leading to an all-Spanish final between Real Madrid and Valencia in the 99-00 season. This feat was then also achieved by the Italians and English.
The UEFA cup, on the other hand has seen this situation of two teams from two countries in the semis three times in the past, with one of the nations being Germany on all three occasions, although the German sides never went on to lift the trophy. In 89/90, Juventus and Fiorentina saw off Colonia and Werder Bremen, whilst in 94/95 it was Parma and Juve that defeated Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund.
In 08/09, there were two German sides and two Ukrainian teams left in the battle for the UEFA Cup, although on that occasion the different nations didn't meet until the final, with Hamburg playing Werder Bremen in one semi and Shakhtar Donetsk playing Dinamo Kiev in the other. Shakhtar and Bremen moved on to the final with the Ukrainian side eventually coming out on top.