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Football in Italy
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Football in Italy
Football (Italian: calcio [ˈkaltʃo] ⓘ) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team have won the FIFA World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), trailing only Brazil (with five), runners-up in two finals both against Brazil, (1970, 1994) and reaching a third place (1990) and a fourth place (1978). They have also won two European Championships (1968 and 2020), also appeared in two finals (2000, 2012), finished third at the Confederations Cup (2013) and the Nations League (2021 and 2023), won one Olympic football tournament (1936) and two Central European International Cups (1927–30 and 1933–35).
Italy's top domestic league, the Serie A, is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world because it is often depicted as the most tactical national football league, and is among the top five European football leagues. Italy's club sides have won 48 major European trophies, making them the second most successful nation in European football. Serie A hosts three of the world's most famous clubs as Juventus, Milan, and Inter, all founding members of the G-14, a group which represented the largest and most prestigious European football clubs; Serie A was the only league to produce three founding members.
Juventus, Milan, and Inter (the Big Three), along with Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina and historically Parma, but now replaced by Napoli are known as the Seven Sisters of Italian football due to their popular support and dominance in league and cups between the 1990s and 2020s. Italian managers are among the most successful in European football, especially in competitions such as the Champions League. More players have won the coveted Ballon d'Or award while playing in Serie A than any other league in the world after La Liga.
Other forms of football were played in Italy in ancient times, the earliest of which was Harpastum, played during the times of the Roman Empire. This game may have also been influential in other forms throughout Europe due to the expansion of the Roman Empire, including Medieval football. From the 16th century onwards, calcio fiorentino, another code of football distinct from the modern game, was played in the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. Some famous Florentines were among the players of the game, particularly the Medici family including Piero, Lorenzo, and Alessandro de' Medici, as well as popes who played the game in the Vatican, such as Clement VII, Leo XI, and Urban VIII. The name calcio ("kick") was later adopted for football in Italy (attested first in 1889, "Il Foot-ball ovvero il Giuoco del Calcio"), becoming the synonym for Italian association football worldwide, as well as the most popular sport in Italy.
The modern variation of the game was brought to Italy during the 1880s. Edoardo Bosio, a merchant worker in the British textile industry, had visited England and experienced the game. He returned to Turin in 1887 and was motivated to help spread football in his homeland. He founded the first football club in Italy (Torino Football and Cricket Club) that year, while Nobili Torino (Turin Nobles) soon followed. The second club bore the name noble because it contained Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, and Alfonso Ferrero de Gubernatis Ventimiglia, who would later become president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). The two merged in 1891 to form Internazionale Football Club Torino. Genoa Cricket and Football Club, formed as a cricket club to represent England abroad, was founded by Englishmen in 1893. In 1896, a man named James Richardson Spensley arrived in Genoa and introduced the football section of the club, becoming its first manager. Genoa is the oldest Italian football club still active and the one in possession of the oldest founding document.
Some early tournaments were organised by the Italian Gymnastics Federation (FGI, later named FGNI, Federazione Ginnastica Nazionale Italiana)) between 1895 and 1897 and until 1913. In 1898, a new federation, the future FIGC but then known as Federazione Italiana del Foot-ball (FIF) until 1909, was formed, centred originally in Turin. The FIF first president was Mario Vicary.
The FIGC created the Italian Football Championship with the four founding clubs being; Genoa, Torinese, Ginnastica Torino, and Internazionale Torino. Its first competition, the 1898 Italian Football Championship, was held at the Velodrome Humbert I in Turin on 8 May 1898, and was won by Genoa. Genoa won the Italian Football Championship on five out of six occasions, interrupted by AC Milan in 1901. While it was common for clubs to compete in both FIGC and FGNI competitions early on, the titles won in the FIGC championship are the only ones officially recognised by the modern-day league.
From 1904 the replacement tournament called Prima Categoria was structured into regional groups. Winners of each group participated in a playoff with the eventual winners being declared champions. Between 1905 and 1908, a Final Group among regional champions was contested to award the title and the Spensley Cup. Juventus won his first title and Spensley Cup in 1905, while the following two championships were won by Milan.
