When it comes to popular sports in Italy, there is no denying that soccer is number one. And with good reason. The Italian national soccer team has won the World Cup in 1934, 1938, 1982 and most recently in 2006. The Italian national team is the second most successful team in national soccer history. However, people love several other sports in Italy as well.
Quando si parla di sport popolari in Italia, non si può negare che il calcio sia il numero uno. E a ragione. La squadra nazionale di calcio italiana ha vinto la Coppa del mondo nel 1934, 1938, 1982 e più recentemente nel 2006. La squadra nazionale italiana è la seconda squadra di maggior successo nella storia del calcio nazionale. Tuttavia, la gente ama molti altri sport anche in Italia.
10. Rugby – Although rugby is not as popular as football in Italy, the Italian national team has competed at international events since the late 1920s, including the Rugby World Cup. Beginning in the early 1900s, Italian Rugby attracts a growing number of spectators each year, particularly in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto. Italy's 1000 plus rugby clubs are composed of almost 75,000 registered male players and 8,000 female players. It's believed that rugby had its origins in two ancient Roman games known as harpastum and trigon, which were introduced in Britain at the time of the Roman Empire.
9. Golf – Golf is quite popular in Italy, with over 9000 registered golf players. There are also some Italian players who are quite notable in the world of professional golf, names as Francesco Molinari and Costantino Rocca are well known to golf fans.
8. Tennis – Both on television and the actual courts, tennis tournaments have significant followings in Italy. When one looks at the top 150 male and female players at any given time, there are usually quite a few Italian professional tennis players among them. Italy as a tennis nation won the Fed Cup in 2006 and 2009 and the Davis Cup in 1976.
7. Athletics– Track and field is quite popular in Italy and those who do well on the Olympic or national level are very celebrated people throughout the country. There are many international and national athletic events held in Italy every year.
6. Wrestling – While it may not be considered an actual ‘sport’ by many, professional wrestling is extremely popular in Italy and the American pro wrestling promotions often make a trip overseas.
5. Water polo- Water sports come right after football in their popularity. Around three and a half million people in Italy actively take part in one or the other type of water sport. The most popular one is swimming because it is easily accessible to people, no matter whether you want to do it for leisure or as a professional sport. The other popular water sports in Italy are diving, sailing, rowing, water skiing, water polo, water basketball, and surfing.
4. Cycling – The Italians love cycling, and they are also very good at it. When you look at competitions like the World Cycling Championship and the results from previous competitions, then you can see that only one country has won the championships more often than Italy: Belgium! The Italians also have their own long-distance cycle competition: the Giro d'Italia. This competition is famous amongst the cyclists of the world and usually held in the month of May. Did you know that Italy is credited with having won the World Cycling Championship more than any other region? If you want to experience the energy of a cycling race, then make sure you visit Italy during May for the Giro d'Italia, a long distance cycling race that is known globally. This race lasts for three weeks, so if you want to enjoy the entire spectacle, then pack accordingly. Giro d’Italia is just one of the three major Grand Tours, the others being Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. Some notable cyclists include Michele Bartoli, Gianni Bugno and Vincenzo Nibali.
3. Volleyball – The Italian Volleyball League is often called the most difficult volleyball league in the world, and the teams from that league often find themselves as some of the best teams in the whole world. Volleyball is not only popular on a professional level, there are also many players who simply play the game for fun in Italy.
2. Basketball –Italy is one of the best basketball nations in all of Europe along with Turkey, Greece, and Spain. Until around the year 2000, the Italian league was considered the best domestic league outside of the United States.
1. Soccer – Soccer, arguably the most popular of Italian sports, originated in Florence in the late 1500s. Its original name, Giuoco del Calcio Fiorentino (or Florentine kick game), eventually became simply calcio, the Italian name for soccer. In more recent history, the Italian soccer team won the World Cup four times – in 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006 – and also won the 1968 European Nations Cup and a gold medal at the 1936 Olympic games. Italian football teams have won approximately 20 top-level European football competitions, and dominate the UEFA Cup with 9 wins and 6 runner-up positions. The Italian soccer team is ranked number two in the world after Brazil, which has five World Cup victories to Italy's four.
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