Globetrotting Tifosi: Serie A’s International Fans

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Attacking Football

·24 January 2025

Globetrotting Tifosi: Serie A’s International Fans

Once the crown jewel of European football, Serie A’s heyday has faded like the sun setting on a hot Italian summer’s day.

For a long time the ensuing night seemed eternal. Falling further and further behind the giant money machines of the Premier League and La Liga, Italian football floundered in the darkness while Spain and England surged ahead.

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Over the past few years, though, Italian sides have made a comeback on the European stage. This has come as very welcome news to supporters of the top clubs, many of whom live all around the world.

After losing its swagger, Serie A has the public attention once again. Lovers of the Italian game are dotted round the globe, enticed by the unique nature of Serie A. But why have people thousands of miles away adopted Italian clubs as their own? And how has the internet changed life for these supporters?

International Serie A-ffairs

No two stories are alike.

Some have grown up steeped in Italian life and family, their love for Calcio passed down like an heirloom. While others have looked longingly at the Bel Paese and its unique Calcio culture. Italian passion for the beautiful game is well documented. A passion passed from generation to generation.

A perfect example is Roberto, administrator of the Juventus news portal JuveFC, who’s had Juventus in his family since the 1940s.

Juventus through the years

“It started with my grandfather and his brothers and passed to my dad, who attended his first Juventus game in 1958,” says Roberto, who has now passed the torch to his children. Like countless Juve supporters, he lists the 1996 Champions League win as his favourite moment. Now living in England, this family affair has gone international.

Thousands of similar cases can be found anywhere Italians are, which essentially is the entire world. Although far from home, there are plenty of ways for supporters to keep up with their team.

Las Vegas Laziale

One such initiative is Lazio World, set up by lifelong Laziale Shawn McIntosh along with Caleb Adams, who fell in love with the club seven years ago through his love for Rome and the counterattacking football deployed by the Biancocelesti at the time.

Shawn spent most of his childhood in Italy: “I’ve been supporting Lazio for as long as I can remember,” says Shawn. Growing up in the seaside town of Gaeta, Lazio “The club always represented my family.” He says, a sentiment surely shared by many.

Clubs can act as a part of home when it seems so far away. Lazio has remained a fixture in Shawn’s life all the way to Las Vegas, where he now lives. A small piece of sunny Gaeta always with him.

Irresistible Rossoneri

The colour and class of 1980s and 90s Italian football drew new supporters in from far and wide during a golden age for Il Campionato piu Bello del Mondo. Graced by stars like Paolo Maldini, Roberto Baggio, and Zinedine Zidane, to name just three, it’s easy to see why football obsessives would be hooked.

Despite all these great names, one thing in particular stood out to Matteo Carnevale, co-founder of The Cult of Calcio website.

“I started supporting Milan when I was six years old, and, I must be honest, the initial reason was because I liked their kit colour combination”, explains Matteo, “But that was towards the end of the 1980s, and that Milan happened to be one of the greatest teams ever.”

Managed by the revolutionary Arrigo Sacchi, the squad boasted the legendary Dutch trio of Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard. The ‘three Tulips’ led Milan to a league title and two European cups. As Matteo puts it: “It quickly became natural to just fall in love with the team.”

For him, nothing will ever beat the Rossoneri’s victory over Real Madrid in the 1989 European Cup semi-finals: “Imagine a seven-year-old boy seeing his favourite team destroy the strongest team in the world. To date, this is still one of my favourite football memories.”

Stadium Deteriation

Nowadays things have changed slightly. Stadium culture has changed a lot, and Matteo has noticed it.

“I don’t expect a stadium to be a Nobel Prize winners gathering, but there are some behaviours I just can’t stand. Seeing the streets around the stadium literally covered with plastic cups … crime-linked figures being leaders of the Curvas [Ultras sections of stadiums] … it’s just like football stadia in Italy are bringing out the worst in us.”

For those further afield, the stadium can feel like a mythical place just out of reach. Making it to the ground even once in a blue moon, like Roberto or Shawn, means fans must find a way to get their weekly fix elsewhere.

Calcio Online

This is where the internet plays a key role. The Cult of Calcio, Lazio World, JuveF.C., and countless others all act as mediums for English-speaking fans to feel part of the community and stay informed.

“The Internet has allowed me to follow a passion and create a podcast to bring more of the English-speaking Lazio world together, and that has been a lot of fun.” Says Shawn.

This sentiment is echoed by Roberto:

“I think the internet has brought the fans, including myself, closer to the team. Reporting news for the page makes that bond stronger.”

Matteo, however, has a slightly different outlook on the issue, but one that’s shared by many:

“I have mixed feelings about the internet. Of course, it’s given me a space to write, to create my page, and write about football … Still, I’m an old-school guy, and I kind of miss when you just did not have all the info you wanted available at hand … Everything seemed more distant, more romantic, more epic.”

Whatever your opinion, it is undeniable the internet has played a starring role in Serie A’s renaissance. Davide, who runs the Juve Xtra page, started supporting the Turin club in 2016. Some 20 years after Roberto witnessed the Champions League victory. A different generation of supporters coming through is evident. Favourite players have changed from Alessandro Del Piero to Cristiano Ronaldo. The internet has transformed distant admiration into an active, global community, yet it’s the shared love for Calcio that truly unites them—a love that no algorithm or streaming service can replicate.

As Serie A’s international fanbase grows, the league’s challenge is to nurture this connection while staying true to its roots. For those living thousands of miles away, Serie A isn’t just a football league; it’s a bridge to Italy’s soul, and sometimes fan’s heritage. And as the sun rises on a new era for Italian football, one thing is certain: the passion of the tifosi, whether in Turin, Las Vegas, or anywhere else, will continue to burn as brightly as ever.