60 Fun Facts About Serie a

In which season was Serie A established as a national round-robin league?

Serie A began in 1929-30 as a single national division of 18 clubs, replacing the regional groups of the old Italian Football Championship; Serie B started the same season.

Which club won the first Italian Football Championship, played in Turin in a single day in 1898?

Genoa won the final 2-1 on 8 May 1898 and went on to win five of the first six championships, interrupted only by Milan in 1901.

Which name did Internazionale carry when they won the inaugural Serie A season?

Forced to merge with Unione Sportiva Milanese in 1928, Inter were renamed Ambrosiana, a Fascist-era name dropped in 1945; fans went on calling the team Inter throughout.

Which is the only club to have played in every Serie A season?

Inter Milan are the only club never relegated from the top flight, present in every season since their debut in 1909-10.

The 'scudetto' worn by champions the following season means what in Italian?

Scudetto means 'little shield': a small tricolour shield sewn on the champions' shirts the following season, first worn in 1924.

Which Italian poet is generally credited with inventing the scudetto?

Gabriele D'Annunzio, who had seized Fiume in 1919, had a tricolour shield sewn on the shirts of an Italian military team for a match there in February 1920.

The FIGC awards a star to be worn on the shirt for every how many championships?

Juventus wear three stars for their 36 titles; Inter and Milan wear two each.

How many Italian championships had Juventus won by the end of the 2019-20 season?

Juventus had 36 Italian championships after winning the 2019-20 title; Inter and Milan were next with 18 each at that point.

The Coppa Campioni d'Italia trophy has been awarded to the Serie A champion since which season?

Sculptor Ettore Calvelli made the Coppa Campioni d'Italia in 1960; it stands on a base of blue sodalite and went first to the 1960-61 champions, Juventus.

How many clubs have played in Serie A since the 2004-05 season?

Serie A expanded from 18 to 20 clubs for 2004-05, giving each club 38 matches a season; the league had been 18 strong since 1988-89.

Why was the 1947-48 Serie A season played with an unusual 21 teams?

Triestina, relegated on the pitch in 1947, were kept in Serie A because of post-war tensions with Yugoslavia over Trieste, making 21 teams.

If the first half of a Serie A season is the andata, what is the second?

The second half is the ritorno, the return leg of every fixture; the two halves used the same order until an asymmetrical calendar arrived in 2021-22.

The only play-off ever needed to decide the Serie A champion, in 1963-64, was won by which club?

Bologna and Inter finished level on 54 points, and Bologna won the one-off decider 2-0 at Rome's Stadio Olimpico on 7 June 1964.

Since which season have Serie A wins been worth three points instead of two?

Three points for a win arrived in Serie A in 1994-95, thirteen years after the English Football League made the switch in 1981.

Which oil company became Serie A's title sponsor in 2024, giving the league its 'Enilive' name?

Eni's fuel and mobility arm Enilive took over from 2024-25, replacing TIM, the phone company that had sponsored the league since 1998.

Which UK broadcaster showed Serie A as 'Football Italia' from 1992 to 2002, making it a British cult?

Channel 4's Football Italia, fronted by James Richardson, ran from 1992 to 2002 and made Sunday-afternoon Serie A a British ritual.

The 2004-05 title was revoked from Juventus after which scandal?

Calciopoli, the 2006 wiretap scandal over influencing referee appointments, cost Juventus the 2004-05 title, for which no champion is recorded.

Which Juventus general manager's wiretapped calls were at the centre of the 2006 refereeing scandal?

Luciano Moggi's wiretapped calls to the officials who appointed referees were the core of the 2006 case; he was later banned from football for life.

Which goalkeeper stayed with Juventus for their 2006-07 Serie B season, making 37 appearances?

He had joined from Parma in 2001 for a world-record goalkeeper fee of €52.9 million.

How many consecutive Serie A titles did Juventus win in their record run ending in 2020?

Giorgio Chiellini played in all nine, the most consecutive titles by any player.

How many of their 38 games did Juventus win in their record-breaking 2013-14 season?

Juventus won 33, drew three and lost two of their 38 games in 2013-14 for a record 102 points, winning all 19 home matches.

Which club went through the 2011-12 Serie A season unbeaten?

