Serie A
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Serie A |
|---|
 Serie A 2007-08 |
 |
| Founded |
| 1898 |
| Nation |
 Italy |
| Relegation To |
| Serie B |
| Number of Teams |
| 20 |
| European Qualification |
| Champions League UEFA Cup Intertoto Cup |
| Cups |
| Coppa Italia Super Coppa Italiana |
| Current Champions |
| F.C. Internazionale Milano |
| Website |
| Official |
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. The league is widely regarded as one of the most elite in 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]
In the format that it exists current, the Italian Football Championship was revised from having regional 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.
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[edit] Format
For most of Serie A's history there have been 16 or 18 clubs competing at the top level; however since 2004–05 there have been 20 clubs all-together. Below is a complete record of how many teams have played in each season throughout the league's history;
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During the course of a season, from August to May, each club plays each others twice; once at home and once away, totalling 38 games for each team by the end of the season. In Italian football, a true round-robin format is used. In the first half of the season, called andata in its homeland, each team plays one time against each league opponent, a total of 19 games. In the second half of the season, called ritorno, each team plays the exact same teams in the exact same order that they did in the first half of the season, the only difference being that home and away situations are switched around.
Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Previously there were playoffs (spareggio) used to separate teams if they finished the season with the same number of points, this was abolished in 2005–06. Currently if two teams end the season with the same number of points, they are separated by head-to-head records (classifica avulsa) in which the two teams' records against each other for that season are the deciding factor. In case two or more teams have same total points and same classifica avulsa, goal difference is used to separate them.
The top four teams in the Serie A qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the top two teams directly entering the group phase. The third and fourth placed teams enter 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 Cup Tournament. A third UEFA Cup spot is reserved for the winner of the Coppa Italia; however, if both the Coppa Italia finalists have already qualified for UEFA Champions League, the 7th classified team in Serie A gets the UEFA Cup spot. The three lowest placed teams are relegated into the Serie B.
[edit] History
Serie A, as it is structured today, began in 1929. From 1898 to 1929 the competition was organised into regional groups. 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 the winning team will bear a small coat of arms with the Italian tricolour on their strip in the following season. The most successful league club is Juventus F.C. with 27 championships, followed by A.C. Milan (17), Internazionale Milano (15) and Genoa C&FC (9). For every ten titles won, clubs are allowed to wear a golden star above their club badge; so Juventus has two stars, while Milan and Internazionale have one star each. From 2004-05 onwards an actual trophy was instated and awarded to clubs, prior to this there was none.
[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 channel, Sky Italia, along with terrestrial broadcasters Mediaset and La7 (owned by Telecom Italia).
In countries outside of Italy, the league is broadcast on Five as Football Italiano and some matches are shown on Setanta (United Kingdom), RAI International (numerous countries in several continents), Telelatino (Canada), FSC (United States), TV Esporte Interativo, Rede Bandeirantes, ESPN Brasil (Brazil) and ESPN Latin America (Latin America).
[edit] Champions
Juventus FC has won the most championships with 27 titles, followed by A.C. Milan with 17 wins and Internazionale with 15.
[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 on a regional basis. 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
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Inter is now the only team to have played Serie A football in every season, following Juventus' scandal-hit relegation to Serie B after the 2005–06 season (see Calciopoli).
[edit] Serie A members for 2007–08
The following twenty clubs will be competing in Serie A during the 2007–08 season.
| Club |
Finishing position in 2006–07 |
First season in top division |
First season of current spell in top division |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atalanta | 8th | 1928–29 | 2006–07 |
| Cagliari | 16th | 1963–64 | 2004–05 |
| Catania | 13th | 1954–55 | 2006–07 |
| Empoli | 7th | 1986–87 | 2005–06 |
| Fiorentina | 6th | 1931–32 | 2004–05 |
| Genoa | 3rd in Serie B | 1898 | 2007–08 |
| Internazionale | 1st | 1909 | 1909 |
| Juventus | 1st in Serie B | 1900 | 2007–08 |
| Lazio | 3rd | 1913–14 | 1988–89 |
| Livorno | 11th | 1919–20 | 2004–05 |
| AC Milan | 4th | 1901 | 1983–84 |
| Napoli | 2nd in Serie B | 1912–13 | 2007–08 |
| Palermo | 5th | 1921–22 | 2004–05 |
| Parma | 12th | 1990–91 | 1990–91 |
| Reggina | 14th | 1999–00 | 2002–03 |
| Roma | 2nd | 1927–28 | 1952–53 |
| Sampdoria | 9th | 1946–47 | 2003–04 |
| Siena | 15th | 2003–04 | 2003–04 |
| Torino | 14th | 1907 | 2006–07 |
| Udinese | 10th | 1913–14 | 1995–96 |
[edit] Records
[edit] References and notes
- ^ Kevin Ashby (2007-05-24). Serie A reiterates star quality. UEFA.com. Retrieved on 2007-08-13.
- ^ Two groups, North and South, then a final group
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official Site
- Seria A news, stats and results
- Italian Football Glossary
- Serie A season preview 2007-2008
- History
- Serie A — All results since 1929.
