Soccer in Italy

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Football ( Italian : Calcio : kick , from calciare : kick) isthe most popular sportin Italy . Officially, 4,980,296 Italians, 1,513,596 of them registered players, play football in 16,697 teams, including almost 5,000 professionals . Around 500,000 games are played in dozens of leagues every year. Furthermore, football is played as a popular sport by an even greater number of people in their leisure time.

The Italian national team is one of the most successful national soccer teams in the world. The team has participated eight times at the European Championships and won the title in their own country in 1968. Italy was represented 17 times at the World Championships and won the title four times (1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006). In addition, the Italian selection was once Olympic champion . The Italian team played their first international match against France in Milan in 1910 and won the game 6-2.

history

Football was already at home in Italy in the Middle Ages , which was then called Calcio . It is believed that Roman legions introduced this ball game to other European countries. However, there were hardly any binding rules of the game and the style of play was more similar to today's rugby . In addition, the two teams consisted of 27 men each. Under the rule of Mussolini , this game was upgraded to a national sport and was given the name Volta-Flugball , now a mix of football , rugby and fistball .

The Italian Football Association was founded in 1898 and is one of UEFA's three founding members. The football association is the umbrella organization for all league and cup competitions in Italian football, even if the actual organization is partially delegated to sub-organizations. Only the national team is directly subject to the competence of the FIGC.For professional football, two organizations are primarily responsible: The Lega Calcio Serie A / B organizes league and cup competitions for Serie A and B, the Lega Calcio Serie C organizes the same for Serie C. .

Professional football has been established in Italy since the 1930s, which prompted some German players to play in Italy before the Bundesliga was founded in 1963. The first professional football player, Virginio Rosetta , moved from US Pro Vercelli to Juventus Turin in the summer of 1923 - for the then unbelievable sum of 50,000 lire .

League system

Logo of the Italian football association FIGC

In Italy there are two pan-Italian professional leagues ( Lega Nazionale Professionisti ), the Series A and Series B . Among them is the series C ( Lega Professionisti , at times under the name "Lega Pro"), which is a professional league, but is divided into three regional groups.

The Series D is the highest amateur class and is itself divided into nine local groups. This is followed by numerous local league levels, which, however, no longer have a “ series ” structure. Series D is organized by the Lega nazionale dilettanti (National Amateur League), which also regulates women's football and the lower leagues at regional league level.

step League / Division (s)
1 Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie A

20 clubs

2 Lega Nazionale Professionisti Series B

20 clubs

3 Lega Professionisti Serie C Girone A

20 clubs

Lega Professionisti Serie C Girone B

20 clubs

Lega Professionisti Serie C Girone C

20 clubs

4th Series D Girone A

18 clubs

Series D Girone B

18 clubs

Series D Girone C

18 clubs

Series D Girone D

18 clubs

Series D Girone E

18 clubs

Series D Girone F

18 clubs

Series D Girone G

18 clubs

Series D Girone H

18 clubs

Series D Girone I

18 clubs

from 5 Leagues at regional and provincial level. Details see below

The Series A

Serie A is the top division. Since the 2004/05 season, it has consisted of 20 football clubs that play the Italian champions among themselves. The last three teams are relegated at the end of the season. The rounds are played from the beginning of September to the end of May with a short winter break (usually from the end of December to January 6th).

The series B

Serie B is the second highest national professional league. It consists of 22 clubs since the 2004/05 season. The two best teams and a third team determined in the play-off will be promoted to Serie A at the end of the season. The last three teams as well as a fourth, determined in the play-out, are relegated to Serie C.

The series C

The Serie C has been the third highest professional league in Italy since 2014 and was called "Lega Pro" from 2014 to 2017. It is divided into 3 groups, Group A, Group B and Group C (Italian Girone A , Girone B and Girone C ), in which the team is divided based on their regional location.

The first-placed team in each group is promoted directly to Serie B, as is a team determined in play-offs between the groups. The last-placed team in each group will be relegated directly to Serie D, as will each group two teams determined in the play-outs that occupy the next four lowest places.

The series D

Serie D is the highest amateur league. A total of 162 clubs play in it. Series D is divided into nine regional groups, each consisting of 18 clubs. The first-placed teams in each group advance directly to Serie C. In addition, play-offs are played, the winners of which can only be promoted if teams from Serie C are withdrawn from their license or cannot exercise their right to play for other reasons.