Juventus won the 2011-12 title without losing a match, 23 wins and 15 draws, in Antonio Conte's first season in charge.

AC Milan's 58-match unbeaten run from 1991 to 1993 earned the team what nickname?

Fabio Capello's Milan were nicknamed The Invincibles for going 58 league games unbeaten; the run started and ended with defeats by Parma, in May 1991 and March 1993.

Which entrepreneur bought AC Milan in 1986, saved it from bankruptcy and hired Arrigo Sacchi?

Silvio Berlusconi bought the near-bankrupt club in 1986, hired Arrigo Sacchi from Parma in 1987 and signed Gullit, Van Basten and Rijkaard; Sacchi's first scudetto came in 1987-88.

AC Milan was founded in 1899 by an expatriate from which country?

Herbert Kilpin, from Nottingham in England, founded the club in December 1899 and chose red for fire and black for the fear the team would strike into opponents.

Football Club Internazionale was formed in 1908 by a group who left Milan over what issue?

The name Internazionale advertised the point: the breakaway club was founded on accepting foreigners, unlike the Milan Cricket and Football Club they had left.

The Milan derby is named after which landmark?

The Derby della Madonnina takes its name from the statue on the cathedral: the gilded Madonnina that has topped Milan's Duomo since 1774.

The Derby d'Italia between Inter and Juventus was named in 1967 by which journalist?

Gianni Brera, Italy's most famous sports writer, coined 'Derby d'Italia' in 1967 for Inter against Juventus, two clubs with supporters all over the country.

In the Rome derby, which end of the Stadio Olimpico do Lazio's ultras traditionally occupy?

Lazio's ultras fill the Curva Nord while their city rivals take the Curva Sud; the sfottò, teasing about each other's origins, is part of the ritual.

Who is Serie A's all-time top scorer with 274 goals?

He is also the only player to be the record scorer for three different clubs: Pro Vercelli, Lazio and Novara.

In which season did Francesco Totti win his only Serie A title?

Totti's one league title came in 2000-01 under Fabio Capello, with Gabriel Batistuta's goals, finishing two points ahead of Juventus.

The award for Serie A's top scorer, the capocannoniere, has since 2021 been named after which player?

Since 2021 the top-scorer award has been the Trofeo Paolo Rossi, after the 1982 World Cup hero, who died in December 2020.

Which Swedish striker won the capocannoniere five times with AC Milan in the 1950s, a record?

Gunnar Nordahl topped the scoring charts in 1950, 1951, 1953, 1954 and 1955, and his 17 Serie A hat-tricks are also a record.

Which two players share the record of 36 goals in a single Serie A season?

Higuaín did it for Napoli in 2015-16 and Immobile for Lazio in 2019-20, when he also scored a record 14 penalties.

Which club did Stefano Pioli coach to the 2021-22 Serie A title?

Stefano Pioli's AC Milan won the 2021-22 title with 86 points, two ahead of city rivals Inter, their first scudetto since 2010-11.

Zdeněk Zeman's 'Zemanlandia' side of the early 1990s played for which club?

Foggia under Zdeněk Zeman, promoted in 1991, played a wild 4-3-3 that earned the nickname Zemanlandia and launched Giuseppe Signori and Francesco Baiano.

Which two one-club men share the record of 25 seasons in Serie A?

Paolo Maldini and Francesco Totti each played 25 Serie A seasons for one club: Maldini from 1984-85 to 2008-09, Totti from 1992-93 to 2016-17.

Which goalkeeper made 332 consecutive Serie A appearances, a record, 330 of them for Juventus?

Dino Zoff played 332 consecutive Serie A matches from 1972 to 1983, the last 330 of them for Juventus, and retired at 41 after the 1982-83 season.

Who scored the fastest goal in Serie A history, 6.2 seconds into a match in December 2020?

Rafael Leão scored after 6.2 seconds for AC Milan away at Sassuolo on 20 December 2020, the fastest goal in Serie A history.

Who became Serie A's oldest goalscorer at 41 years and 166 days in March 2023?

Zlatan Ibrahimović scored a penalty for AC Milan against Udinese on 18 March 2023 at 41 years and 166 days, passing Alessandro Costacurta's record.

Which coach won seven Serie A titles with Juventus and Inter between 1977 and 1989?

