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Countries | ![]() |
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Confederation | UEFA |
Founded | 1898 officially 1929 with current format 2010 (Lega Serie A) |
Number of teams | 20 |
Levels on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | Serie B |
Domestic cup(s) | Coppa Italia Supercoppa Italiana |
International cup(s) | UEFA Champions League UEFA Europa League |
Current champions | Internazionale (2009–10) |
Most championships | Juventus (27 titles) |
TV partners | SKY Italia, Mediaset Premium, Dahlia TV |
Website | legaseriea.it |
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Serie A (Italian pronunciation: [ˈsɛːrje ˈa]), now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new league, the Lega Serie A, has been created for the 2010–11 season. Serie A has produced the highest number of European Cup finalists and the most victories in the competition. In total, Italian clubs have reached the final of the competition on a record twenty-six different occasions, winning the title twelve times.[1] Serie A is ranked 4th among European leagues according to UEFA's league coefficient, which is based on the performance of Italian clubs in the Champions League and the Europa League.[2] It also ranked 4th in world according to the first trends of the 2010 IFFHS rating.[3]
In its current format, the Italian Football Championship was revised from having regional and interregional rounds, to just one solid league from the 1929–30 season onwards; the Serie A system carries on today. The championship titles won before 1929 are officially recognised by FIGC as a championship in the same way the ones since then are. The 1945–46 season, when the league was played over two geographical groups due to WWII destructions, is not statistically considered, even if its title is fully official.[4]
The league hosts three of the world's most famous clubs as Juventus, Internazionale and Milan, all founding members of the G-14 a group representing the largest and most prestigious European football clubs; Serie A was the only league to produce three founding members.[5] More players have won the coveted Ballon d'Or award while playing at a Serie A club than any other league in the world.[6] Milan is one of two clubs with the most official international titles in the world.[7] Juventus, Italy's most successful club of the 20th century[8] and the most successful Italian team,[9] is tied for third in Europe and sixth in the world in the same ranking. The club is the only one in the world to have won all official international competitions.[10][11] Internazionale, following their achievements in the 2009–10 season, became the first Italian team to have achieved The Treble.
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[edit] Format
For most of Serie A's history there were 16 or 18 clubs competing at the top level; however, since 2004–05 there have been 20 clubs altogether. A season (1947–1948) was played with 21 teams for political reasons. Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history;
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![](https://web.archive.org/web/20110504095932im_/http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/99/Scudetto.svg/140px-Scudetto.svg.png)
During the course of a season, from August to May, each club plays each of the other teams twice; once at home and once away, totaling 38 games for each team by the end of the season. Therefore, in Italian football a true round-robin format is used. In the first half of the season, called the andata, each team plays once against each league opponent, for a total of 19 games. In the second half of the season, called the ritorno, the teams play in exactly the same order that they did in the first half of the season, the only difference being that home and away situations are switched. Since the 1994-1995 season, teams were awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss.
Since Italy is currently rated as one of the top three European countries in terms of club football ratings,[12] the top four teams in the Serie A qualified for the UEFA Champions League. The top three teams qualify directly to the group phase, while the fourth-placed team enters the competition at the third qualifying round and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group phase. Teams finishing 5th and 6th qualify for the UEFA Europa League Tournament. A third UEFA Europa League spot is reserved for the winner of the Coppa Italia. If the Coppa Italia champion has already qualified for the major European tournament by placing in the top four of Serie A, the third UEFA Europa League spot goes to the losing finalist. If both Coppa Italia finalists finish among the top six teams in Serie A, the 7th classified team in Serie A is awarded the UEFA Europa League spot. The three lowest placed teams are relegated to Serie B.
Before the 2005–06 season if two or more teams were tied in points for first place, for only one spot in a European tournament, or in the relegation zone, teams would play tie-breaking games after the season was over to determine which team would be champion, or be awarded a European tournament spot, or be saved or relegated. Since 2005–06, if two or more teams end the season with the same number of points, the ordering is determined by their head-to-head records. In case two or more teams have same total points and same head-to-head records, goal difference becomes the secondary deciding factor.
[edit] The Golden Star
In 1958, based on an idea of Umberto Agnelli, the honor of Golden Star for Sports Excellence ("Stella d’Oro al Merito Sportivo" in Italian) was introduced to recognize sides that have won multiple championships or other honours by the display of gold stars on their team crests and jerseys. However, the Golden Star is not officially awarded by the Federazione Italiana Gioco Calcio (FIGC) and is voluntarily added to team jerseys by the respective team. In Italy, the practice is to award one star for ten titles. The first team to adopt a star was Juventus in Italy and Europe,[13] who added a star above their crest in 1958 to represent their tenth Serie A title. In 1982, they received their second golden star for having won their 20th league title.
