5 Reasons To Watch Serie A This Season

3. Fierce Rivalries

With many Serie A clubs hailing from Italy’s major cities, there are a plethora of derby matches with the added tension that comes from the intense desire of fans to one-up each other. The obvious one that springs to mind is the Milanese derby (Derby della Madonnina) contested by AC Milan and Internazionale, but there are plenty more matches with the added subtext of local rivalry.

The most revered rivalry in terms of animosity is by far the Derby Capitolino that pits Roma and Lazio against each other for superiority in the Italian capital, Rome. The animosity between the two clubs stems back to Roma’s inception in 1927, when Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini, merged all the clubs in Rome with Lazio being the only club that resisted. Despite that being 91 years ago, there is still no love lost between the two clubs from The Eternal City.

The extra elements that an inter-city rivalry brings to Serie A games has to been seen to be fully appreciated and makes them well worth a watch, even if you have no allegiances to any particular club.

Contributor
Contributor

Jake Sandy is a full-time physics student and part-time freelance football writer. He is a Chelsea fan who mostly focuses on European football, especially the Premier League and Serie A. Despite being relatively new to football writing, he doesn’t shy away from having bold opinions – just try and tell him Frank Lampard isn’t the best midfielder of the Premier League era.