Casual football fan? Love football but don’t follow it in Italy? Italy fan but not following football? There’s many reasons you might have for wanting to choose a Serie A team to follow this season, and with the season just 2 days away, here’s your guide to selecting what team to follow from now on in Italy’s top tier…
Atalanta
Were you a fan of Southampton’s feel good relegation? Where they just about avoided being the worst team in Premier League history? Well have a guess where the manager Ivan Juric is now… That’s right folks, Ivan Juric is in charge in Bergamo and all set to dazzle us. He was sacked from Roma last season too by the way, so don’t expect brilliant football or even results. Star man Ademola Lookman is on strike because he wasn’t allowed to go to Inter.
Atalanta did win the Europa League a couple of years back but that team is largely broken up now. You should follow Atalanta if you’re a fan of “almost” teams, given their propensity to threaten a title challenge without ever delivering. But they play in Bergamo, a beautiful city with an airport serviced by Ryanair from London for not a lot of money. Ideal for a quick weekend jaunt… Oh, and their away kit is magnificent.
Bologna
Bolognese fan? Then this is your team! But seriously, after their charge to the Champions League a few years ago people know a bit more about this lot. They then promptly lost the best players who got them there. Consider them the Aston Villa/Newcastle of Italy. They’re decent, will take points off the big boys here and there, but then the big boys will take their best players after a Top 6 finish.
Again, lovely city, great food, cheap flights from London. The kit’s alright too…
Cagliari
Ah the islanders… Cagliari is on Sardinia so it’s by the sea and often bathed in sunshine. If that’s your sort of thing then this article reached somewhere other than England. If you’re a fan of telling everyone about the legendary players that were produced at your club throughout history then this is your team. Current Azzurri star Nicolo Barella started here, right through to Azzurri legend Gigi Riva. Ramon Vega and Gianfranco Zola also played here. They’ll be in a relegation scrap for most of the season so only those with no heart conditions please…
Como
Billionaire? Film Star? Model? Then look no further. The richest club in Italy, probably top ten in the World, on the banks of the beautiful Lake Como. Italy’s Monte Carlo are stamping their authority on the league with a dynamic young coaching staff and even more dynamic and young players. They finished 10th last season and are eyeing Europe this time around. And if you go over there, you’ll definitely see someone famous in the stands. This is the team for you if you holiday in Dubai just to be seen. Get behind their project or don’t bother!
Cremonese
Remember when Bolton were in the Premier League? Enjoyed it? Then this is your team. Sneaking up thanks to a play off win over Spezia, managed by Italy’s answer to Big Sam – Davide Nicola. He has a phenomenal record of keeping teams up, having never been relegated despite several looking nailed on when he took over.
Cremonese beat Derby County in the 1993 Anglo Italian cup final. And further back in their history, they once had Italy’s best goalkeeper but Giovanni Zini lost his life in World War I and the stadium was named after him. Speaking of famous wartime names, Mussolini’s great-grandson plays here so if you’ve just signed up to Jeremy Corbyn’s new party, this might not be your team.
Don’t hold that against Romano Floriani Mussolini, he’s just here to play, his great-aunt is Sophia Loren, if that endears the Mussolini name any more?
They won’t be pretty, but they’ll be functional. Fans of Sean Dyche’s Everton great escapes and general underdogs, this is your team. Get stuck in with them!
Fiorentina
Nintendo fans of the World unite! The iconic 90s Fiorentina shirt sponsored by Nintendo makes this the team for the gamers. Europe’s nearly men, losing two Europa Conference finals in a row before losing a semi final a year later. Read any Dan Brown books? If so then most of what he talks about happened in Florence. Or maybe you’re a fan of viral sandwich shops, All’Antico Vinaio is here… Or maybe you just really like purple.
Fiorentina have had some great players pass through the doors including Gabriel Batistuta, they currently have the number one Italy striker Moise Kean and are perennial challengers for a European place. Man Utd fans would be pleased to see David De Gea enjoying a new lease of life here.
Genoa
English Calcio fans should be all over this one then. Genoa were founded by an English guy and are still called the Genoa Cricket and Football Club. Not only that but they have released a simply MAGNIFICENT away strip this season which is essentially a large St George’s Cross.
