{"id":375,"date":"2011-05-15T09:49:52","date_gmt":"2011-05-15T07:49:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/walks.friday.ie\/?p=375"},"modified":"2024-11-15T15:56:08","modified_gmt":"2024-11-15T15:56:08","slug":"seeing-a-soccer-game-in-italy-how-to-go-to-italian-football-match","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/seeing-a-soccer-game-in-italy-how-to-go-to-italian-football-match","title":{"rendered":"Soccer In Italy: 5 Tips for Attending An Italian Football Match"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Whether you\u2019re a soccer (or football) fan or not, there are few experiences more exciting than seeing a match in Italy! Considered Italy\u2019s national sport, <em>calcio, <\/em>as they call it here, is also one that Italians of every stripe get into. So even if you don\u2019t <em>particularly <\/em>care if Rome or Lazio win (and shhh\u2014don\u2019t say that aloud!), the atmosphere alone is electrifying. Here&#8217;s what you need to know about soccer in Italy.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/seeing-a-soccer-game-in-italy-how-to-go-to-italian-football-match\/#Familiarize_yourself_with_the_different_levels_of_Italian_soccer\" >Familiarize yourself with the different levels of Italian soccer<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/seeing-a-soccer-game-in-italy-how-to-go-to-italian-football-match\/#Make_sure_youre_coming_during_the_football_season\" >Make sure you\u2019re coming during the football season<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/seeing-a-soccer-game-in-italy-how-to-go-to-italian-football-match\/#Decide_if_you_really_do_want_to_go\" >Decide if you really do want to go<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/seeing-a-soccer-game-in-italy-how-to-go-to-italian-football-match\/#Still_undeterred_Then_check_out_the_football_schedule\" >Still undeterred? Then check out the football schedule<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/travel-tips\/seeing-a-soccer-game-in-italy-how-to-go-to-italian-football-match\/#Buy_your_tickets\" >Buy your tickets!<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Familiarize_yourself_with_the_different_levels_of_Italian_soccer\"><\/span><strong>Familiarize yourself with the different levels of Italian soccer<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The top team and the &#8220;holy grail&#8221; of matches to see, of course, is the Italian national team. (They were all over the news for winning the World Cup in 2006, but, in a travesty for Italians, choked in 2010).<\/p>\n<p>The teams you\u2019ll hear about most often in everyday Italian sports-speak, though, are the \u201cSerie A\u201d teams. These are the 20 top teams <em>within <\/em>Italy. They switch every year, depending on how well they\u2019re doing, but almost always include such legendary teams as Inter Milan, Bologna, Fiorentina, Lazio, and Roma. (The only Serie A team that\u2019s never been downgraded is Inter Milan). These games have some of the most passionate fans and competition, and tickets to the games can range from \u20ac12 to \u20ac120.<\/p>\n<p>Below \u201cSerie A,\u201d there is\u2014you guessed it\u2014\u201cSerie B.\u201d And there are several more levels below that. Tickets to those games are much cheaper, generally from \u20ac12 to \u20ac25.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Make_sure_youre_coming_during_the_football_season\"><\/span><strong>Make sure you\u2019re coming during the football season<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>It sounds like a no-brainer, but given how passionate Italians are about the sport, you\u2019d be excused for thinking something <em>this <\/em>important must go on year-round. Well, it is <em>almost <\/em>year-round, but if you\u2019re coming in the high season of June and July, you\u2019re out of luck: Serie A and the other domestic soccer matches are held roughly from August through May.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_377\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/Football-Flares.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-377\" class=\"wp-image-377 size-full\" title=\"Flares at a football game in Italy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/Football-Flares.jpg\" alt=\"Crowds at Italian soccer game \" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/Football-Flares.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/Football-Flares-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-377\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Soccer games in Italy can get a little nutty!<\/p><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Decide_if_you_really_do_want_to_go\"><\/span><strong>Decide if you really do want to go<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Here\u2019s the thing: While going to a football match is (usually) lots of fun and a great cultural experience, it can also be a major hassle (few stadiums are in the city centers!) and expensive (depending on the game).<\/p>\n<p>Most importantly, attending a game <em>can <\/em>be risky. The kinds of passions you see inflamed at an Italian soccer game make <em>anything <\/em>you see back in the U.S. look like Grandma\u2019s Parcheesi tournaments (if you\u2019re from Britain, though, this might sound a little more familiar). In short, there has been a great deal of crowd trouble, rioting and even violence at games in the past; it got so bad in 2007 that the president of the Italian Football Federation temporarily halted league football.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a bit better now: The 2007 violence brought about a radical package of anti-hooliganism legislation to try to make games safer and more family-friendly. Still, violence at Italian soccer games has continued, with incidents occurring every season. Competitions to be particularly cautious about are often local pairings like Roma versus Lazio (Rome), Juventus versus Torino (Turin) or Catania versus Palermo (Sicily)\u2014which seem to be all the more heated because they\u2019re neighbors!