The current officially-sanctioned Serie A stars are:
Juventus, received in 1958 and 1982.
Internazionale, received in 1966.
Milan, received in 1979.
[edit] History
Serie A, as it is structured today, began in 1929. From 1898 to 1922 the competition was organised into regional groups. Because of ever growing teams attending regional championships, FIGC split the CCI (Italian Football Confederation) in 1921. When CCI teams rejoined the FIGC created two interregional divisions renaming Categories into Divisions and splitting FIGC sections into two North-South leagues. In 1926 due to internal crises FIGC changed internal settings adding southern teams to the national divisions which lead to 1929-30 final settlement. No title was awarded in 1927 after Torino were stripped of the championship by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). Torino were declared champions in the 1948-49 season following a plane crash near the end of the season in which the entire team was killed.
The Serie A Championship title is often referred to as the scudetto (small shield) because since the 1924-25 season the winning team will bear a small coat of arms with the Italian tricolour on their strip in the following season. The most successful club is Juventus with 27 championships, followed by Internazionale (18), Milan (17), and Genoa (9). From 2004–05 onwards an actual trophy was awarded to club on the pitch after the last turn of the championship. The trophy, called Coppa Campioni d'Italia, is official since the 1960–61 season, but between 1961 and 2004 it was consigned to the winning clubs at the head office of the Lega Nazionale Professionisti.
On 30 April 2009, Serie A announced a split from Serie B. Nineteen of the twenty clubs voted in favour of the move in an argument over television rights. Relegation-threatened Lecce voted against. Maurizio Beretta, the former head of Italy's employers' association, will be the president of the new league.[14][15][16][17]
[edit] Television rights
In the past individual clubs competing in the league had the rights to sell their broadcast rights to specific channels in Italy, unlike in most other European countries. The three broadcasters in Italy are the satellite broadcaster SKY Italia, along with terrestrial broadcasters Mediaset Premium and Dahlia TV for their own pay television networks; RAI is allowed to broadcast only highlights (in exclusive from 13:30 to 22:30 CET). This is a list of television rights in Italy (until 2009–2010):
- SKY Italia (all matches)
- Mediaset Premium (all matches of Milan, Inter, Juventus, Lazio, Roma, Napoli and matches in house and guests of the above teams of Genoa, Atalanta, Chievo, Bari)
- Dahlia TV (all matches of Fiorentina, Palermo, Sampdoria, Cagliari, Catania, Bologna and matches in house and guests of the above teams of Livorno, Siena, Parma, Udinese)
- RAI (highlights)
For the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons, Serie A clubs negotiating club TV rights collectively rather than individually for the first time since 1998–99. The domestic rights for those two seasons were sold for €1.149bn to Sky Italia.[18]
[edit] International
Global rights for the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons were sold for €181.5M to MP & Silva.[19]
In countries and territories outside of Italy, the league is broadcast on adventure timeRaitalia (numerous countries in several continents), Canal+ Poland (Poland), KBS Sports (South Korea), TV+ (Bulgaria), Radio Televisyen Malaysia (Malaysia), Indosiar (Indonesia), Arena Sport, Sport Klub (Serbia), Supersport Kosova (Kosovo), NTV Turkey (Turkey), Telma (Macedonia), In televizija (Montenegro), mio TV (Singapore), Telelatino, The Score and Fox Sports World Canada (Canada), Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Soccer Plus and Fox Sports en Español (United States), Digi Sport (Hungary), Sport1 (The Netherlands), ESPN (United Kingdom), Setanta Sports (Ireland and Australia), TV Esporte Interativo, Rede Gazeta, TV Cultura, ESPN Brasil, Sportv (Brazil) and ESPN Latin America (Latin America), TrueVisions (Thailand), Neo Sports, TEN Sports (India) , Al Jazeera Sports (Middle East And North Africa), Sport 5 (Israel), and HiTV (Nigeria) .
In Australia Serie A is broadcast by Setanta Sports Australia with up to five exclusive games per week from the 2010–11 season plus 2 games on Digital channel One HD, which began broadcasting Serie A matches in the 2009-10 season . Additionally, Raitalia shows up to four live games per week. In the 1990s Serie A was at its most popular in the UK when it was shown on Channel 4, although it has actually appeared on more UK channels than any other league, rarely staying in one place for long since 2002. Serie A has appeared in the UK on BSB Sports Channel (1990–91), Sky Sports (1991–92), Channel 4 (1992–2002), Eurosport (2002–04), Setanta Sports and Bravo (2004–07), Channel Five (2007–08) and ESPN (since 2009), In Mexico Televisa Deportes Network HD two games delay in the week.
