Football in Italy dates all the way back to Roman times, or at least there was an approximation of the bellissimo gioco (beautiful game) that we know and obsess over today.
There is even recorded evidence of medieval popes playing a version of the sport in the Vatican, though rumours that Clement VII could organise a mean catennacio defence remain unconfirmed.
Towards the end of the nineteenth century a more recognisable version of the game became popular, brought to the peninsula by English traders and inevitably soon after clubs began to form.
In 1898 the Italian Football Championship was founded, initially containing just four sides. A generation later saw the emergence of Serie A.
Looking back at the early days of these two related leagues we find a trio of clubs prominent, only one of whom are listed below.
For their historical importance, the other two - Genoa and Bologna - deserve an honourable mention, their heritage undisputed.
Biggest Clubs In Italian Football:
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Juventus
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AC Milan
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Inter
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AS Roma
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Torino
And yet we’re not here today to celebrate heritage, or not exclusively so anyway. When determining the biggest clubs in Italy, global stature is also a consideration, as too is the sheer scale of their fanbase.
And of course there is the not-so-insignificant detail of which clubs have bossed the modern era, meaning they currently dominate the Italian footballing landscape.
5) Torino
Il Toro haven’t won a Scudetto since 1976, and furthermore have spent an accumulative 11 years thereafter in the second tier.
Even so, omitting them from this list would have been a crime when we acknowledge what they once gifted the world, a magnificent and peerless collective that won five Serie A titles back-to-back in the nineteen-forties; a legendary side that perished in one tragic instant when their plane crashed into the side of the Superga mountain.
Valentino Mazzola was unquestionably the stand-out superstar, but to indicate just how special this team was we only need appreciate that ten of the national side at the time was made up of ‘Grande Torino’. Subsequently, their reputation spread far and wide.Which ultimately proved to be their undoing, as foreign clubs began requesting their presence in exhibition matches.
Returning from a friendly against Benfica in 1949, their plane became shrouded in fog and a stunned nation ground to a standstill.
It is estimated that a million people in Turin alone took to the streets in mourning for the 31 lost souls.
4) Roma
Associazione Sportiva Roma may have only won three league titles across their 97 years of existence but they are by most metrics the biggest club in Italy’s capital city and that obviously counts for a lot.
Impressively, Roma have been top-flight residents for all-but-one season and can proudly boast a hall of fame that is up there with the best of them.
In the Sixties they had Giacomo Losi. In the Eighties, Bruno Conti made up one third of an outstanding midfield that was also illuminated by Carlo Ancelotti and the Brazilian Falcao.
Naturally enough, that side won a Scudetto. How could it not?
In more recent times, Francesco Totti came to symbolise the club’s distinctive identity, half comprising of passion, and half guile.
In truth, I Giallorossi are in no danger of upsetting the Serie A betting anytime soon, averaging fifth place in the league over the last decade, but their Europa Conference League success in 2022 under Jose Mourinho is added to an Inter-Cities Fairs Cup triumph in 1961, placing some gloss on their continental credentials.
They also reached a European Cup final in 1984, losing to Liverpool.
3) Inter
There is a jump from Roma to Internazionale and now we are in the realms of the three Italian behemoths.
I Nerazzurri have always been one of the giants of European football, winning their first domestic league trophy in 1910 and adding a 20th just last May.
In the 21st century they have finished outside the top four on only five occasions, claiming seven Scudettos post the Millenium.
But if their record on home soil is consistently and traditionally formidable, what truly elevates this club is their fine continental legacy, built upon a remarkable side that conquered Europe for two seasons’ running in the mid-Sixties.
Forged by the legendary manager Helenio Herrera, who adapted catenaccio and made it forever associated with Inter, it was a side that was bolstered by a libero and made brilliant by a magical playmaker in Luis Suarez.
There was also Sandro Mazzola, a sublime talent whose father Valentino died in the Turin air disaster.
More recent generations recall Inter’s stockpiling of terrific attacking fare around the turn of the century, at one point possessing the Brazilian Ronaldo, Alvaro Recoba, Christian Vieri, Hakan Sukur and Robbie Keane.
Strangely enough Keane struggled for minutes.
2) AC Milan
Milan have won 19 Scudettos between 1901 and 2022 but what really marks them out as footballing royalty is their European pedigree, claiming 18 continental honours, including seven European Cup/Champions League triumphs. Only Real Madrid have won more.
Perhaps this explains why I Rossoneri are the most supported Italian club beyond the peninsula though another theory goes that Milan – arguably more than any other club in the world – have historically produced an array of extraordinary football teams that live long in the memory. Indeed, they are cherished.
In the Fifties, their Swedish contingent of Gunnar Gren, Gunnar Nordahl, and the generational Nils Liedholm – colloquially known as Gre-No-Li – led the club to all manner of silverware.
In the Eighties, an imperious collection of megastars, featuring the Dutch trio of Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco Van Basten, and made impenetrable by Maldini, Baresi and Costacurta, smashed all before them in style.
That team – nicknamed ‘The Immortals’ – is regularly voted the greatest club side of all time.
Then there was the ‘Invincibles’ who strung together 58 matches undefeated under Fabio Capello.
And let’s not forget the incredible side of the mid-2000s, with Pirlo, Seedorf, Kaka and Shevchenko.
During occasional spells in the doldrums, Milan are routinely still fancied in the football odds. Such is their stature. Such is their regal air.
1) Juventus
Naturally and undeniably, Juve have also produced some fantastical sides down the years and without doubt some have been a joy to behold.
Their European Cup-winning side of 1985 first comes to mind, with Platini and Boniek dovetailing beautifully.
But think of the Old Lady and it’s not style, but substance that is evoked. It’s not great teams that steal your heart but rather masterpieces that have you stand back and admire the exquisite brushstrokes.
For Juve, it’s all about domination.
Across their trophy-laden past and present, the Turin giants have won 36 Scudettos, or technically 37 but one was stripped from them following the Calciopoli Scandal in 2004. A further scandal hit in 2023 resulting in deducted points.
They have also finished runner-up in Serie A on 21 occasions.
It means that a club that was initially founded by a sixth form college in Turin, have finished in the top two in the Italian top-flight in 47.8% of the seasons that have ever been competed for. Now that’s domination.
*Credit for the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
