The Italian league has been the hunting ground for a few elite teams, right throughout its history. AC and Inter Milan along with Juventus have maintained a stronghold on the title, with occasional challenges mounted by Roma, Lazio and Napoli to an extent. Although it will not make a difference to the overall standings in terms of number of titles, Lazio could be awarded the 1914 Serie A title owing to factors that have recently come to light.
The dominance of Northern Italy over Southern Italy is very clear, and it has been this way throughout history, apart from a brief period in the late 1980’s when a certain Diego Maradona inspired Napoli to fight for the title on a regular basis. Torino, Genoa and Bologna have been decently successful too, over the course of time, winning 7, 9 and 7 titles respectively.
The poorest haul in terms of a number of titles earned must go to the region of Lazio (Rome). Between them, Lazio and Roma have won just 5 Serie A titles, which is woeful considering the level of talent they have had at their disposal over the years.
It is quite difficult to comprehend that the likes of Francesco Totti, Gabriel Batistuta, Hernan Crespo and Pavel Nedved found success so elusive with their clubs, in the modern era especially. Despite Totti being 2nd on the all-time goal scorers list in Serie A, Roma have been mostly a upper-mid table team during his tenure at the club.
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Lazio last won the league in the 1999/2000 season under the supervision of Sven-Goran Eriksson. That was also Lazio’s centenary season in Serie A and their 12th consecutive appearance in the top division of Italian football. It was, therefore, a very special win which marked the occasion, and the centenary celebrations could not have had a more befitting tribute. The Serie A win along with a Coppa Italia title meant Lazio had marked 100 years of existence with a historic double. They had won only their second Scudetto in their history.
World War I halts Lazio’s progress
Now it seems as though Lazio might add another Scudetto title to their scant trophy haul, in the light of a petition filed by Lazio supporters with the Italian Football Federation. The 1914/15 Serie A title had been awarded to Genoa due to the inability of Lazio to turn up for an end of season final match. However, Lazio’s reasons are not devoid of basis, as Italy had entered World War I before it was played.
Speculation has been rife throughout history as to why Genoa had been declared as outright winners. Those in the know in Italian media suggest it was due to the Italian Football Federation regarding Genoa as the better team between the two.
Current Lazio president Claudio Lotito is a well-connected man, known to have ties in the upper echelons of the corridors of power in Italy, as well as the football federations of other countries. The petition to award the Scudetto of 1914/15 jointly to Lazio has been gathering momentum and has garnered over 30,000 signatures. A decision regarding the petition is expected on the 4 August 2016.