Cup competitions

The trophy of the Supercoppa Italiana

In Italy, two national cup competitions are played in the professional area: The Coppa Italia , the Italian Cup, and the Supercoppa Italiana , the Italian Supercup. All teams from Series A and B as well as selected teams from Series C and D are eligible to participate in the Coppa Italia. The Supercoppa is determined between the champions and the cup winners. If a team has both titles, the defeated cup finalist takes part in the Supercoppa.

The Coppa Italia Lega Pro will also be held in the lower professional league, Serie C, and the upper amateur leagues . This cup competition is closed to Serie A and B professional clubs. The winner of the Coppa Italia Lega Pro also has the right to participate in the play-offs for promotion to Serie B. The Supercoppa Lega Pro, on the other hand, is determined between the three champions of groups A, B and C of Serie C. In the league system that existed before 2014, there were numerous variations of these two competitions.

Amateur football

The entire amateur area from Serie D to the smallest local leagues, as well as women's and youth football (exception: Beretti and Primavera championship, see section below) is organized by the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti (National Amateur Association). The LND is responsible for over 1.2 million people in 16,355 clubs who are registered as football players. There are also around 11,000 female soccer players and around a million youth players.

The top amateur league is the aforementioned Serie D , where 162 teams play across Italy in nine regional groups. This is followed by five further levels, organized hierarchically: three at the regional level and two at the provincial level. There are opportunities for promotion and relegation between each league every year. Basically, a march through from a regional district league to the professional league is possible (for promotion to the professional league, i.e. the C2 series , additional criteria must be met, such as the minimum number of seats in the stadiums, financial criteria ...) One example is FC Südtirol , which was founded as a club in recent years, from the regional league (7th league) to the third professional league (Lega Pro Prima Divisione Girone A).

The following list shows the amateur levels from the 5th league (Series D). The italic names in brackets are the German translations of the leagues in South Tyrol . All leagues are still divided into regional or local divisions.

Series D
Top amateur league, organized nationwide and divided into nine divisions. The participating teams are geographically within a radius of several hundred kilometers. Between 1991 and 1999 the series D is called "Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti" or amateur national league in South Tyrol.
Campionato di Eccellenza ( Oberliga )
The top regional amateur league. The best amateur teams in a region in Italy play in it. (461 teams)
Campionato di Promozione (National League )
Most of the Italian regions are politically divided into provinces. Therefore, at the provincial level, the national league is the highest division (832 teams)
Campionato di 1ª Categoria ( 1st amateur league )
The top local amateur league. The participating teams are geographically within a few districts . In South Tyrol there are two groups in the 1st amateur league (1629 teams)
Campionato di 2ª Categoria ( 2nd amateur league )
The second highest local amateur league. The participating teams are only a few kilometers apart. In South Tyrol there are three groups in the 2nd amateur league (2826 teams)
Campionato di 3ª Categoria ( 3rd amateur league )
The lowest amateur league. Newly formed teams start in this league. In South Tyrol there are four groups in the 3rd amateur league. The participating teams are mostly geographically located in directly adjacent communities or towns. (3108 teams)

Women's soccer

Women's football in Italy is a purely amateur cause. There are around 11,000 women players across Italy, around 2,300 of whom play in three leagues at national level. The all-Italian championship is determined between twelve Serie A teams. Twelve teams each play in Serie A2, Group A and B. The lowest all-Italian women's football league is Serie B, which in turn is divided into five divisions of twelve teams each.

Football has been officially played by women in Italy since 1968, when the “Federazione Italiana Calcio Femminile” (Italian: Italian Women's Football Association) was founded. This association only became a sub-organization of the FIGC in 1989 and thus legitimized within the official Italian football association. Since then, the aforementioned LND has been organizing the women's football section.

Youth football

Youth and school football is very similar to the German system. Just like in Germany, there are youth championships, divided into age groups, from the A -youth to the E-youth for the youngest. The organizers of the professional leagues Lega Calcio and Lega Calcio Serie C each also organize a national youth championship.

Campionato Primavera and Campionato Berretti

The Italian professional leagues organize a professionally organized youth league in which only the young talents of the professional clubs play. This championship is called Campionato Primavera ( Primavera is Italian for spring ), or Campionato Berretti for the tournament organized by the Lega Pro. This is necessary because young players often have no other opportunities to get match practice, as there are no amateur sections of professional clubs in the lower leagues in Italy, as there are in the German regional league. The youth players therefore compete in their own youth teams under the club name of the professionals and determine their own champions.

