It is not easy to draw a map of football support in Italy, surveys and numbers are constantly fluctuating: however, all the cross-referenced data leads to outlining a rough ranking of the shirts that most ignite the passion of football lovers. Juventus is always the undisputed queen of three stars (reserved for those who have at least thirty championships), while Cagliari makes a splendid impression, confirming itself among the most loved teams in Italy. Outside national borders, however, the widest consensus is for Milan, which can count on a winning tradition in European cups.
Cagliari
“One land, one people, one team” is the slogan launched in recent years which illustrates the extent of support for the rossoblù club, followed and loved throughout the island. An almost unique peculiarity compared to what happens with other Italian teams, where bell towers and rivalries break the local support into several parts. In Sardinia there is no lack of passion for the "big" teams of the North (Juventus, Inter, Milan) but nothing affects the Sardinians' love for Cagliari. Even the rivalry with Sassari and Torres (very fast in Serie C) plays a secondary role compared to the affection that Pavoletti and his teammates receive throughout the island. The rossoblù can count on ample support overseas (and also outside the Italian borders), partly the result of emigration, partly of the passion that erupted at the time of Gigi Riva and the 1970 scudetto. According to cross-referenced findings, the active fans of the Cagliari are a little more than 500 thousand, which ensure a prestigious eighth place in the absolute classic of Italian football. If the idea of a restricted elite Serie A on the model of American professional sport ever took shape, with the most important teams on the pitch, without relegations (a proposal made by several parties and just relaunched by Napoli president De Laurentiis), the rossoblù club would have no problem appearing in the front row in the championship of the most important clubs in Italy.
The ranking
Juventus is clearly in first place, with a number of fans of between eight and nine million. On its side it has the peculiarity of receiving support in all regions, starting from those of the South. The Bianconeri are the first team in Piedmont, Val d'Aosta, Sicily, Calabria, Puglia, Basilicata, Abruzzo, Molise, Umbria and Marche. There is the paradox: right under the Mole there would be a slight majority of Torino fans. On the other steps of the podium are the rivals of the Meazza stadium - Inter and Milan - who attract around four million fans each. In the rankings of recent years, the Nerazzurri team prevails by a few tens of thousands of votes, having overturned the hierarchies compared to the supremacy of Milan in the Berlusconi era. Inter is first in Lombardy and Emilia Romagna, the Rossoneri prevail in Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige and Friuli Venezia Giulia. In fourth place is Napoli, strengthened by the championship won last season: the Azzurri have around 2 million 800 thousand supporters, concentrated mainly in Campania but with a notable presence also in the Northern regions. Fifth place for Roma, with one million and 900 thousand fans, present above all in the capital: the Giallorossi are also the first team in Lazio. In sixth place is Fiorentina - 700 thousand fans - the most loved team in Tuscany. Followed by Lazio, another Capitoline club, which above all enjoys the support of the provinces outside the metropolitan city of Rome: 600 thousand fans and seventh place. Cagliari is eighth, then there is Torino (almost 500 thousand fans) who have many admirers also in memory of the legendary ride of the 1940s.