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Football in Italy
Football (Italian: calcio [ˈkaltʃo] ⓘ) is the most popular sport in Italy. The Italy national football team have won the FIFA World Cup four times (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), trailing only Brazil (with five), runners-up in two finals both against Brazil, (1970, 1994) and reaching a third place (1990) and a fourth place (1978). They have also won two European Championships (1968 and 2020), also appeared in two finals (2000, 2012), finished third at the Confederations Cup (2013) and the Nations League (2021 and 2023), won one Olympic football tournament (1936) and two Central European International Cups (1927–30 and 1933–35).
Italy's top domestic league, the Serie A, is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world because it is often depicted as the most tactical national football league, and is among the top five European football leagues. Italy's club sides have won 48 major European trophies, making them the second most successful nation in European football. Serie A hosts three of the world's most famous clubs as Juventus, Milan, and Inter, all founding members of the G-14, a group which represented the largest and most prestigious European football clubs; Serie A was the only league to produce three founding members.
Juventus, Milan, and Inter (the Big Three), along with Roma, Lazio, Fiorentina and historically Parma, but now replaced by Napoli are known as the Seven Sisters of Italian football due to their popular support and dominance in league and cups between the 1990s and 2020s. Italian managers are among the most successful in European football, especially in competitions such as the Champions League. More players have won the coveted Ballon d'Or award while playing in Serie A than any other league in the world after La Liga.
Other forms of football were played in Italy in ancient times, the earliest of which was Harpastum, played during the times of the Roman Empire. This game may have also been influential in other forms throughout Europe due to the expansion of the Roman Empire, including Medieval football. From the 16th century onwards, calcio fiorentino, another code of football distinct from the modern game, was played in the Piazza Santa Croce in Florence. Some famous Florentines were among the players of the game, particularly the Medici family including Piero, Lorenzo, and Alessandro de' Medici, as well as popes who played the game in the Vatican, such as Clement VII, Leo XI, and Urban VIII. The name calcio ("kick") was later adopted for football in Italy (attested first in 1889, "Il Foot-ball ovvero il Giuoco del Calcio"), becoming the synonym for Italian association football worldwide, as well as the most popular sport in Italy.
The modern variation of the game was brought to Italy during the 1880s. Edoardo Bosio, a merchant worker in the British textile industry, had visited England and experienced the game. He returned to Turin in 1887 and was motivated to help spread football in his homeland. He founded the first football club in Italy (Torino Football and Cricket Club) that year, while Nobili Torino (Turin Nobles) soon followed. The second club bore the name noble because it contained Luigi Amedeo, Duke of the Abruzzi, and Alfonso Ferrero de Gubernatis Ventimiglia, who would later become president of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). The two merged in 1891 to form Internazionale Football Club Torino. Genoa Cricket and Football Club, formed as a cricket club to represent England abroad, was founded by Englishmen in 1893. In 1896, a man named James Richardson Spensley arrived in Genoa and introduced the football section of the club, becoming its first manager. Genoa is the oldest Italian football club still active and the one in possession of the oldest founding document.
Some early tournaments were organised by the Italian Gymnastics Federation (FGI, later named FGNI, Federazione Ginnastica Nazionale Italiana)) between 1895 and 1897 and until 1913. In 1898, a new federation, the future FIGC but then known as Federazione Italiana del Foot-ball (FIF) until 1909, was formed, centred originally in Turin. The FIF first president was Mario Vicary.
The FIGC created the Italian Football Championship with the four founding clubs being; Genoa, Torinese, Ginnastica Torino, and Internazionale Torino. Its first competition, the 1898 Italian Football Championship, was held at the Velodrome Humbert I in Turin on 8 May 1898, and was won by Genoa. Genoa won the Italian Football Championship on five out of six occasions, interrupted by AC Milan in 1901. While it was common for clubs to compete in both FIGC and FGNI competitions early on, the titles won in the FIGC championship are the only ones officially recognised by the modern-day league.
From 1904 the replacement tournament called Prima Categoria was structured into regional groups. Winners of each group participated in a playoff with the eventual winners being declared champions. Between 1905 and 1908, a Final Group among regional champions was contested to award the title and the Spensley Cup. Juventus won his first title and Spensley Cup in 1905, while the following two championships were won by Milan.