The "Primavera Championship" is organized by the Lega Calcio , in principle all youth teams of the professional clubs in Serie A , Serie B and Lega Pro can take part. In fact, very few Lega Pro teams report a youth team, while Serie A and B clubs are closed teams. The vast majority of the remaining Lega Pro clubs instead take part in the specially organized “Berretti Championship”, which is to a certain extent the equivalent of the Primavera Championship for the Lega Pro clubs. The Primavera Championship has existed since 1962, the current mode of competition has existed since 1995.

Eligible are players between the ages of 15 and 20, although this rule can be suspended for a total of two players in the squad. Due to the large number of teams, the clubs are divided into four divisions, with the first four teams qualifying for a promotion round. In a simple knockout match with a round trip, the number of teams remaining in the tournament is halved. These eight teams play a final, multi-day final tournament in a summer camp. The winner of this tournament is Primavera Master.

The reigning champions are the AS Roma youth team .

Coppa Italia Primavera

Since 1972 there has been a separate cup competition for the Primavera teams. In the Italian Cup, formally known as the Primavera TIM Cup , the youth teams determine their own winner. The participating teams are the same as those taking part in the Primavera Championship (see above).

50 teams take part in the Primavera Italian Cup, of which last year's finalists will only enter in the round of 16. The remaining 48 teams enter the tournament in a first group stage. The teams are divided into twelve groups of four and determine the group winners over three match days, as well as the two best runners-up who will advance to the next tournament.

The remaining 16 teams determine in direct knockout duels the climbers of the respective encounters, up to the winner of the tournament. As for the Primavera Championship, only players between the ages of 15 and 20 are allowed to take part in the Italian Cup. Here too, however, the rule may be suspended for two players in the squad.

Reigning cup winner (2019) is the youth team from Fiorentina .

Famous Italian players past and present

Participation of Italy in the European Football Championship

Italy took part in the finals of the European Championship eight times. The best results so far were first place in 1968 and second place in 2000 and 2012.

year Host country Participation until ... Last opponent Result Trainer Comments and special features
1960 France not participated
1964 Spain not qualified In the second round at the defending champion and later vice European champions USSR failed.
1968 Italy final Yugoslavia European champion Ferruccio Valcareggi Win in replay
1972 Belgium not qualified In the quarter-finals to eventual third parties Belgium failed.
1976 Yugoslavia not qualified In qualifying later in the Third Netherlands failed.
1980 Italy 3rd place match Czechoslovakia 4th Enzo Bearzot Loss on penalties in the last European Championship game for third place
1984 France not qualified Failed to qualify as World Champion by Romania .
1988 Germany Semifinals USSR - Azeglio Vicini
1992 Sweden not qualified In the qualification of the USSR failed.
1996 England Preliminary round Germany , Russia , Czech Republic - Arrigo Sacchi After a win against Russia, a defeat against the eventual runner-up in the Czech Republic, and a draw against eventual European champions Germany, they were eliminated in third place in the group.
2000 Belgium and the Netherlands final France Vice European champion Dino Zoff Golden Goal defeat
2004 Portugal Preliminary round Bulgaria , Denmark , Sweden - Giovanni Trapattoni After two draws against Denmark and Sweden and a win against Bulgaria due to the poorer goal difference, eliminated as third in the group.
2008 Austria and Switzerland Quarter finals Spain - Roberto Donadoni Defeat on penalties against the eventual European champions
2012 Poland and Ukraine final Spain Vice European champion Cesare Prandelli In the preliminary round, Italy met world champions and defending champions Spain , Croatia and Ireland . England was defeated in the quarter-finals and Germany in the semi-finals.
2016 France Quarter finals Germany - Antonio Conte In the qualification Italy met Azerbaijan , Bulgaria , Croatia , Malta and Norway and qualified undefeated as group winners.

