Football
Italian football, both its national league and national team, is among the most popular and admired in the world. Italy boasts some of the top clubs in Europe and globally—such as Juventus, Inter, or A.C. Milan—and a national team that has won an impressive four World Cups.
The Italian football league has a rich tradition and history that many may not know. It dates back to the early days of professional football in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
In the following sections, we’ll delve into the history of Serie A, the pinnacle of Italian professional football. This league unites the best Italian clubs and some of the most talented players in the world!
Table of Contents
What is Serie A?
Serie A, also known as Serie A Enilive, is the first level of the Italian Football Championship. Lega Nazionale Professionisti (LNP) has organized Serie A since 1946, when it replaced the Italian Football Federation or Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio. Today, this federation has the name Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A (LNPA).
Today, the Italian Serie A features twenty clubs at the highest level, each playing 38 games in total. Serie A runs from August to May, and the bottom three clubs in the standings descend to Serie B.
The three most winning clubs in Serie A are Juventus F.C., with 36 Serie A titles, F. C. Internazionale (Inter Milan), with 20 Serie A titles, and A. C. Milan, with 19 Serie A titles.
In Serie A, a club is allowed to wear a golden star above its club badge for every ten titles won. Juventus has three, while Internazionale and AC Milan have two and one star, respectively.In Serie A, the top three teams play in the Champions League (one of them also goes to the winner of the Coppa Italia). Besides, the teams that rank in the 3-6 in Serie A also get the chance to play in European Cups.
The History of the Serie A
Serie A is one of the oldest football leagues in the world. It started in 1929 and has developed uninterrupted since then, except between 1943 and 1945, when the Second World War occurred.
Serie A came to replace the old Italian National Cups that were organized in regional groups. It put together all the regional cups and created a complete and competitive tournament with the best teams in Italy.
Pre-History of Serie A
The Italian national league started in 1898 under the name Campionate Federale. Genoa Cricket & Football Club dominated the competition, winning six tournaments in a row. Then, A. C. Milan won its first Italian tournament in 1901. Another team that really rocked the football pitch was FC Pro Vercelli, which won seven times between 1908 and 1922. Still, between 1913 and 1915, the Great War postponed the competition.
It was in 1929 when this tournament changed its name to Serie A, or Campionato a girone unico (one-lap championship).
The First Years of Serie A
The first years of Serie A began with the predominance of Football Club Juventus, which won five tournaments in a row from 1930 to 1935. Bologna Football Club also won Serie A on three occasions. One of the most laureled players of these Calcio years was Giuseppe Meazza, a remembered football player from Internazionale and A. C. Milan. Since these years, Serie A became one of the best professional football leagues!
In the next decade, in the 40s, the club that stood out over others was Associazione Calcio Torino, winning five championships. Between 1943 and 1945, the war suspended Serie A.
Serie A and the Second Half of the 20th Century
In the 1950s, A.C. Milan emerged as the most decorated team, though Juventus also claimed several titles during this period. It was also the decade when Fiorentina secured its first championship. These successes helped these Italian clubs begin to distinguish themselves and cement their legendary status in football history.
In the 1960s, F. C. Internazionale won three tournaments with Luis Suárez, one of the biggest stars of Spanish football in the 20th century. Thus, the Bianco-Azzurra team won its first championship title in Serie A. Still, Milan and Juventus were also two teams that won two tournaments each. In the decade of 1970, Cagliari won its first championship.
Juventus dominated the decade of 1980, led by Michel Platini, one of the most important players in the history of French football and Italian teams.
This decade also saw the magic of El Diez, Diego Armando Maradona, who, playing for SCC Napoli, helped the southern Italian team win its first scudetto in 1987. The Argentinian also won Serie A in 1990 with the same team. This way, it showed its power as a successful league club!
The Italian league adopted the current format, with three points for a victory, in the 90s. It became the most important league in Europe and the world, the perfect showcase for players of the caliber of Marco van Basten, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazário, and Gabriel Batistuta.
In this era, Italian clubs won more international tournaments than any other club in Europe, and they ruled in the Champions League.
The New Era of Series A, the 21st Century
The first years of the 20th century were characterized by the victories of Lazio and AS Roma. Juventus also won two titles in that first decade of the century, but due to the Calciopoli, a brutal refereeing influence scandal, it descended to the second division.
