Serie A

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Serie A

Countries	Italy
Confederation	UEFA
Founded	1929
Number of teams	20
Relegation to	Serie B
Level on pyramid	Level 1
Domestic cup(s)	Coppa Italia Supercoppa Italiana
International cup(s)	Champions League Europa League
Current champions	Internazionale (2008-09)
Most championships	Juventus (27 titles)
Website	http://www.lega-calcio.it

Serie A (officially known as the Serie A TIM, for sponsorship reasons) is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top echelon of the Italian football league system operating for eighty years from 1929 to the present. It is regarded as one of the elite leagues of the footballing world. Historically, Serie A has produced the highest number of European Cup finalists. In total Italian clubs have reached the final of the competition on a record of twenty-five different occasions, winning the title eleven times.^[1] As of 2008, Serie A is ranked third among European leagues by UEFA, based on the performance of Italian clubs in the Champions League and the UEFA Cup,^[2] and second in the IFFHS rating.^[3]

In its current format, the Italian Football Championship was revised from having regional and interregional rounds, to just one solid league for 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 league hosts three of the world's most famous clubs as Juventus, Milan and Internazionale, 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.^[4] More players have won the coveted Ballon d'Or award while playing at a Serie A club than any other league in the world.^[5] Milan is one of two clubs with the most official international titles in the world.^[6] Juventus, the most successful Italian team,^[7] is tied for third in Europe and sixth in the world in the same ranking. They are also the only club in the world to have won all official club competitions.^[8]

Contents 1 Format 2 The Golden Star 3 History 4 Television rights 5 Champions 6 Serie A clubs 6.1 Seasons in Serie A 6.2 Serie A members for 2008–09 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[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 were 20 clubs altogether. Below is a complete record of how many teams played in each season throughout the league's history;

During the course of a season, from August to May, each club played 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 played exactly one time against each league opponent, for a total of 19 games. In the second half of the season, called the ritorno, the teams played 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,^{[citation needed]} 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 one of the two European tournaments by placing in the top six 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. 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^[10], 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 (27; received in 1958 and 1982).
• Internazionale (17, received in 1966).
• Milan (17, 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 and Milan and (17), and Genoa (9). From 2004-05 onwards an actual trophy was awarded to club on the field 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 to form Lega Calcio Serie A. 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.^{[11][12][13][14]}

[edit] Television rights

As of 2007 individual clubs competing in the league have 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 and La7 for their own pay television networks; RAI is allowed to broadcast only highlights (in exclusive from 13:30 to 22:30 CET).

In countries outside of Italy, the league is broadcast on Raitalia (numerous countries in several continents), KBS Sports (South Korea), TV7 (Bulgaria), Trans 7(Indonesia), TV Avala (Serbia) , NTV Turkey (Turkey), Telma (Macedonia), mio TV (Singapore), Telelatino & Fox Sports World Canada (Canada), Fox Soccer Channel (United States), Sport1 (The Netherlands) , TV Esporte Interativo, Rede Bandeirantes, ESPN Brasil (Brazil) and ESPN Latin America (Latin America).

In Australia Serie A is broadcast by Setanta Sports Australia (the home games of 8 teams in the league) with 2 games per week, ESPN Australia (the home games of the top 10 teams in the league) with three live games per week and Raitalia with four live games per week.

[edit] Champions

Main article: Italian football champions

Club	Winners	Runners-up	Championship seasons
Juventus	27	20	1905, 1925–26, 1930–31, 1931–32, 1932–33, 1933–34, 1934–35, 1949–50, 1951–52, 1957–58, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1966–67, 1971–72, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03
Milan	17	14	1901, 1906, 1907, 1950–51, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1958–59, 1961–62, 1967–68, 1978–79, 1987–88, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1995–96, 1998–99, 2003–04
Internazionale	17	13	1909–10, 1919–20, 1929–30, 1937–38, 1939–40, 1952–53, 1953–54, 1962–63, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1970–71, 1979–80, 1988–89, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09
Genoa	9	4	1898, 1899, 1900, 1902, 1903, 1904, 1914–15, 1922–23, 1923–24
Torino	7	7	1927–28, 1942–43, 1945–46, 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1975–76
Bologna	7	4	1924–25, 1928–29, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1938–39, 1940–41, 1963–64
Pro Vercelli	7	1	1908, 1909, 1910–11, 1911–12, 1912–13, 1920–21, 1921–22 (CCI)
Roma	3	11	1941–42, 1982–83, 2000–01
Lazio	2	6	1973–74, 1999–2000
Fiorentina	2	5	1955–56, 1968–69
Napoli	2	4	1986–87, 1989–90
Cagliari	1	1	1969–70
Casale	1	-	1913–14
Novese	1	-	1921–22 (FIGC)
Sampdoria	1	-	1990–91
Hellas Verona	1	-	1984–85
Spezia	1	-	1944

• The 2004-05 and 2005-2006 titles were won by Juventus but have been called off due to the Calciopoli scam. The 2004-05 title was not assigned, while the 2005-06 title was assigned to Internazionale.

[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 (61 in total) 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.