Giovanni Trapattoni won six titles with Juventus between 1977 and 1986 and one with Inter in 1988-89, the side nicknamed the record team for its 58 points.

Which coach won a record five consecutive Serie A titles, all with Juventus?

Massimiliano Allegri won five straight titles from 2014-15 to 2018-19 after taking over from Antonio Conte, who had won the first three of the run.

Who coached Napoli to the 2022-23 Serie A title at the age of 64?

Luciano Spalletti led Napoli to the 2022-23 title, their first in 33 years, by a 16-point margin; at 64 he became the oldest coach to win the scudetto.

Napoli's first Serie A title, in 1986-87, was won under the leadership of which player?

Diego Maradona captained Napoli to their first scudetto in 1986-87 under coach Ottavio Bianchi; their second came in 1989-90.

Which 1984-85 champion is from a city that is not a regional capital?

Hellas Verona, coached by Osvaldo Bagnoli, won the 1984-85 title by four points; Verona is in the Veneto, whose regional capital is Venice.

At which club did Roberto Baggio play the last four seasons of his career?

Roberto Baggio spent 2000 to 2004 at Brescia, where Carlo Mazzone built the team around him; he retired after a final game at San Siro in May 2004.

Which club suffered a record 29 defeats in a 38-game Serie A season, in 2017-18?

Benevento lost 29 of 38 games in 2017-18, their first top-flight season; goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli's stoppage-time header against Milan earned their first point.

Who made his AC Milan debut at 15 years and 260 days in November 2023?

Francesco Camarda came on for AC Milan against Fiorentina on 25 November 2023 at 15 years and 260 days, beating Wisdom Amey's Serie A debut record.

Which Croatian midfielder made his Serie A debut for AC Milan at 39 in August 2025?

Luka Modrić joined AC Milan in 2025 after 13 years at Real Madrid and scored his first Serie A goal five days after his 40th birthday, in September 2025.

Which goalkeeper holds the Serie A record for penalties saved, 26?

Samir Handanović saved 26 Serie A penalties across his years at Udinese and Inter, more than any other goalkeeper in the league's history.

Serie A was chosen in 2016 to trial which innovation, going live in 2017-18?

Video replays, the VAR system, went live in Serie A in 2017-18 after the league joined the trials IFAB approved in 2016, one of the first top leagues to do so.

Italian football's 'seven sisters' originally meant Juventus, the Milan clubs, Roma, Lazio and which two others?

Parma and Fiorentina completed the late-1990s seven sisters: Parma won the UEFA Cup in 1995 and 1999, and Fiorentina finished third in 1998-99.

In which year did Internazionale win their first Italian championship?

Internazionale won their first Italian championship in 1910, beating Pro Vercelli in a play-off; a century later, in 2010, they completed the first Italian treble.

Juventus have been owned by which family since 1923?

The club was founded in 1897 by students of the Massimo d'Azeglio school in Turin.

Which Serie A club won the 2023-24 Europa League, the season Serie A topped UEFA's coefficient ranking?

Atalanta beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the 2024 Europa League final in Dublin with an Ademola Lookman hat-trick, ending Leverkusen's 51-game unbeaten run.

Which AC Milan striker was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1995?

George Weah, newly signed by Milan from Paris Saint-Germain, won the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or, the first African to win either, and later became president of Liberia.

Which club had its 1926-27 Italian championship revoked for bribery?

Torino's 1926-27 title was revoked after a club director was found to have bribed Juventus defender Luigi Allemandi; no champion is recorded for that season.

Which network and streaming service began showing Serie A in the US from 2021-22?

CBS Sports and Paramount+ took over from the 2021-22 season; before that the league had lived on the ESPN family of networks in the US.

When Serie A voted 19-1 to split from Serie B in 2009, which relegation-threatened club voted against?

Lecce, fighting relegation, cast the lone vote against the 2009 split; Maurizio Beretta, ex-head of Italy's employers' association, became the new league's first president.

In 2002 the FIGC gave which club a special decoration for winning the 1944 wartime championship?

Spezia, playing as the 42° Corpo dei Vigili del Fuoco, won the 1944 wartime championship; the FIGC's 2002 decoration is an honour, not an official scudetto.