Sassuolo – or Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio, to be precise – has recently fallen onto my radar because, a) last season they won promotion back to Serie A and, despite the odds, have managed to survive another year (as an Ipswich fan, clubs that can make this jump hold a certain fascination for me), and b) it was also where Muric, Town's former goalkeeper, spent last season on loan and has just today announced he will be joining on a permanent deal. So... who exactly are Sas

The Yellow and Reds. The Wolves. La Magica. Few football clubs are so tightly bound to the identity of their city as Roma. Founded in 1927 through the merger of several Roman clubs, the idea was simple: create a footballing force powerful enough to challenge the wealthy giants of northern Italy. Since then, Roma have become one of Italy’s most passionately supported clubs, winning league titles, European trophies and producing legends such as Francesco Totti, the eternal capt

The Griffin. The Red and the Blues. The Old Fool. Founded in 1893, they are officially the oldest football club in Italy, and for large parts of the early game they dominated Italian football. But Genoa’s history has rarely been smooth. Periods of glory were followed by chaos, relegation, revival and collapse all over again. It was the great Italian journalist Gianni Brera who affectionately labelled them Il Vecchio Balordo — “The Old Fool” — a nickname that captured both th

This club takes the award for the most Instagrammable of hometowns. And in Italy, the competition is fierce. The Amalfi Coast is famously beautiful, with dozens of natural harbours and bays, colourful medieval housing running up the cliffs, and the sparkle of the sun off the Mediterranean. Many a model has been photographed with these iconic views in the background – and many a tourist has drunk more than their fair share of the local delicacy, limoncello, made from the area’

Ancient city, from a culturally rich and unique island with a famous club that today is backed by one of the richest footballing stables in the world. Sounds like a winning mix right? Let's #GetTheBadgeIn and see what we can discover as we peek into the eagles' nest of Palermo. First things first - the team - they are currently in Serie B but have competed in Serie A and been in the UEFA Cup 5 times. They have tended to bounce between the two top leagues, having won the secon

I’ve written over 300 of these #GetTheBadgeIn posts so far – and one thing I’ve learned is that is very often the most simple of the badges that represent the most complex stories. Bologna is one of those. Founded in 1909, Bologna became one of the giants of early Italian football. Seven league titles, Coppa Italia triumphs and periods where they were genuinely one of the strongest sides in Europe. During the 1930s they became so dominant that they earned the nickname “Lo Squ

Pisa Sporting Club. What a badge. No hiding from it. Does exactly what you would expect of it – so let’s dig a bit deeper and see if there is anything else hiding behind this other than that tower slightly on ‘the huh’ - as they'd say in my home county. Founded in 1909, Pisa became known as I Nerazzurri — “The Black and Blues” — because of their famous dark blue and black colours. They are also nicknamed I Torri — “The Towers” — for obvious reasons. The club have experienced

Napoli. Italian champions last season (which is why they can wear the Scudetto (little shield) this season). Their away kit this season is also a remarkable affair. A love letter to their city. I absolutely love kits like this – rooted deep in their home city’s culture and history. So let’s unpack it and see what we can learn. Most of the icons within the pattern refer to pre-Renaissance superstitions and folklore which show what life was like for Medieval Europeans before th

Carrarese – meaning from or of the Italian town of Carrara. Calcio meaning football/soccer. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring to you one of my new favourite teams. The Marbles of Italy’s Serie B. Carrara is on the Italian west coast, tucked up near the top end. Upper thigh – if Italy really does resemble a leg booting a football. It is a small town of monumental significance to Italian history. Why? Because it provided all their marble. From Ancient Rome to Renaissance Florence,

Società Sportiva Lazio (SS Lazio) is one of the most famous clubs in the world. Founded in 1900, they, as an organisation, compete in over 40 different sports. They are most famous, I think, amongst my generation, who grew up seeing them dominate Italian and European football. In the 90s, they reached the UEFA Cup Final in 1998 before winning the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and Super Cup in 1999 and then the Serie A title in 2000. Formed by young men in the Prati district of the ci

Siena FC SSD was formed in 1904, when the club was founded in Siena as Società Studio e Divertimento (“Society for Study and Entertainment”) by a group that broke away from an existing sporting club. Eventually, they would evolve into Associazione Calcio Siena (“Siena Football Association”). Siena is a relatively small city but with a very long history. Their football team, perhaps initially stifled by its smaller recruitment pool compared to its larger rivals, spent much of

Inter Milan. Italian giants. Nay — global giants. One of the most recognisable football clubs on Earth. I do a deep dive #GetTheBadgeIn on the club itself elsewhere. But in this post I wanted to look at something else. A symbol that appears all over Inter kits, third strips, marketing campaigns, and social media — despite not actually being the club badge. The snake. Or, more specifically, the Biscione. To understand why a giant serpent swallowing a bloke appears across the b

Next up on our tour of Italian cities and their football teams is the ancient city of Padua. Nestled a few miles inland from Venice in the north-east corner of Italy, it has a remarkable history. They are represented on the pitch by Calcio Padova who are currently plying their trade in Serie B amongst the likes of Ashley Cole’s Cesena. Formed in 1910, their best days came in the late 1950s and early 1960s, recording a third-place finish in Serie A. Since then, they have bounc

Right. There’s a lot going on with this one, so let’s keep it tight and #GetTheBadgeIn for the 1985 Serie A champions, Hellas Verona. Hellas Verona FC are a professional side based in Verona, currently playing in Serie A. They have one league title (1985) which still stands out as the only top-flight win by a club from a non-regional capital. Founded in 1903, they have spent much of their history between Serie A and Serie B, with their strongest period in the 1980s when they

If Italy really is a leg kicking a football, then Florence sits right in the middle of the thigh. Built around 59 BC by the Romans, the city grew along the River Arno, surrounded by fertile land and positioned perfectly as a hub for trade routes stretching across Tuscany and into northern Europe. Over time, it became one of the most famous cities in the world. During the Renaissance, it was the beating heart of the movement. Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, Michelangelo

Nestled on the shores of one of the most famous lakes in the world, Como 1907 pulled off something special last year – a return to Serie A for the first time in 21 years. It’s been a long road back for the Lariani (People who live in Como). It is a club that’s been to the top, plunged into bankruptcy twice, and now finds itself reborn under one of the wealthiest owners in all of football. The story starts in 1907, when a group of locals met at the Taroni Bar on Via Cinque Gio

S.S.C. Napoli is one of Italy’s most well-supported and most successful clubs, based in the city of Naples, in the country’s south. Its...

If AC Milan are the serious, sharp-suited elder sibling, then Inter were always the rebellious younger brother—the one with different...

Juventus Football Club. Juve. La Vecchia Signora—the Old Lady. A name that carries weight across Italy and far beyond. So let’s get the...

As the Roman Empire fell and the barbarians stormed into Italy, the local people fled. To the mountains, into the hills – and into the...