Soccer in Italy is undoubtedly the national sport, but more than sport soccer for Italians can be considered a culture and in some cases a way of life. It is easy to find in restaurants and bars men and a growing number of women that while eating a good plate of spaghetti and an espresso are engaged in animated discussion of the vicissitudes of their favorite teams and their opponents. That happens not only during the games, but also throughout the week, because there is always a topic to talk about.
Italians love to think of themselves as coaches. Everyone has the right strategy for their team. They all want their favorite players on the field. Of course no one ever agrees. As always happens, the best teams are located in major Italian cities, but also in small provincial towns there are many supporters that thanks to the national media do not lose even one game.
The “Serie A”
The most important league is called “Serie A”, it is made up of twenty teams in one group and consists of 38 games that are played from late August to May. The games are played mainly on Sunday afternoons, but in recent years the power of television and advertising space asked the league to also schedule some games on Friday and Saturday nights for maximum exposure. Unlike American sports the “Series A” does not provide the play-offs at the end of the season, the winner is the team that gets the most points at the end of the 38 games.
Win 3 points Draw 1 point Defeat 0 points
Italian Soccer Trivia
Oldest team currently playing in Serie A
It is the Genoa founded in 1893
Teams who have won more championships?:
Juventus 27 wins
AC Milan 18 wins
Inter Milan 18 wins
Genoa 9 wins
Turin 7 wins
Best players currently playing in Serie A?:
Francesco Totti – AS Roma with 223 goals
Antonio di Natale – Udinese with 167 goals
Alberto Gilardino – Genoa with 156 goals
Luca Toni – Fiorentina with 108 goals
Edison Cavani- Napoli with 101 goals
Biggest Italian stadiums?:
San Siro Stadium in Milan with 82,000 seats
Olimpic Stadium in Rome with 80.000 seats
San Paolo Stadium in Naples with 70.000 seats
St. Nicholas Stadiumin Bari with 55.000 seats
La Favorita stadiumin in Palermo with 50,000 seats
Teams with largest number of fans?:
Inter Milan about 7,5 million supporters,
Juventus about 7 million supporters.