Participation of Italy in the soccer world championship

Italy has taken part in world championships 18 times and has won the title four times, most recently in Germany in 2006.

year Host country Participation until ... Last opponent Result Trainer Comments and special features
1930 Uruguay not participated
1934 Italy final Czechoslovakia World Champion Vittorio Pozzo 1st world title
1938 France final Hungary World Champion Vittorio Pozzo 1. Title defense
1950 Brazil Preliminary round Sweden , Paraguay 7th Ferruccio Novo 1. Elimination of a reigning world champion in the preliminary round
1954 Switzerland Preliminary round England , Switzerland , Belgium 10. Lajos Czeizler Out in the playoff against Switzerland
1958 Sweden not qualified In the qualification of Northern Ireland failed
1962 Chile Preliminary round Germany , Switzerland , Chile 9. Paolo Mazza " Battle of Santiago "
1966 England Preliminary round North Korea , USSR , Chile 9. Edmondo Fabbri First loss against an Asian team
1970 Mexico final Brazil Vice world champion Ferruccio Valcareggi " Century Game "
1974 Germany Preliminary round Poland , Argentina , Haiti 10. Ferruccio Valcareggi Out in the playoff against Poland
1978 Argentina 3rd place match Brazil 4th Enzo Bearzot
1982 Spain final Germany World Champion Enzo Bearzot Italy set the record for Brazil with their 3rd World Cup title, a
Paolo Rossi top scorer
1986 Mexico Round of 16 France 12. Enzo Bearzot
1990 Italy 3rd place match England 3. Azeglio Vicini Semi-final defeat on penalties against Argentina
Germany draws their 3rd World Cup title with Brazil and Italy equal to
Salvatore Schillaci top scorer
1994 United States final Brazil Vice world champion Arrigo Sacchi Defeat in the first penalty shoot-out in a World Cup final
Brazil is again sole record champion
1998 France Quarter finals France 5. Cesare Maldini Out on penalties
2002 Japan and South Korea Round of 16 South Korea 15th Giovanni Trapattoni Out in extra time through Golden Goal
2006 Germany final France World Champion Marcello Lippi First victory in a penalty shootout at a World Cup
in Italy twelve World Cup goals to the final were from ten different players scored
headbutt Zidane against Materazzi
2010 South Africa Preliminary round Paraguay , Slovakia , New Zealand 26th Marcello Lippi Out in the playoff against Slovakia
2014 Brazil Preliminary round England , Costa Rica , Uruguay 22nd Cesare Prandelli Out in the playoff against Uruguay
2018 Russia not qualified In the qualification of Sweden failed

Scandals

On May 2nd, 2006 the biggest soccer scandal in the history of Italy was exposed. The sports newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport published logs of phone calls made by the Turin public prosecutor. They justified the suspicion that Luciano Moggi , the manager of the football club Juventus Turin , had manipulated matches in the Serie A with the participation of various referees and linesmen in the 2004/05 season .

Moggi was subsequently charged with being involved in “mafia-like structures”. Hearings before the national sports jurisdiction were scheduled for October 11 and 12, 2006. On July 14th, five days after Italy won the World Cup, the verdict was handed down in the first instance in the football scandal. Accordingly, Juventus Turin were revoked the last two championships. The club should have started the new season with 30 minus points in Serie B. Fiorentina and Lazio , which should start the new season with seven and twelve minus points, respectively , should have been relegated . The AC Milan remain in the first division, started there but with 15 penalty points in the new season. In addition, he would have been retroactively stripped of 44 points from last season, which would have meant that he would not have been able to play in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League . The championship titles of the years 2004/05 and 2005/06 would not be awarded again. However, Inter Milan as the best club not involved in the scandal continued to claim the title of the 2005/06 season and was ultimately awarded it. In the second instance, the judgments were softened: Juventus started with 17 minus points in Serie B, AC Milan (−8), Lazio Rome (−1) and ACF Florence (−19) stayed with corresponding minus points in Serie A. The punishment of AC Milan 2005/06 was enough for a place in the Champions League qualification. Reggina Calcio , who was also involved in the scandal, received 15 minus points. Since Juventus Turin refrained from going to civil jurisdiction at the end of August, Serie A and Serie B were able to start regular match operations, albeit two weeks later.

As early as 1980, two clubs, AC Milan and Lazio, were relegated due to a betting scandal.

In 2013, the public prosecutor launched an investigation into player transfers .

See also

literature

Web links

Commons : Football in Italy  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Official statistics on fifa.com
  2. ^ Calcio, national sport of the fascio . In: Vossische Zeitung , April 9, 1929.
  3. The placements from 5th place onwards were determined by FIFA without any placement games. See: All-time FIFA World Cup Ranking 1930–2010 (PDF file; 195 kB)
  4. Fußball-Manager.at: Soccer scandal Italy 2005/2006 , queried on May 1, 2011