Sure, you know what catenaccio is.
But how far does your expertise of Italian Serie A, the most hysterical yet charming football league in the world, go?
Did you know that 1 out of 3 supporters living in far south region Calabria oddly root for northern Turin-side Juventus?
Have you ever heard about the time when, as part of a long-lasting feud between Verona and Napoli supporters, the latter brought up no less than Shakespeare by displaying a banner claiming that Giulietta é ‘na zoccola – “Juliet is a bitch?”
Wikipedia can tell you facts and figures, but this is the place to go if you want to understand the real essence of calcio in Italy. We Italians look at football just the way we look at food: It’s a sublime pleasure, a matter of life and death, and a source of countless discussions.
Serie A and its minor brothers Serie B, Serie C etc. are an eternal trending topic in our childhood playgrounds and Sunday morning bars, just like in our workplaces and Parliament Houses.
If you are passionate about football in Italy, here’s your privileged window on its stories, brought to you in English by Italians themselves. You cannot get any better exposure to calcio unless you decide to move to lo Stivale, which might definitely be a good idea.
But as you prepare for that, let us guide you through a world of visceral passion and good old traditions.
A place where AS Roma top player Alessandro Florenzi’s first reaction after scoring a goal can genuinely be running all the way up to the stands to hug his nonna, who came to see him playing live for the first time.
A country where, as the local saying goes, everybody pretends they would be the best possible coach for the Azzurri (the Azzurri! Not Squadra Azzurra, ok? Nobody in Italy calls our National Team like that…)
A country where football is more than a game and more than a sport. It’s a cult.