Chapter 7. Europe > Italy Coppa Italia

♣ Coppa Italia

Coppa Italia (lit. 'Italian Cup') is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since.

Juventus is the competition's most successful club with fifteen wins, followed by Roma and Inter Milan with nine. Juventus has contested the most finals with 22, followed by Roma with 17 finals. The holder can wear a cockade of Italy (Italian: coccarda), akin to the roundels that appear on military aircraft. The winner automatically qualifies for both the UEFA Europa League league phase and the Supercoppa Italiana the following year.

▲ Coppa Italia Emblem

▼ Connection Pages

♣ History

The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity of the participation of the teams in the tournament, since its inception in 1921, the Italian championship was divided into two groups. On the one hand the rich CCI Championship (Italian Football Confederation) and on the other the poor FIGC championship (Italian Football Federation). Losing all its most prestigious clubs, the FIGC tried to enhance its rump season with a new cup. The tournament's first edition held in 1922 was won by F.C. Vado. The following agreement between the contenders did not contemplate a cup that, outside a failed 1926–27 tournament which was cancelled during the round of 32, was not held until 1935–36. The events of World War II interrupted the tournament after the 1942–43 season, and it did not resume again until 1958. Since then, it has been played annually or seasonally.

The eight seasons during the fascist period were contested copying the FA Cup format. There was a different trophy, and the winners were awarded the tricolour scudetto while the championship winners obtained a Savoyard scudetto instead.

The present-day cup and cockade were introduced in 1958. The cup was resumed following the voices of the creation of a Cup Winners Cup. Having the sole goal to define a participant to the new UEFA competition, the cup had a minimal direct elimination format.

In 1967, following the reduction of the Serie A to 16 teams, semifinals and finals were replaced by a final post-season group, while the following year a pre-season group substituted the early rounds. In 1971, the format was restructured with two semifinal post-season groups, in order to introduce a fixed one-legged final in Rome.

Ordinary quarterfinals and semi-finals were reintroduced in 1978, with a round of 16 when the competition was reopened to some Serie C clubs. Direct elimination then replaced any group when the Serie A was expanded to 18 club in the late eighties. After the expansion of the league to 20 club in the 2000’s, the actual minimalist format was fixed.

▲ Bologna Coppa Italia 2024-25 final

♣ Format

The competition is a knockout tournament with pairings for each round made in advance; the draw for the whole competition is made before a ball is kicked. Each tie is played as a single leg, except a two-legged semi-final stage. If a match is drawn, extra time is played. In the event of a draw after 120 minutes, a penalty shoot-out is contested. As well as being presented with the trophy, the winning team also qualifies for the UEFA Europa League (formerly the UEFA Cup). If the winners have already qualified for the UEFA Champions League via the Serie A or are not entitled to play in UEFA competitions for any reason, the place goes to the next highest placed team in the league table.

There are a total of seven rounds in the competition. It begins in August with the preliminary round and is contested only by the eight lowest-ranked clubs. Clubs playing in Serie B join in during the first round with the 12 lowest-ranked teams in Serie A based on the previous league season's positions (unless they are to compete in European competition that year) begin the competition in the first round before August is over. The remaining eight Serie A teams join the competition in the third round in winter, at which point 16 teams remain. The quarterfinals are then played in quick succession, and the semi-finals are played in April, before the final in May. The two-legged final was eliminated for the 2007–08 edition and a single-match final is now played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

♣ Champions