Football Frenzy in Italy
by Michelle Marie McNiff
[email protected]
Hands down, the most prolific sport in Italy is soccer. The fans are raging fanatics, the footballers glistening superstars. The allegiance to the men in blue, the Azzuri National Team unites the Italian people. During a world championship run, the flag of Italy drapes across balconies across the land. Italy ranks second, now tied with Germany, with four World Cup championships, behind Brazil's five titles. The Azzuri clinched European championships, and took gold from the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. A bragging right Mussolini most likely fired at Hitler.
Victories aside, Italy reigns supreme with the most copious soccer clubs, and unflinching support. Fans fill stadiums decked in team apparel, roaring loudly, and waving oversized flags and banners, worshiping the badge of honor on the club jersey. And with second and third generation Italians living abroad, the football fan base spans across the globe.
Calcio, the Italian word for ‘kick’ is a passionate football derby. With many different customs and dialects, the Italian people fall divided when their home team competes in a soccer showdown. The Italian football league, Serie A is well organized, structured with a tier of 20 professional teams. The top three teams qualify to play in the UEFA Champions Leagues, formally the European Cup in the Union of European Football Association.
Behind the scenes, football clubs run like businesses with high stakes outside of a striker’s range. Italy leads Europe with three soccer clubs traded on its main stock exchange: Roma, Juventus and Lazio. Crosstown rivals, SS Lazio and AS Roma are one of the most notorious adversaries. Both represent Rome yet fiercely partisan, hailing insults and endless banter to their compatriots across the field. At the soccer stadium, security guards stand like foot soldiers, ready to battle unruly fans in what is considered the most heated battle in Serie A.
Lazio and Roma play at Stadio Olimpico- a modern coliseum- that seats 73,000 fans- the second largest stadium in the league.
The National rugby team shares the outdoor venue. Another popular sport. Last summer,
I watched Italy topple Scotland 13-6 in a Six Nations battle, handing the Scots "the wooden spoon".
The luck of the Irish didn’t help their neighbors on Saint Patrick’s Day at Stadio Olimpico, on that bright sunny day.
Compared to an American Super Bowl, the sold-out crowd was louder in a fan frenzy. Italians donned Peroni jester hats and far outnumbered the kilt-wearing Scots. A vast sea of green, white and red flags lashed in the air. Horns blasted deafening decibel levels. Fans cheered, then shouted insults on errors, lost lineouts and dropped balls. The match was as thrilling as a Roman calcio match...
The difference: Rugby fans party together win or lose. And, I certainly had fun hanging out with the Scots after the match.
All Roads Lead to ROMA
The first football club reportedly originated from Turin, while other forms of the sport were played in ancient times during the Roman Empire. After watching a winter training scrimmage at Disney’s World Wide of Sports in Orlando, the Roman gladiators have evolved into soccer players.The modern day warriors, AS Roma, battle in the Italian Serie A, contesting in a round-robin format for the league title, domestic cups and advance internationally in the UEFA Champions and Europa League. Roma has won three Serie A titles, nine Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana. The youth squad churns out more professional players than any other Italian club. In 1992, one young striker prince moved up to the A-squad, and has remained loyal, surpassing records ever since. Francesco Totti, 38, is one of the leading scorers, and longest active in the league. He is often called the King of Rome. Fortunately for his fans, Totti has no plans to retire anytime soon. This season, Roma is currently in second place in Serie A standings.
Romanisti fans have passionately inked their hearts in imperial purple and gold, the team colors splash like a stunning sunset in the Eternal City. Unlike the sun, their love and passion for the Giallorossi never fades. Roma fans claim to be the most feverish in all of Italy. Those who cheer for Lazio, or top-ranked Juventus will try to snatch that title. I vouch for Roma, having witnessed families, colleagues and friends divide in a cold war line like Berlin and Bonn during a Roma-Lazio game. My Italian ancestors, Lucchini/ Colombo-Maffioli from Ivrea and Biella would have cheered for Torino or Juventus. Another fierce rivalry.
Nevertheless, the insatiable demand for Club Roma news is quite impressive. It fuels media outlets to breathe angles beyond the technical aspect of the sport. One newspaper, Il Romanista- exclusively covers the team; the tabloid hybrid prints daily and updates online. Soccer forums post globally and AS Roma keeps fans in the loop on its official website and social media, particularly successful on Twitter with 545,000 supporters, citizen sports journalists (Roma fans) trending online 24/7.
Team World Wide
AS Roma is the only Italian club owned by a majority based in the United States. The financial backing of an American investment group gives Roma an advantage to out market other Serie A teams. And, the new owners (circa August 2011) have expanded the brand globally. For the first time, Roma traveled on a US tour in 2012, visiting top sports markets like Chicago, Boston and New York, and landed again on American soil on Dec. 29, 2012 for winter training and a friendly exhibition against Orlando City in Orlando, Florida. Roma won 5-0.
Fans formed a long line and waited patiently for autographs after a team scrimmage at Disney’s World Wide Sports Complex. My son, then 11, scored a prized autograph from il capitano Francesco Totti (his all-time favorite striker) and former Coach Zeman. Roma returned to the United States in 2013 and 2014 competing in the Champions League.