Do you need any other reason to support them? Ok well they were the first ever champions of Italy. In fact they won 6 of the first 7 Italian Championships. Oh, and Arsenal fans take note, Patrick Vieira is their manager. No brainer for the patriotic English Calcio fan.
Hellas Verona
What do you want me to say? I don’t think anyone in Italy even knows too much about Hellas Verona. I mean, Verona is a beautiful place, if you’re a fan of Shakespeare then you might know that Romeo and Juliet was set here. Ok then, there you go, if you’re a fan of nice cities, romance and need to take the Mrs on a romantic trip, be a Verona fan. You’ll get some brownie points by taking her here and you can see some football. If you are a woman, then just tell your man you want to go watch Verona, we do whatever women want mostly.
Inter
Only those with the highest footballing IQ. Alright fine, I’ll put my bias away. Fan of nearly being great but throwing it away at the last moment? Support Inter. Amazingly, Inter have the second most amount of titles in Italian history and are the second most successful team in European competition from Italy. They came second twice in the league in the last 4 years, came second in the Supercoppa and Champions League last season.
So there you have it, if you like a team that’s quite good but you don’t want to be an all out glory hunter, Inter Milan is the team for you. Some other reasons why I like them – cheap flights from London to Milan daily, easy to get tickets, iconic stadium, iconic kits, R9.
Juventus
Ok, now I need to keep my bias aside and not be horrible about Juventus. By far the most successful team in Italian domestic history. If you choose to overlook things like the Calciopoli scandal in which they were relegated then good for you. To be fair, during this time some true legends were born at the club when the likes of Buffon and Del Piero stayed despite their relegation.
The story behind their black and white stripes is now legendary and we’ve told it before here.
Some of the World’s all time greats graced the turf in Turin, with Zidane, Nedved, Platini, Buffon, Henry, Del Piero and Pirlo all plying their trade in Northern Italy for a time. Support if you like Man City, successful but always with that whiff of “is this legal” about it…
Lazio
Romanticists for the early noughties “Calcio is king” era will remember their great Sven inspired team winning the Scudetto and UEFA Cup Winners Cup. The classic kits from that era worn by Vieri, Mancini, Nedved, Salas and Nesta are enough to inspire nostalgia in anyone.
Be careful going to Lazio games if you’re not a fan of very right wing politics though, their Ultras are… feisty… and one of the most famous images of Paolo Di Canio is from this school. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Google him, it’s like the 5th image. But this isn’t a political blog and I don’t really care about that, so head to Lazio if you like blue shirts, moderately successful nostalgia and you’re in Rome.
Lecce
Lecce lost a pre-season friendly to the United Arab Emirates national team. In 1976 they beat Scarborough in the final of the Anglo-Italian Cup. Antonio Conte and Graziano Pelle came through their youth academy to make it big (and fairly big). Yellow and Red stripes on their kit makes them a little hard to watch (personally) but they play their home games in Lecce, which is in the heel of the boot of Italy, which is gorgeous. So if there’s a chance of you doing some tourist stuff there, adopt them now as your team and end up at their games.
I expect they’ll be heavily in the relegation battle this season (again), so if you’re an underdog follower then get at it! Also, their left back is Irish, Corrie Ndaba has just moved to Lecce from Kilmarnock.
Milan
Hungry for more nostalgia? Milan had a bloody brilliant squad in the noughties. They had a few before that too, the 80/90s were magnificent there too, but for people of my vintage that team that Liverpool somehow beat in 2005 was ridiculous. Crespo, Shevchenko, Kaka, Pirlo, Seedorf, Maldini, Nesta, Cafu.. the list goes on.
Italy’s most successful team in Europe by some distance, and the third most successful domestically. Last season was a bit of a joke, but they’ve made smart moves this summer and I expect they’ll surprise a few people. American? Yunus Musah and Christian Pulisic are here. General fan of beautiful football? Luka Modric is now here.
Truth is, if you aren’t already supporting Milan then you’re probably not going to now, but if you want to jump in to Italian football, this is one of the giants of the game, support them and you’ll get to celebrate trophies.
