Football, or soccer as it is also known, is without any doubt the most popular sport on the planet. Thanks to the dozens of great teams from the best football-oriented countries, mostly in Europe and South America, the sport has taken the planet by storm long ago and it has only become greater since. It is challenging to narrow down one feature of soccer that makes it so popular far and wide, but the many different leagues and competitions have a lot to do with it.
Although globally the national competitions like the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Euro, and the Copa America draw in millions of fans whenever they happen, team competitions and leagues happen every year. The top five leagues in the world are well known and respected. They include the English Premier League, the Spanish La Liga, the German Bundesliga, the French Ligue 1, and the most important one for this article, the Italian Serie A.
The five major leagues, including other popular ones like those of Holland, Portugal, Greece, and Russia, are also fan-favorites for sports betting. To learn more about soccer club betting and make some bets on matches, visit Betway.
Seria A History
Before we mentioned the five most popular teams in the Italian soccer league, we should say something about its history. The league is one of the oldest, as it was founded more than 122 years ago in 1898. It currently has 20 teams competing for the Scudetto, a prestigious decoration worn on the uniforms of sports clubs that have won the annual championship in their sport the previous season.
The Scudetto represents an Italian flag in the form of a coat of arms. The first team to ever wear it was Genoa C.F.C in 1924 after it was first created in 1920. Seria A was also known as Lega Calcio until 2010, and experienced fans and enthusiasts still refer to it simply as Calcio.
The top goal scorer of the league is Silvio Piola with 274 goals. Most appearances have been made by Gianluigi Buffon. The legendary goalkeeper has so far played 649 games in the league. The current champion is Juventus F.C.
Although the league fell into somewhat of an obscurity during the last decade or so, the league is now back with multiple teams playing extremely well. The Calcio is finally interesting again and several teams have had some of the best players in the world. Although still far away from its golden years from the turn of the millennium, soccer in Italy is once more some of the best in the world.
Most Popular Teams
Apart from maybe England, Italy has the largest number of popular teams who have strong track records during their long history. Following is a list of top five Italian teams right now.
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Juventus F.C.
Juve is ways in front of other Italian teams when it comes to domestic success. The Bianconeri (the black and whites) are the absolute leaders in the number of total Serie A titles in history with 36, as much as the second and third teams. Furthermore, they are also the leaders in both Coppa Italia with 13 titles, and the Supercoppa Italiana with 8 titles. On the European stage, the club has won 2 UEFA Champions League titles and 3 UEFA Europa League titles. Overall, La Vecchia Signora (The Old Lady) has won 68 trophies since 1897 when they were founded. Their latest 2019-2020 league title is their ninth in the row. Throughout the years, they have had some of the sport’s greatest players in Allesandro Del Piero, Andrea Pirlo, Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane, and Pavel Nedved. Their two current greatest starts are Cristiano Ronaldo and Gianluigi Buffon. They are based in Turin, and they play at the Juventus (Allianz) Stadium.
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A.C. Milan
Based in the city of Milan, the Rossoneri (the red and blacks) are one of the two great clubs of the famous Italian city, the other being Inter. When Milan plays at the city’s greatest stadium, it bears the name of San Siro. The Milan vs. Inter game is among the most popular matchups in football. Throughout their long history that started way back in 1899, Milan has won a total of 48 trophies. They share the second place on the list of Calcio titles with their city rivals Inter, both having 18 so far. Milan has 5 Coppa Italia titles and 7 Supercoppa Italiana championships. On the European stage, they are the frontrunners when Italian teams are concerned, with 7 titles to their name. Apart from that, they have won 5 UEFA Super Cups and 1 FIFA Club World Cup. Their greatest players ever include Ricardo Kaka, Andriy Schevchenko, Alessandro Costacurta, Gianni Rivera, Nelson Dida, Franco Baresi, Filippo “Pippo” Inzaghi, and Paolo Maldini.
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Inter Milan
The second great team of Milan is Inter, the direct rivals of A.C. Milan. They share their home pitch in the city, which is commonly referred to as Giuseppe Meazza when Internazionale play home games. The Nerazzurri (the black and blues) share the second place on the list of most Serie A titles with Milan, both winning 18. While Inter has two more Coppa Italias with 7, they have two less Supercoppa Italiana titles with 5. However, Inter has won the second-most UEFA Champions League titles with 3, one more than Juventus, and four less than Milan. They have also won 3 UEFA Europa Leagues, making them the second most decorated Italian club in Italy with 6 total titles (Milan has 7 and Juve has 5). All in all, Inter has won 39 titles in their history, which spans 112 years. Some of their best players include Samuel Eto’o, Christian Vieri, Julio Cesar, Esteban Cambiasso, Ivan Cordoba, Giuseppe Baresi, Giuseppe Meazza, and Javier Zanetti.
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S.S. Lazio
The first out of two great clubs from the Italian capital of Rome is Lazio. The famous Biancocelesti (the white and skyblues) have 16 titles across all competitions. They have not won any European trophies so far, but they have had a presence in Italy with 2 Calcios, 7 Coppa Italias, and 5 Supercoppa Italiana. Lazio was established in 1900 and their home stadium is Stadio Olimpico. Some of their legends include Sinisa Mihajlovic, Giuseppe Favalli, Silvio Piola, Giorgio Chinaglia, and Alessandro Nesta.
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A.S. Roma
The slightly more popular club from Rome has 15 titles in total. The Giallorossi (the yellow and reds) have 1 more Scudetto than Lazio with 3, 2 more Coppa Italias with 9, but three less Supercoppa Italiana with 2. La Lupa (The She-Wolf) share the city stadium of Stadio Olimpico with Lazio, and their matches are always a spectacle. Roma is the youngest team on the list, founded 93 years ago in 1927. Most popular Roma players in history include some of the sports greatest in Di Bartolomei, Cafu, Daniele De Rossi, Bruno Conti, and the “Prince of Rome” and absolute legend of The Eternal City, Francesco Totti.
