Soccer

When you cut an Italian, he bleeds soccer. Known in Italy as calcio, soccer for Italians is more than a pastime, Italy’s the lifestyle. Soccer is the engine that drives the Italian culture, Italy’s the conversation overheard at the cafe on the corner and the cause of daily arguments between friends. Hundreds of publications are devoted to football, on local national and international levels. The popularity compares to the would-be combination of American football, basketball, baseball and hockey.

Italy Serie A

The first official matches began in 1898 in which the competition was organized into regional groups. Evolving in 1929, the structured league we know today as Serie A, consists of 20 teams from all over Italy. From the months of August to May, a total of 38 games are played with each club playing the other teams twice. Rated as one of the top three European countries in terms of club football teams, Italy’s Serie A sends Italy’s top four clubs to the UEFA Champions League; the annual competition for the most successful football clubs in Europe. As a nation, Italy’s record throughout competition has been remarkable, as one of Italy’s teams has won the league championship 11 times (tied for 1st all-time) and has been runner-up 14 times (1st all-time). Italy also ranks second all-time with 4 FIFA World Cup Championships, most recently in 2006 in Germany, while also adding 2 runner-ups. (more coming soon!)