Napoli
Glory Hunter? They’re the current defending champions. Other than that, this is where pizza was apparently invented. Neapolitan pizza is still famous around the World and definitely did come from here.
If you’re English, probably not the team for you, Diego Maradona is a God here and the stadium is still named after him and we don’t like him after that time he cheated in 1986. However, if you’re a fan of pure, all out passion, then you can’t go wrong here. Scots will love it since Ballon D’Or nominee Scott McTominay is on his way to legend status here, and that whole Maradona connection.
Home to three beautiful kits this season, as well as Kevin De Bruyne and managed by Antonio Conte, there’s a lot to like in Naples. I just don’t because I’m an English Inter fan.
Parma
Love Oasis? Wear bucket hats? Right on board this 90s nostalgia train that’s coursing through the World right now? Then come to Parma. Not only will you be well fed with cheese and ham, but the 90s nostalgia is big here! UEFA Cup winners in 1995 and 1999, Cup Winners Cup winners in 1993, Super Cup winners in 1994, Coppa Italia winners in 1992 and 1999 and Serie A runners up in 1997. This club craves the 90s more than your Dad at the Oasis reunion.
There’s a whole history to this team, including their bankruptcy and revival in the noughties. Read that here.
Not only that, but their kits are usually magnificent, the locals are friendly, tickets are cheap and I’ve already done the homework for you here…
Pisa
Another one for underdog fans here. Or fans of towers built incorrectly. Pisa stormed through Serie B for most of last season before stumbling over the line in second. Their manager then promptly left for more money elsewhere. Yes, Pippo Inzaghi replicated his brother in leaving his club at the end of the season. They haven’t spent a lot, nor does anyone expect them to stay up. But strange things happen in Italy. Support them if you’re a fan of beautiful cities and lovely blue and black kits.
The fans are passionate here, so any matchday will provide a great craic.
Roma
The eternal city, the lovely retro kit, the magnificent third strip this season. There’s a lot to like about Roma this season. Ranieri left at the end of last season having rescued them from a potential relegation battle with 2 defeats in 25. He became a Director and the attack minded Gasperini is in charge here. They’ve signed Leon Bailey and Evan Ferguson from English clubs, so there’s some home interest to follow here too.
I expect they’ll shock a few people, but above all else, if you know anything about Italian football you’ll know Francesco Totti is one of the best to ever do it and he spent his whole career here. A great choice for the casual viewer to root for this season.
Sassuolo
Josh Doig moved to Italy when he was only a teenager and is about to start his 5th season over in Italy at Sassuolo, his second club there. Another reason for Scottish fans to pay an interest. Not just this though, but they launched easily the best kit this season (for me). They were perennial strugglers last time out in Serie A but having swept everyone in Serie B, I expect them to have a bit more about them this season, they’ll be down near the bottom but I don’t think they’ll go down. Sassuolo is the industrial centre of Emilia Romagna so it’s unlikely you’ll be visiting by accident, but it’s easily accessible by train from Parma or Bologna, so double match weekend could be on…
Torino
Grande Torino were one of the greatest teams in Italian history, providing 10 out of the Azzurri’s 11 players in the 40s and spending years unbeaten. They were tragically and abruptly stopped in their tracks, however, in the Superga disaster when their plane crashed and everyone on board died.
Remembered every year by pilgrimages up the mountain to the site, Torino and their fans offer a certain dignity to Italian football. One of the great teams of all time in Calcio came from Torino, and so did one of Calcio’s greatest tragedies. This is a club bursting with history and constantly threatening to challenge for Europe and some domestic trophies. See also, magnificent kits and Scottish players.
Udinese
Another team with Scottish talent. Lennon Miller has just signed here from Motherwell, a very highly regarded talent in Scottish and European football. Won the 1978 Anglo-Italian cup over Bath City. You may recognise them from early noughties European pursuits featuring Antonio Di Natale.
Fans of Black and White stripes will certainly appreciate their kit and their location in Udine near the Slovenian border will appeal to fans of the multi-country trip. Alexis Sanchez also played here for a time before Barcelona took him to Spain. Don’t expect any trees being pulled up next season, but they usually provide entertainment.
The Calcio Blog 
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