Italian Football could be called the national sport of Italy . Italians are famous for their love of sports. Their interest in sports events is, indeed, nothing short of legendary. They adore their footballers and they are considered to be national heroes , fondly called Azzurri , because of their jerseys light blue color. Having won four World Cups (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), Italy is considered one of the strongest teams in the world, with an Olympic gold medal in 1938 and an European Championship in 1968.
The Italian football league is organized in ten levels, the top level is the Lega Nazionale Professionisti ('National Professional League', nicknamed as ' Lega Calcio '), which has two divisions (Serie A and Serie B). The rest in order of importance are :
- the Lega Professionisti Serie C
- Serie D organised by the Comitato Interregionale ('Interregional Committee') of the Lega Nazionale Dilettanti ('National Amateur)
- Eccellenza,
- Promozione,
- Prima Categoria
- Seconda Categoria
- Terza Categoria
Juventus, A.C. Milan and Internazionale that have dominated the league since World War II, winning 54 titles between them.
The following are the list of league championships :
- Serie A
- Serie B
- Serie C1 (2 divisions)
- Serie C2 (3 divisions)
- Serie D (9 divisions)
- Eccellenza (28 divisions)
- Promozione (53 divisions)
- Prima Categoria (1,600+ teams)
- Seconda Categoria (2,800+ teams)
- Terza Categoria (3,100+ teams)
- Campionato Primavera (youth teams)
- Campionato Berretti (youth teams)
The following are the knockout cup championships :
- Coppa Italia
- Super Coppa Italiana
- Coppa Italia Serie C
- Super Coppa Serie C
- Coppa Italia Serie D
- Coppa Italia Dilettanti
- Coppa Italia Primavera (youth teams)
- Super Coppa Primavera (youth teams)
- Torneo di Viareggio (youth teams)
Famous players who have graced the Italian football are :
- Francesco Totti
- Franco Baresi
- Paolo Rossi
- Paolo Maldini
- Roberto Baggio
Italian football is almost like a religion , the followers are as fanatical as if it was their belief in God which was at stake at every match.