Internazionale Milan stood out in this decade, winning three tournaments in a row (2006-2007-2008) and two more under the guidance of coach José Mourinho (2009-2010). In this way, Inter Milan became one of the best clubs in Italy and European competition.
But things would change in the subsequent years since, with the return of Juventus, when La Vecchia Signora would experience its golden years led by Antonio Conte and players such as Buffon, Marchisio, Vidal, Pirlo, and Chiellini. In the season 2011-2012, Juventus achieved an impressive record of 23 victories, 15 draws, and 0 defeats.
This way, Juventus won nine Series A in a row from 2011-2012 to 2019-2020, making la Vecchia Signora the most successful club in Serie A.
History of Crucial Serie A Clubs
Below, I provide an overview of the top clubs currently competing in Serie A, which stand several levels above the rest in Italian football.
Juventus
As I mentioned earlier in the article, Juventus is the undisputed king of Serie A, with more than thirty-five cups to its credit. As we mentioned in the section above, Juventus’ victories have generally occurred in the first years of the league and the second decade of the current century.
Only two teams in Italian Calcio, Juventus and Internazionale, have won more than twenty Serie A cups.
Juventus was founded in 1897 in Torino, in the Piemonte Region, by a group of local students. It’s the second-oldest team in Italy after Genoa. Due to this, it has a long and illustrious history of victories and deceptions.
AC Milan
A.C. Milan is one of the most prestigious clubs in Italy. The team plays at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium, which it shares with its fierce rival, Internazionale Milan. Founded in 1899 by English football enthusiasts, A.C. Milan has a long and storied history.
A.C. Milan boasts the highest number of participations in the highest level of Italian football, and it’s the Italian club with the most international victories, 20 in total. Seven of these victories are Champions Leagues, positioning the Italian flag at the top of European football.
During the season 1991-1992, it was the first club to reach the championship without losing a single game and boasts the record of consecutive matches without losing, 58 in total.
Since 1991, the IFFHS has named A. C. Milan the best club in the world twice and four times the best club of the month.
F.C. Internazionale Milano
Internazionale Milano is the second-most-winning club in Serie A, with twenty Scudetti. It was founded in 1908 and has contested all the tournaments of the first division of Italian football since then.
Considering all the Italian tournaments, it has won thirty-seven cups, including Supercoppa and Coppa Italia. It also has won three Champions League titles, which is an incredible achievement for any club from Italy or the rest of Europe.
Still, Internazionale has an impressive record: it’s the only club in Italy to have a hat trick by winning three important championships in the same season: Serie A, Coppa Italia, and the Champions League in 2010-2011.
Inter Milan is also one of the thirty-one clubs in the world to win the FIFA Club World Cup.
A.S. Roma
AS Roma (Associazione Sportiva Roma) is another iconic club in Serie A. Founded in 1927, it has been part of the league since its inception. Roma has won the Scudetto three times: in 1942, 1983, and 2001. The club has also claimed the Coppa Italia on nine occasions and made history as the first team to win the UEFA Conference League.
Some Crucial Football Players of the Serie A
Now, let’s take a look at my selection of the best footballers who have passed through the pitches of Italian Calcio.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is undoubtedly one of the best strikers of all time, with more than five hundred goals to his name. He is among the ten footballers with the most championships in history, with thirty-two cups in total. Ibrahimovic is one of the few footballers to have played in four of Europe’s top leagues, including Serie A.
In the Italian league, Ibrahimovic stood out with Juventus, winning two scudetti before the Vecchia Signora descended to the second division, and with F.C. Internazionale, winning three leagues and being voted best player in Serie A twice.
Ibrahimovic also excelled at A.C. Milan, winning Serie A and an Italian Super Cup and being the league’s top scorer from 2011 to 2012.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the best players in history, and his journey through Serie A was no different. Ronaldo is the player with the most goals in history and the winner of five Balloons D’ors.
In Serie A, Cristiano is one of the most successful foreign players, winning two leagues and becoming Capocannoniere, the best striker in the competition. With La Vecchia Signora, The Commander scored more than one hundred goals.
Thanks to these victories, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first footballer in history to win league titles in England, Spain, and Italy.
Ronaldo also won the Italian Supercoppa in 2018, scoring the only goal in the final against A.C. Milan, and in 2020 after defeating Napoli in an intricate final that ended 2-0.
