The Italian Job

Serie A is like the Premier League in terms of depth and competition. There is a big four consisting of Inter, AC Milan, Roma and Juventus. In anyone else other than one of these four teams wins the league it is a huge deal.
Since 1990 only Sampdoria and Lazio did so and that was once each.


The big rivalries in Italy revolve around Inter. The Inter-Milan rivalry is huge as is the Inter-Juventus rivalry. The Milan-Juventus rivalry completes the triangle but it is nowhere big as the other two.

These rivalries are huge in Italy and have also manifested themselves in Europe. Milan won the Champions League at the expense of Juventus. The final was won in a penalty-shootout.


The Inter-Juventus rivalry is the biggest of the three. Part of the Milan - Inter rivalry stems from the fact that they are neighbors but there is also an element of respect there. With the Derby d'Italia it is personal and means something. The two really don't like each other. This came to the surface during the Calciopoli scandal and got very ugly.