The Score Television Network holds exclusive Canadian media rights to Serie A, which also includes full digital rights for theScore.com. Coverage begins in the fall of 2010 and it will be the first time a major Canadian sports network will deliver Serie A matches in HD to sports fans all across Canada.
[edit] Champions
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Main article: List of Italian football champions
- The 1926–27 title was initially won by Torino, but was rescinded due to the Allemandi scam.
- The 2004–05 and 2005–06 titles were initially won by Juventus, but were rescinded following the Calciopoli scandal. The 2004–05 title was not assigned, while the 2005–06 title was subsequently awarded to Internazionale.
- A decoration was awarded to Spezia Calcio in 2002 by FIGC for the 1944 wartime championship. However, the Federation stated that it cannot be considered as a scudetto.
[edit] Serie A clubs
- For more details see List of Italian Football Championship clubs
Prior to 1929, many clubs competed in the top level of Italian football as the earlier rounds were competed up to 1922 on a regional basis then interregional up to 1929. Below is a list of Serie A clubs who have competed in the competition when it has been a league format (60 in total).
[edit] Seasons in Serie A
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The bolded teams compete in Serie A currently. Internazionale is the only team that has played Serie A football in every season.
^ Includes 8 championships played by its forerunners Sampierdarenese and Liguria.
[edit] Serie A members for 2010–11
The following twenty clubs are competing in Serie A during the 2010–11 season.
Club |
Finishing position in 2009–10 |
First season in top division |
First season of current spell in top division |
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Bari | 10th | 1928–29 | 2009–10 |
Brescia | Serie B play-off winners | 1919–20 | 2010–11 |
Bologna | 17th | 1910–11 | 2008–09 |
Cagliari | 16th | 1964–65 | 2004–05 |
Catania | 13th | 1954–55 | 2006–07 |
Cesena | Serie B runners-up | 1973–74 | 2010–11 |
Chievo | 14th | 2001–02 | 2008–09 |
Fiorentina | 11th | 1931–32 | 2004–05 |
Genoa | 9th | 1897–98 | 2007–08 |
Internazionale | Champions | 1908–09 | 1908–09 |
Juventus | 7th | 1899–00 | 2007–08 |
Lazio | 12th | 1913–14 | 1988–89 |
Lecce | Serie B champions | 1985–86 | 2010–11 |
Milan | 3rd | 1899–00 | 1983–84 |
Napoli | 6th | 1926–27 | 2007–08 |
Palermo | 5th | 1921–22 | 2004–05 |
Parma | 8th | 1920–21 | 2009–10 |
Roma | Runners-up | 1927–28 | 1952–53 |
Sampdoria | 4th | 1946–47 | 2003–04 |
Udinese | 15th | 1913–14 | 1995–96 |
[edit] Players
[edit] Non-EU players
Unlike La Liga, which imposed a quota on the number of non-EU players on each club, Serie A clubs could sign as many non-EU players as available on domestic transfer. But since the 2003–04 season a quota has been imposed on each of the clubs limiting the number of non-EU, non-EFTA and non-Swiss players who may be signed from abroad each season,[20] following provisional measures[21] were had been introduced in the 2002–03 season, which allowed Serie A & B clubs to sign only one non-EU player in 2002 summer transfer window.
In the middle of the 2000–01 season, the old quota system was abolished, which no longer limited each team to having more than 5 non-EU player and using no more than 3 in each match.[21][22] Concurrent with the abolishment of the quota, FIGC had investigated footballers that used fake passports. Alberto and Warley, Alejandro Da Silva and Jorginho Paulista of Udinese,[23] Fábio Júnior and Gustavo Bartelt of Roma,[24] Dida of Milan, Álvaro Recoba of Inter, Thomas Job, Francis Zé, Jean Ondoa of Sampdoria, Jeda and Dede of Vicenza were banned in July 2001, for 6 months to 1 year.[25] However, most of the bans were subsequently reduced.
The number of non-EU players was reduced from 265 in 2002–03 season to 166 in 2006–07 season.[26] It also included players got EU status after their countries assessed into the EU (see 2004 and 2007 enlargement), made players likes Adrian Mutu, Valeri Bojinov, Marek Jankulovski and Marius Stankevičius no longer consider as non-EU players.