<\/p>\n<p>Before you decide to go to a match, particularly one with two teams in fierce competition, you might want to read <a href=\"http:\/\/www.travelblog.org\/Europe\/Italy\/Lazio\/Rome\/blog-390086.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one tourist\u2019s account of a 2009 Roma-Lazio game<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_378\" style=\"width: 1010px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/Crowd-of-milan-supporters-brigate-rossoneri.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-378\" class=\"wp-image-378 size-full\" title=\"Crowd of milan supporters (brigate rossoneri)\" src=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/Crowd-of-milan-supporters-brigate-rossoneri.jpg\" alt=\"Italians supporting A.C. Milan at an Italian soccer match\" width=\"1000\" height=\"667\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/Crowd-of-milan-supporters-brigate-rossoneri.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/05\/Crowd-of-milan-supporters-brigate-rossoneri-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-378\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Supporters of A.C. Milan, one of Italy&#8217;s most popular teams<\/p><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Still_undeterred_Then_check_out_the_football_schedule\"><\/span><strong>Still undeterred? Then check out the football schedule<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>If you&#8217;re having a hard time wrapping your mind around the schedules, here\u2019s a tip: Each team pair plays twice, once in one city, once in the other. To avoid having to rewrite this pair twice, it just appears once, but under <em>two <\/em>dates.<\/p>\n<p>So, for example: On the Serie A schedule, Siena and Fiorentina play twice. Where do they play for each game? The first game is held in the city listed on the left. So, once it&#8217;ll be in Siena and the other time in Fiorentina.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Buy_your_tickets\"><\/span><strong>Buy your tickets! <\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Although you can buy tickets at the actual stadium, for most games you can\u2019t actually buy your tickets on the day of the game in Italy. That means you would have to go to the stadium and get the tickets in advance. (Your ticket will have your name printed on it, so absolutely don\u2019t forget your I.D. when you actually go to the game!)<\/p>\n<p>Another, easier option is to buy tickets from the team\u2019s club outlets in the city. The simplest thing to do is to ask at your hotel where the nearest club outlet is (they\u2019re sure to know!) and purchase your seats in advance there. You\u2019ll have to pay up front. The outlet then will get your tickets for you, with your name and other identifying information.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, you can buy tickets online. While this <em>seems <\/em>like the easiest option, some of the online ticket sellers are known for price-gouging and some people have even complained that they paid but never received tickets. Still, if you want to do it this way\u2014either because you\u2019re worried the game will sell out before you can get to the club outlet or stadium, or simply for convenience\u2014websites to look at include <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ticketone.it\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TicketOne<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.listicket.it\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Listicket<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Be aware that not all clubs offer the ability to buy tickets in online, especially clubs that aren\u2019t in the upper echelons. These sites are in Italian, so again, run them through Google Translator if you\u2019re having trouble!<\/p>\n<p>Remember that the cheapest tickets are those for the seats behind the goals and in the corners. (Obviously, that\u2019s where you have the worst view, too!)<\/p>\n<p>Enjoy your soccer game in Italy\u2026 and be safe!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether you\u2019re a soccer (or football) fan or not, there are few experiences more exciting than seeing a match in Italy! Considered Italy\u2019s national sport, calcio, as they call it here, is also one that Italians of every stripe get into. So even if you don\u2019t particularly care if Rome or Lazio win (and shhh\u2014don\u2019t [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[65],"ppma_author":[155],"class_list":["post-375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-tips","tag-act-like-a-local"],"authors":[{"term_id":155,"user_id":3,"is_guest":0,"slug":"walksofitaly","display_name":"Walks of Italy","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9f4cd4dd0c5ab4b4bae57f3500298e23?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"http:\/\/walksofitaly.com\/blog","last_name":"of Italy","first_name":"Walks","job_title":"","description":"Walks began life as the passion project of two guys with one simple mission: To share their love for, and knowledge of, the city of Rome. Since then, Walks has grown into a team of over 100 ground staff and at any time up to 600 guides, operating across 13 of the world\u2019s most exciting cities (and counting!)\r\n\r\nToday we provide some of the most exclusive and beautifully designed small group tours in the industry through Italy-based Walks of Italy and around the world at Walks, where we offer special access to some of the world\u2019s most iconic landmarks and attractions as well as unique cultural experiences."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22232,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375\/revisions\/22232"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.walksofitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}