It is probably pretty well known that soccer is a huge deal in Italy. Well, actually, it’s a huge deal pretty much everywhere outside of the United States. After watching a few games when I was studying in Rome I started to enjoy watching soccer. And since I will probably talk about it more than once on this blog I thought I would make a post explaining some things so people who know nothing about soccer in Italy won’t be terribly confused. First off, the Italian word for soccer! Unlike in Spanish it is not something similar to the word football. Italians say calcio, pronounced call-cho. Kind of. With an Italian accent. Work with me here, people. The highest level and most prominent league in Italy is called Serie A and playing in Serie A is…
AS Roma
AS Roma is one of two teams that play in Rome, and the one I support. Also called i giallorossi (literally translated, the yellow reds), the crest shows an image based on the founding of the city of Rome. Two years ago Roma was Serie A champions and won the Coppa Italia. Unfortunately, last year they had a disappointing season and after losing the first two games of this season Roma has underwent a coaching change. Roma plays at Stadio Olimpico which was built for the 1960 Olympics held in Rome. It is the second largest soccer stadium in the country after San Siro in Milan.
Francesco Totti is a name you will probably be seeing a lot in this blog. He is the team’s captain and probably the most beloved player on the team. Totti was born and raised in Rome and has only played with on team his whole career- Roma. Oh, and he’s also extremely good looking. My mom took this picture of him scoring the winning goal when we went to Stadio Olimpico for a game against Bologna in April. Isn’t it great?
The Italian National Team
The Italian National team, or the Azzurri as they are called (blue, as in the color they wear), are the reigning World Cup Champs. This means they automatically qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Unfortunately, if the teams performance in this summer’s Confederation Cup is any indication, back to back World Cup championships for Italy are probably not in the cards.
Both the teams are struggling but I will definitely be following both over in Rome. Forza Roma e Forza Azzurri!
How is Roma!>!>?!