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The ''scudetto'' ( Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the
Sources generally agree that the inventor of the ''scudetto'' was the Italian poet and playwright Gabriele D'Annunzio. In his youth, D'Annunzio was a keen follower of football and in 1887 he bought in London a leather ball from the same manufacturer that supplied the
The ''scudetto'' ( Italian for: "little shield") is a decoration having the colors of the flag of Italy
The national flag of Italy ( it, Bandiera d'Italia, ), often referred to in Italian as ''il Tricolore'' ( en, the Tricolour, ) is a tricolour (flag), tricolour featuring three equally sized vertical Pale (heraldry), pales of green, white and red, ...
which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous season. The ''scudetto'' was created in the 1920s to honour the winner of the national association football league (in 1929 rebranded as Serie A) and the first team to wear it was Genoa C.F.C. in 1924. Later, it was adopted by the teams of other sports.
The word ''scudetto'' is also used to indicate the Serie A trophy; "winning the scudetto" is a synonym of "winning Serie A."
Origin
Sources generally agree that the inventor of the ''scudetto'' was the Italian poet and playwright Gabriele D'Annunzio. In his youth, D'Annunzio was a keen follower of football and in 1887 he bought in London a leather ball from the same manufacturer that supplied the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
and would play football with his friends on the beach of his native Pescara.
In 1920, the former Austro-Hungarian city of Fiume (now the Croatian Rijeka
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
) was annexed to Italy, D'Annunzio proposed that the local football team acknowledge supporting the Italian sovereignty over the city with a tricolored shield of green, white and red on their jerseys.
In 1924, the Italian Football Federation
The Italian Football Federation ( it, Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio; FIGC), known colloquially as ''Federcalcio'', is the governing body of football in Italy. It is based in Rome and the technical department is in Coverciano, Florence.
It ...
approved the decision to honour the defending champions allowing them to wear the ''scudetto'' on their jerseys. The Italian rugby union championship which started in 1928 became the second league which adopted the ''scudetto'' on a team's jersey to indicate a title holding team. Since then, the ''scudetto'' has become the symbol of the defending champions of every sports league in Italy.
Other countries including Portugal and Turkey also have their reigning champions wear a national symbol on their chests.
See also
* Cockade of Italy * Crest (sports) *Star (football badge)
In sport, some national and club teams include one or more stars as part of (or beside) the team badge (often referred to as a "crest") appearing on their kits, often on the shirts, to represent important achievements for the team's history. Ge ...
References
{{National symbols of Italy National championships in Italy Sport in Italy Sports symbols Sports terminology Gabriele D'Annunzio National symbols of Italy