[edit] Seasons in Serie A

78 seasons: Internazionale 77 seasons: Juventus, Roma 76 seasons: Milan 72 seasons: Fiorentina 68 seasons: Torino 67 seasons: Lazio 64 seasons: Bologna, Napoli 54 seasons: Sampdoria 50 seasons: Atalanta 43 seasons: Genoa 37 seasons: Udinese 31 seasons: Cagliari 30 seasons: Vicenza 29 seasons: Bari 26 seasons: Triestina 24 seasons: Verona 23 seasons: Palermo

21 seasons: Brescia 19 seasons: Parma 17 seasons: Livorno 16 seasons: Ascoli, Padova, Spal 13 seasons: Alessandria, Catania, Como, Modena, Lecce, Perugia 12 seasons: Novara, Pro Patria, Venezia 11 seasons: Foggia 10 seasons: Avellino, Cesena 9 seasons: Empoli, Reggina 8 seasons: Chievo, Lucchese, Piacenza, Sampierdarenese 7 seasons: Catanzaro, Cremonese, Mantova, Pisa, Siena, Varese 6 seasons: Pro Vercelli, 5 seasons: Messina, Pescara 4 seasons: Casale 3 seasons: Lecco, Legnano, Reggiana 2 seasons: Ancona, Salernitana, Ternana 1 season: Pistoiese, Treviso

The bolded teams compete in Serie A currently. Internazionale is the only team that has played Serie A football in every season.

[edit] Serie A members for 2008–09

The following twenty clubs will be competing in Serie A during the 2008–09 season.

Club	Finishing position in 2007–08	First season in top division	First season of current spell in top division
Atalanta	9th	1928–29	2006–07
Bologna	2nd in Serie B	1910–11	2008–09
Cagliari	14th	1963–64	2004–05
Catania	17th	1954–55	2006–07
Chievo Verona	1st in Serie B	2001–02	2008–09
Fiorentina	4th	1931–32	2004–05
Genoa	10th	1898	2007–08
Internazionale	1st	1909	1909
Juventus	3rd	1900	2007–08
Lazio	12th	1913–14	1988–89
Lecce	3rd in Serie B	1985–86	2008–09
Milan	5th	1900	1983–84
Napoli	8th	1912–13	2007–08
Palermo	11th	1921–22	2004–05
Reggina	16th	1999–00	2002–03
Roma	2nd	1927–28	1952–53
Sampdoria	6th	1946–47	2003–04
Siena	13th	2003–04	2003–04
Torino	15th	1907	2006–07
Udinese	7th	1913–14	1995–96

[edit] See also

• Football records in Italy
• List of foreign Serie A players
• All-time Serie A table

[edit] References

Specific

[edit] External links

• Official Site
• FIGC Official Site
• Football Italiano (In English)

History

• Serie A — All results since 1929.

v • d • e Serie A 2009–10 Atalanta · Bari · Bologna · Cagliari · Catania · Chievo · Fiorentina · Genoa · Inter · Juventus Lazio · Livorno · Milan · Napoli · Palermo · Parma · Roma · Sampdoria · Siena · Udinese

v • d • e Italian Football Championship and Serie A seasons Italian Football Championship 1890–91 · 1891–92 · 1892–93 · 1893–94 · 1894–95 · 1895–96 · 1896–97 · 1897–98 · 189897– · 189998– 1900–01 · 1901–02 · 1902–03 · 1903–04 · 1904–05 · 1905–06 · 1906–07 · 1907  · 1908 · 1909 · 1909–10 1910–11 · 1911–12 · 1912–13 · 1913–14 · 1914–15 · 1915–16 · 1916–17 · 1917–18 · 1918–19 · 1919–20 1920–21 · 1921–22 · 1922–23 · 1923–24 · 1924–25 · 1925–26 · 1926–27 · 1927–28 · 1928–29 Other† 1921–22 (C.C.I.) · 1944 · 1945–46 Serie A seasons 1920–21 · 1921–22 · 1922–23 · 1923–24 · 1924–25 · 1925–26 · 1926–27 · 1927–28 · 1928–29 · 1929–30 1930–31 · 1931–32 · 1932–33 · 1933–34 · 1934–35 · 1935–36 · 1936–37 · 1937–38 · 1938–39 · 1939–40 1940–41 · 1941–42 · 1942–43 · 1943–44 · 1944–45 · 1945–46 · 1946–47 · 1947–48 · 1948–49 · 1949–50 1950–51 · 1951–52 · 1952–53 · 1953–54 · 1954–55 · 1955–56 · 1956–57 · 1957–58 · 1958–59 · 1959–60 1960–61 · 1961–62 · 1962–63 · 1963–64 · 1964–65 · 1965–66 · 1966–67 · 1967–68 · 1968–69 · 1969–70 1970–71 · 1971–72 · 1972–73 · 1973–74 · 1974–75 · 1975–76 · 1976–77 · 1977–78 · 1978–79 · 1979–80 1980–81 · 1981–82 · 1982–83 · 1983–84 · 1984–85 · 1985–86 · 1986–87 · 1987–88 · 1988–89 · 1989–90 1990–91 · 1991–92 · 1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–2000 2000–01 · 2001–02 · 2002–03 · 2003–04 · 2004–05 · 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10 †Championships recognized as official by the Italian Football Federation

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