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Top 5 Most Popular Italian Soccer Teams

Soccer and Italy go hand in hand. They go together like spaghetti and meatballs, the canals and Venice, and Rome and crowds – all of which are also, in fact, in Italy.

Soccer is by far the most popular sport in the country. With over 4 million people playing the sport per year, it is also a sign of the culture and the history of the country, with football going back hundreds of years.

The national soccer association, known as the Federazione Italian Giuoco Calcio, or the FIGC, was formed over 100 years ago – all the way back in 1898.

With such a prominent history within the country, let’s check out the top 5 teams in Italy that you should definitely know a little about.

5. A.C. Milan

A.C. Milan 1939 – By Unknown author / Public domain

Associazione Calcio Milan, commonly known as A.C. Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, a city in northern Italy and the capital of Lombardy. This club has spent almost its entire history in the top flight of Italian football, within Serie A.

Serie A is the professional league competition for the clubs at the top of the Italian league system, with the winner being awarded the Scudetto and Coppa Campioni d’Italia.

A.C. Milan has earned a whopping 18 FIFA and UEFA trophies, being the fourth-highest out of any club and the highest out of any Italian club in all of his tory. They have won three Intercontinental Cups and one FIFA Club World Cup, an interleague competition that officially gives the winner the world title.

They have also won the UEFA Super Cup five times, tying a joint record, and the Cup Winners’ Cup twice. Earning 18 titles, Milan is the second-most successful club in the league, tieing with rivals Internazionale, and just behind Juventus.

The home games of the club are played at San Siro, a football stadium that is home to both A.C. Milan and Internazionale, with a capacity of almost 76,000 people – making it the largest stadium in the country.

Being one of the wealthiest clubs in Italy and in the entire world, it is an influential and crucial club for the country and for the soccer federation.

4. A.S. Roma

Totti – By romazone / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Associazione Sportiva Roma, commonly referred to as Roma, is a club based in Rome, the capital of the Lazio region, and the country’s most populated comune. First founded in the late 1920s, Roma has participated in the top level of Italian football for their entire existence, except for one season.

Roma has had a great career, winning the Serie A three times, the Coppa Italia nine times, and the Supercoppa Italiana twice. Fifteen players have won the FIFA World Cup while playing at Roma, including Italian great Francesco Totti, an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played for Roma during his successful career as striker and winger.

Since the 1950s, Roma has played their home matches at Stadio Olimpico, a stadium that they share with their rivals, Lazio, and the largest sports facility in Rome.

3. S.S. Lazio

Lazio 1974 – By Unknown author / Public domain

Societa Sportiva Lazio, also commonly known as Lazio, is an Italian professional sports club that is based in Rome. The society, or club, was founded in 1900, and plays in the Serie A where they have spent most of their history.

Lazio has been champions twice in 1974 and 2000, and have won the Coppa Italia, an Italian annual football cup competition, seven times, the Supercoppa Italiana five times, and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and the UEFA Super Cup once.

The first major success for the club came in the late 1950s, when they won the domestic club. This was over a decade before their first Serie A title win. Despite these two wins, their most successful period was in the 1990s, when they won the UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and Serie A.

Unfortunately, the club suffered during an economic crisis in 2002 that forced several star players to be sold. Their status in the league declined, but even with the lack of funds, they have still managed to win four Coppa Italia titles since then.

They share the Stadio Olimpico in Rome with A.S. Roma, their long-standing rivals.

2. Inter Milan

Milan warm up – By danheap77 / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Football Club Internazionale Milano, more commonly known as Inter, is an Italian football club based in Milan, the second most populated city in Italy after Rome. Inter is the only club in the country to have never been relegated from the top tier of football during their entire history.

Founded in 1908, Inter won its first championship just 2 years later. One of the most successful clubs ever in the history of Italian football, the club has won a whopping 30 domestic trophies, including 18 league titles.

One of the most successful spells of the club was between 2006-2010, when the club won five successive titles, tieing the all-time record up until that time.

Their latest win completed the previously impossible Italian seasonal treble, winning the Coppa Italia and the Scudetto within the same season year.

Inter plays their home games at San Siro, the stadium that they share with their local rivals, A.C. Milan. The stadium is the third-largest in Italian football, and hosts the Derby della Madonnina, one of the most followed derbies in football.

1. Juventus F.C.

Higuain Juventus – By Anton Zaitsev / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)

Juventus Football Club, commonly known as just Juve, is an Italian association football club based in Turin, a city and important cultural center in northern Italy.

Founded in 1897, the club has always worn a black and white striped home kit since 1903, despite playing at different grounds throughout the city in its lifetime. Most lately, it has played its home games at the near-42,000 capacity stadium, Juventus Stadium.

This club has won 35 official league titles, 13 Coppa Italia titles, and eight Supercoppa Italiana titles, holding the record in all of these competitions. They have also won two Intercontinental Cups, two European Cups, one Cup Winners’ Cup, and a record three UEFA Cups. Juve also earned the 5th position on the European stage, and 11th in the world for the most wins of trophies.

Initially founded as an athletics club, Juve is the second oldest of its kind still active, along with Genoa. The club is managed by the Agnelli family almost continuously since the early 1930s, an Italian multi-industry dynasty that has excelled in various businesses. The partnership between this family and the club is one of the longest in national sports, helping to create one of the top-ten wealthiest football clubs in the entire world.

The club’s fan base is the biggest at the Italian level and one of the largest in the entire world. Unlike supporting a club that is based in your specific city, Juventus is widely supported throughout the entire country.

That’s it – the top clubs in Italy, showing how the beautiful game has become a part of life, history, and culture in this European country.