Andrea Pirlo
Contrary to the two previous football players, who are among the most incredible strikers, Andrea Pirlo was a magnificent midfielder and is considered one of the best assistants in football history!
Andrea Pirlo is a legend, not only for his impressive style and technique but also for his unique vision on the football pitch.
He especially stood out for his time at A.C. Milan, having played ten seasons from 2001 to 2011. The Italian won nine titles, including two Serie A, one Coppa Italia, one Supercoppa, two Champions Leagues, two UEFA Super Cups, and two FIFA Club World Cups, which made him one of the best Italian players of all time!
Andrea Pirlo also played for Juventus, winning four more Serie A, two Supercoppa, and one Coppa Italia. Sadly, Pirlo couldn’t win the Champions League with the team from Torino. Andrea Pirlo is also the most effective free-kick striker in Serie A.
Ronaldo Nazário
Ronaldo Nazário, better known as “O Fenômeno,” was an unforgettable forward for most Internazionale Milan fans since his magical dribbling and velocity conquered the hearts of Milanese football enthusiasts!
Like Ibrahimovic and Cristiano, Ronaldo is one of the most efficient and extraordinary strikers in football history, whether playing in clubs or with the Brazilian national team. Not for nothing, he was included in the Hall of Fame of the best footballers of all time!
Ronaldo Nazário played for Internazionale Milano from 1997 to 2002. However, he was often injured, which deprived fans of seeing his best performance. Although the Brazillian won the Europa League after defeating Lazio, he couldn’t secure the Serie A or the Coppa Italia victory.
Gianluigi Buffon
Gianluigi Buffon was an exceptional goalkeeper of the past two decades, an incredible captain, and a football legend with impressive talent. Although Buffon started his career in Parma, he spent most of his time in Juventus, where he stood out since his first season.
The goalkeeper won ten Serie A titles, six Coppa Italia, seven Supercoppa Italiana, and one UEFA Europa League. Sadly, Buffon lost the three Champions League finals that he disputed: the first in 2003, the second in 2015, and the third in 2017, all in a Juventus jersey.
Buffon boasts outstanding statistics and has consistently played at the highest level of world football. He was also the goalkeeper for Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning team. The victory was celebrated like never before, with Buffon, as one of the team’s leaders, at the heart of the celebrations!
Zinedine Zidane
What can I say about Zinedine Zidane that no one has said before? This majestic mid-forward revolutionized the world of football with his unique skills and talent. He is considered one of the top players of his era and the best European footballer of the second half of the 20th century.
We can agree or not with this statement, but the truth is the French had a career full of triumphs and championships, inside and outside the Italian pitches.
Zidane’s football career truly began to soar in 1996 when he signed with Juventus. Surrounded by talented teammates such as Del Piero, Deschamps, Inzaghi, and Davids, Zidane honed his skills and elevated his game. This growth ultimately helped him lead France to victory in the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France.
In the first season with La Vecchia Signora, Zidane won the Scudetto, the UEFA Super Cup, and the Intercontinental Cup, and it reached second place in the UEFA Champions League. In the following season, La Vecchia Signora won the Scudetto again and reached second place in the Champions again!
Paolo Maldini
Italian football has a rich history of great defenders, and Paolo Maldini is undoubtedly one of the best! Often considered alongside Franz Beckenbauer and Elias Figueroa as the greatest defender of all time, Maldini’s legacy is supported by countless achievements.
Wearing the Associazione Calcio Milan jersey, Maldini was a standout, securing the defense like no one else. He was the historic captain of A.C. Milan, where he spent his entire football career. Maldini was also part of the legendary “Sacchi’s Milan” in the late 1980s, a team regarded as one of the best in football history.
From 1978 to 2009, Maldini played an astonishing 24 seasons, making him the second player with the most appearances in Serie A (647) after Gianluigi Buffon (657). Even more impressive, he played over 900 games in his career, far more than most Italian players but less than Buffon, the legendary goalkeeper.
Throughout his illustrious career, Paolo Maldini won seven Scudetti, one Coppa Italia, and five Italian Super Cups. Internationally, with A.C. Milan, he claimed five UEFA Super Cups, two Intercontinental Cups, and one FIFA Club World Cup.
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