With TEAM USA standout Michael Bradley (formerly AS Roma) and superstars like Francesco Totti, Daniele De Rossi and a list of strong players, Roma is widely popular among American soccer fans. And this season, Roma has a good chance to garner more football frenzy if they win the Serie A Scudetto, "Little shield". Juventus, the thorn in the North, will contend once again as league champion. Forza Roma!
by Michelle Marie McNiff
[email protected]
Hands down, the most prolific sport in Italy is soccer. The fans are raging fanatics, the footballers glistening superstars. The allegiance to the men in blue, the Azzuri National Team unites the Italian people. During a world championship run, the flag of Italy drapes across balconies across the land. Italy ranks second, now tied with Germany, with four World Cup championships, behind Brazil's five titles. The Azzuri clinched European championships, and took gold from the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. A bragging right Mussolini most likely fired at Hitler.
Victories aside, Italy reigns supreme with the most copious soccer clubs, and unflinching support. Fans fill stadiums decked in team apparel, roaring loudly, and waving oversized flags and banners, worshiping the badge of honor on the club jersey. And with second and third generation Italians living abroad, the football fan base spans across the globe.
Calcio, the Italian word for ‘kick’ is a passionate football derby. With many different customs and dialects, the Italian people fall divided when their home team competes in a soccer showdown. The Italian football league, Serie A is well organized, structured with a tier of 20 professional teams. The top three teams qualify to play in the UEFA Champions Leagues, formally the European Cup in the Union of European Football Association.
Behind the scenes, football clubs run like businesses with high stakes outside of a striker’s range. Italy leads Europe with three soccer clubs traded on its main stock exchange: Roma, Juventus and Lazio. Crosstown rivals, SS Lazio and AS Roma are one of the most notorious adversaries. Both represent Rome yet fiercely partisan, hailing insults and endless banter to their compatriots across the field. At the soccer stadium, security guards stand like foot soldiers, ready to battle unruly fans in what is considered the most heated battle in Serie A.
Lazio and Roma play at Stadio Olimpico- a modern coliseum- that seats 73,000 fans- the second largest stadium in the league.
The National rugby team shares the outdoor venue. Another popular sport. Last summer,
I watched Italy topple Scotland 13-6 in a Six Nations battle, handing the Scots "the wooden spoon".
The luck of the Irish didn’t help their neighbors on Saint Patrick’s Day at Stadio Olimpico, on that bright sunny day.
Compared to an American Super Bowl, the sold-out crowd was louder in a fan frenzy. Italians donned Peroni jester hats and far outnumbered the kilt-wearing Scots. A vast sea of green, white and red flags lashed in the air. Horns blasted deafening decibel levels. Fans cheered, then shouted insults on errors, lost lineouts and dropped balls. The match was as thrilling as a Roman calcio match...
The difference: Rugby fans party together win or lose. And, I certainly had fun hanging out with the Scots after the match.
All Roads Lead to ROMA
The first football club reportedly originated from Turin, while other forms of the sport were played in ancient times during the Roman Empire. After watching a winter training scrimmage at Disney’s World Wide of Sports in Orlando, the Roman gladiators have evolved into soccer players.The modern day warriors, AS Roma, battle in the Italian Serie A, contesting in a round-robin format for the league title, domestic cups and advance internationally in the UEFA Champions and Europa League. Roma has won three Serie A titles, nine Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana. The youth squad churns out more professional players than any other Italian club. In 1992, one young striker prince moved up to the A-squad, and has remained loyal, surpassing records ever since. Francesco Totti, 38, is one of the leading scorers, and longest active in the league. He is often called the King of Rome. Fortunately for his fans, Totti has no plans to retire anytime soon. This season, Roma is currently in second place in Serie A standings.
Romanisti fans have passionately inked their hearts in imperial purple and gold, the team colors splash like a stunning sunset in the Eternal City. Unlike the sun, their love and passion for the Giallorossi never fades. Roma fans claim to be the most feverish in all of Italy. Those who cheer for Lazio, or top-ranked Juventus will try to snatch that title. I vouch for Roma, having witnessed families, colleagues and friends divide in a cold war line like Berlin and Bonn during a Roma-Lazio game. My Italian ancestors, Lucchini/ Colombo-Maffioli from Ivrea and Biella would have cheered for Torino or Juventus. Another fierce rivalry.
Nevertheless, the insatiable demand for Club Roma news is quite impressive. It fuels media outlets to breathe angles beyond the technical aspect of the sport. One newspaper, Il Romanista- exclusively covers the team; the tabloid hybrid prints daily and updates online. Soccer forums post globally and AS Roma keeps fans in the loop on its official website and social media, particularly successful on Twitter with 545,000 supporters, citizen sports journalists (Roma fans) trending online 24/7.
Team World Wide
AS Roma is the only Italian club owned by a majority based in the United States. The financial backing of an American investment group gives Roma an advantage to out market other Serie A teams. And, the new owners (circa August 2011) have expanded the brand globally. For the first time, Roma traveled on a US tour in 2012, visiting top sports markets like Chicago, Boston and New York, and landed again on American soil on Dec. 29, 2012 for winter training and a friendly exhibition against Orlando City in Orlando, Florida. Roma won 5-0.
Fans formed a long line and waited patiently for autographs after a team scrimmage at Disney’s World Wide Sports Complex. My son, then 11, scored a prized autograph from il capitano Francesco Totti (his all-time favorite striker) and former Coach Zeman. Roma returned to the United States in 2013 and 2014 competing in the Champions League.
With TEAM USA standout Michael Bradley (formerly AS Roma) and superstars like Francesco Totti, Daniele De Rossi and a list of strong players, Roma is widely popular among American soccer fans. And this season, Roma has a good chance to garner more football frenzy if they win the Serie A Scudetto, "Little shield". Juventus, the thorn in the North, will contend once again as league champion. Forza Roma!