The rule had minor change in August 2004,[27] June 2005,[28] June 2006.[29][30] and June 2007.[31]
Since the 2008–09 season, 3 quotas have been awarded to clubs that do not have non-EU players in their squad (previously only newly promoted clubs could had 3 quota); Clubs that have one non-EU player have 2 quotas. Those clubs that have 2 non-EU players, are awarded 1 quota and 1 conditional quota, which is awarded after: 1) Transferred 1 non-EU player abroad, or 2) Release 1 non-EU player as free agent, or 3) A non-EU player received EU nationality. Clubs with 3 or more non-EU players, have 2 conditional quotas, but releasing two non-EU players as free agent, will only have 1 quota instead of 2.[32] Serie B and Lega Pro clubs cannot sign non-EU player from abroad, except those followed the club promoted from Serie D.
Big clubs with many foreigners, usually borrow quotas from other clubs that have few foreigners or no foreigners, in order to sign more non-EU players. Adrian Mutu joined Juventus via Livorno in 2005, at that time Romania was not a member of EU. Other case likes Júlio César, Victor Obinna and Maxwell whom joined Internazionale from Chievo (first two) and Empoli respectively.
On 2 July 2010, the quota reduced back to 1 and received the quota only after transferred a non-EU player to abroad or released a player as free agent.[33][34]
[edit] FIFA World Players of the Year
Lothar Matthäus: 1991 (Internazionale)
Marco van Basten: 1992 (Milan)
Roberto Baggio: 1993 (Juventus)
George Weah: 1995 (Milan**)
Ronaldo: 1997 (Internazionale**)
Zinedine Zidane: 1998, 2000 (Juventus)
Ronaldo: 2002 (Internazionale*)
Fabio Cannavaro: 2006 (Juventus*)
Kaká 2007 (Milan)
*Player was a member of the club for the first half of the calendar year (The second part of a finished season - January to June)
**Player was a member of the club for the second half of the calendar year (The first part of a new season - July to December)
[edit] List of Lega Serie A presidents
- 2010- Maurizio Beretta[35][36]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Kevin Ashby (2007-05-24). "Serie A reiterates star quality". UEFA.com. http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/news/kind=1/newsid=542188.html. Retrieved 2007-08-13.
- ^ "UEFA Country Ranking 2011". http://www.xs4all.nl/~kassiesa/bert/uefa/data/method4/crank2011.html. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
- ^ (Italian) "The English Premier League is not more the No.1 of the world !". IHHS. 22 Juli 2010. http://www.iffhs.de/?b6e20fa3002f70d00ee2d17f7370eff3702bb1c2bb0e. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
- ^ "Page 21: official statistical records recognized by FIGC" (PDF). http://www.lega-calcio-serie-c.it/it/Comunic2009/Lega/203L.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "G-14's members". g14.com. http://www.g14.com/G14members/index.asp. Retrieved 12 September 2006.
- ^ "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")". RSSSF.com. http://www.rsssf.com/miscellaneous/europa-poy.html. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
- ^ "Milan top of the world!". Channel4.com. Archived from the original on 18 December 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071218143838/http://www.channel4.com/sport/football_italia/dec16g.html. Retrieved 17 December 2007.
- ^ "Europe's club of the Century". International Federation of Football History & Statistics. http://www.iffhs.de/?a413f0e03790c443e0f40390b41be8b01905fdcdc3bfcdc0aec70aeedb883ccb05ff1d. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
- ^ "Juventus building bridges in Serie B". fifa.com. http://www.fifa.com/worldfootball/clubfootball/news/newsid=107733.html#juventus+building+bridges+serie+b. Retrieved 20 November 2006.
- ^ "UEFA club competitions press kit (.PDF archive, page 23)" (PDF). UEFA Official Website. http://www.uefa.com/printoutfiles/competitions/supercup/2006/e/e_84343_pk.pdf. Retrieved 2006-08-25.
- ^ "La primera final italiana" (in Spanish) (PDF). La Vanguardia. 2003-05-15. p. 55. http://hemeroteca.lavanguardia.es/preview/2003/05/15/pagina-55/34004153/pdf.html. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
- ^ [1], [2]
- ^ "FIFA.com article". FIFA.com article. 2008-02-07. http://www.fifa.com/clubworldcup/organisation/media/newsid=687173.html. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "Serie A to form breakaway league - BBC Sport". BBC News. 2009-04-30. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/8027857.stm. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ Serie A clubs to set up their own league - Washington Post[dead link]
- ^ "Serie A set for breakaway". SkySports. 2009-04-30. http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11854_5260115,00.html. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "Italian league splits in two after meeting ends in stalemate". London: Guardian. 2009-04-30. http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/apr/30/serie-a-b-european-football-italy. Retrieved 2010-10-03.
