Founded in 1898, the Italian Football League, also known as Italy soccer, is the highest football league in the country. Serie A, which began in 1929, is the top division of Italy Soccer and is primarily sponsored by Italian mobile phone company TIM. Prior to the inception of Serie A, Italy soccer was structured into regional groups. The championship title is commonly referred to as Scudetto, which means 'small shield' because the champions' uniforms will feature a small coat of arms during the following season. After more than 100 years of play, Italy soccer is at the height of it's popularity in both the eyes of the fans and in the media. As we know it today, Serie A is the most elite of all divisions in the Italian Football League. Other divisions include Serie B, Serie C1, Serie C2, Serie D and Eccellenza.
With an Italy soccer league consisting of 18, 18 or 20 teams, Serie A requires that each club play all other teams on two occasions, once at their home stadium and once at the home of their opponents. The first half of a traditional Italy soccer season consists of each team competing once against all of the other clubs. The second half of the season will consist of the same competitions in the same order, with the only difference being the location of the games.
When it comes to scoring, an Italy soccer team receives three points for a win, one point for a tie and no points for a loss. When it comes to tallying the points to see which club will be crowned as champion, teams are ranked according to their total points accumulated during the season. If two teams are found to have equal points at the conclusion of a season, those two teams will meet up in a one match playoff. The top four teams in the Serie A of Italy soccer will qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
Like the area itself, Italy soccer is rich in history and in tradition. With so many years of successful play, the competitors have set a number of records. As of September 2006, three players hold the record for most appearances. These include Paolo Maldini, Gianluca Pagliuca and Dino Zoff. The current records held for the oldest player appearance include Marco Ballotta and Dino Zoff. During the 2005-06 season, A.S. Roma set the record for most consecutive wins with a total of 11 straight victories.
For additional information on Serie A and/or Italy soccer, fans may visit their official website at
http://www.lega-calcio.it. Current standings, news, updates, photos, historical profiles and league news is available online and is offered primarily in the Italian language. A professional design with colorful appeal make this a very popular website among Italy soccer fans. Soccer, itself, remains a popular sport throughout the world and is celebrated in many different countries. With legions of fans worldwide, it appears that soccer players will be kicking high for many years to come.
© The Canadian Press, 2007