- ^ "Italian clubs cross fingers over TV ruling". FourFourTwo (fourfourtwo.com). 13 May 2010. http://fourfourtwo.com/news/italy/54068/default.aspx. Retrieved 5 January 2011.
- ^ "Serie A TV rights sell for 181.5 million". FourFourTwo (fourfourtwo.com). 6 November 2009. http://fourfourtwo.com/news/italy/41675/default.aspx. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
- ^ "Italy blocks non-EU players". UEFA.com. 2003-03-05. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=ita/news/newsid=57329.html. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
- ^ a b "Italians bar non-EU imports". UEFA.com. 2002-07-17. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/association=ita/news/newsid=28321.html. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
- ^ "Milan challenge non-EU rule". BBC Sport. 2000-11-03. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/europe/1005793.stm. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
- ^ "Fake passport scandal hits Serie A". BBC News. 2000-10-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/low/football/europe/962023.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
- ^ "Lazio hit with passport charges". BBC News. 2001-05-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/low/football/europe/1318504.stm. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
- ^ Kennedy, Frances (2001-06-28). "Players banned over false passport scandal". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/internationals/players-banned-over-false-passport-scandal-675847.html. Retrieved 2010-05-23.
- ^ "COMUNICATO STAMPA: CONSIGLIO FEDERALE" (in Italian). FIGC. 21 June 2007. http://www.figc.it/Assets/contentresources_2/ContenutoGenerico/26.$plit/C_2_ContenutoGenerico_2636_upfDownload.pdf. Retrieved 17 July 2010.
- ^ "Comunicato n° 090 del 25 agosto 2004" (in Italian). FIGC. 25 August 2004. http://www.figc.it/Assets/contentresources_2/ContenutoGenerico/82.$plit/C_2_ContenutoGenerico_6696_lstAllegati_Allegato0_upfAllegato.pdf. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ "Comunicato n° 225 del 13 giugno 2005" (in Italian). FIGC. 13 June 2005. http://www.figc.it/Assets/contentresources_2/ContenutoGenerico/23.$plit/C_2_ContenutoGenerico_6561_lstAllegati_Allegato0_upfAllegato.pdf. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ "Comunicato n° 7 dell' 8 giugno 2006" (in Italian). FIGC. 8 June 2006. http://www.figc.it/Assets/contentresources_2/ContenutoGenerico/61.$plit/C_2_ContenutoGenerico_6800_lstAllegati_Allegato0_upfAllegato.pdf. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ "Comunicato n° 8 dell' 8 giugno 2006" (in Italian). FIGC. 8 June 2006. http://www.figc.it/Assets/contentresources_2/ContenutoGenerico/74.$plit/C_2_ContenutoGenerico_6799_lstAllegati_Allegato0_upfAllegato.pdf. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ "Comunicato n° 023/A del 21 giugno 2007" (in Italian). FIGC. 21 June 2007. http://www.figc.it/Assets/contentresources_2/ContenutoGenerico/84.$plit/C_2_ContenutoGenerico_2834_lstAllegati_Allegato0_upfAllegato.pdf. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
- ^ "Comunicato n° 003/A del 3 luglio 2008/" (in Italian). FIGC. 2008-07-03. http://www.figc.it/Assets/contentresources_2/ContenutoGenerico/45.$plit/C_2_ContenutoGenerico_19186_StrilloComunicatoUfficiale_lstAllegati_Allegato_0_upfAllegato.pdf. Retrieved 2010-02-01.
- ^ "CONSIGLIO FEDERALE" (in Italian). FIGC. 2 July 2010. http://www.figc.it/Assets/contentresources_2/ContenutoGenerico/35.$plit/C_2_ContenutoGenerico_25259_StrilloAreaStampa_upfDownload.pdf. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
- ^ "Su extracomunitari, vivai, Club Italia e Settori le prime misure della FIGC" (in Italian). FIGC. 2 July 2010. http://www.figc.it/it/204/25260/2010/07/News.shtml. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
- ^ "Lega di A: gli organi dirigenti" (in Italian). FC Internazionale Milano (www.inter.it). 1 July 2010. http://www.inter.it/aas/news/reader?N=48729&L=it. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
- ^ "Comunicato Ufficiale n° 1" (in Italian). Comunicati Segreteria - Lega Serie A. 1 July 2010. http://www.legaseriea.it/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=5da81279-b757-4c6b-aed9-51436695f79f&groupId=10192. Retrieved 2 July 2010.
[edit] External links
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