Italian football, with its rich history and tactical mastery, has produced some of the most formidable teams in this beloved sport, but they have also produced some of the biggest scandals in modern football. There is a lot of historically iconic teams in Italy, such as Juventus, AC Milan, and Inter Milan. Serie A is currently ranked number two in Europe by UEFA, only beaten by the English Premier League. However, the results from Italian teams in European competition are not at the level they once were. In this ranking we are looking at the top two divisions, Serie A and Serie B. Read this article to find out; Who is the best Italian football team right now?
But Also...
What is the most successful team in Italy historically? Who is the biggest club in Italy? To find out, it is required to look at more than just the current standings. This article ranks the clubs based on an algorithm that considers several key performance indicators, such as recent performance and success, historic achievements, and the overall size of each football club currently in the Serie A or Serie B. Read more about our ranking here, to understand how this is calculated.
From the club with the most success in recent years, Inter Milan, to historic clubs such as Juventus and AC Milan. The debate over which Italian football team is the best will spark discussions, but when taking all factors into consideration it is possible to find out. Let us dive into the rankings to find out.
Top 10 at this moment - Best Italian Football Team
Full data - Best Italian Football Team in Serie A and Serie B - last updated after the 2023/24 season
| Team | Ranking | Recent Success | Historic Achievements | Overall Size | Total score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Juventus FC | 1 | 21.69 | 68.73 | 5.84 | 96.26 |
| Inter Milan | 2 | 34.75 | 46.54 | 13.73 | 95.02 |
| AC Milan | 3 | 20.67 | 49.03 | 11.63 | 81.32 |
| AS Roma | 4 | 11.31 | 12.96 | 6.25 | 30.52 |
| SSC Napoli | 5 | 13.66 | 8.33 | 7.30 | 29.28 |
| SS Lazio | 6 | 14.40 | 8.31 | 3.02 | 25.74 |
| Genoa CFC | 7 | 5.49 | 14.93 | 1.32 | 21.73 |
| Bologna FC 1909 | 8 | 7.00 | 12.63 | 2.00 | 21.63 |
| Torino FC | 9 | 6.30 | 14.01 | 1.25 | 21.56 |
| Atalanta BC | 10 | 15.30 | 1.28 | 1.56 | 18.13 |
| ACF Fiorentina | 11 | 8.96 | 6.91 | 2.18 | 18.05 |
| Udinese Calcio | 12 | 5.83 | 1.88 | 0.89 | 8.59 |
| Hellas Verona | 13 | 6.15 | 1.98 | 0.44 | 8.57 |
| UC Sampdoria | 14 | 4.95 | 3.20 | 0.27 | 8.43 |
| Cagliari Calcio | 15 | 5.04 | 1.73 | 0.38 | 7.15 |
| US Sassuolo | 16 | 6.43 | 0.00 | 0.62 | 7.05 |
| Parma Calcio 1913 | 17 | 4.55 | 1.26 | 0.27 | 6.07 |
| US Lecce | 18 | 4.66 | 0.19 | 0.65 | 5.50 |
| FC Empoli | 19 | 4.73 | 0.25 | 0.23 | 5.21 |
| US Salernitana 1919 | 20 | 4.38 | 0.00 | 0.43 | 4.81 |
| AC Monza | 21 | 4.06 | 0.19 | 0.48 | 4.73 |
| Spezia Calcio | 22 | 4.46 | 0.00 | 0.06 | 4.51 |
| Venezia FC | 23 | 3.94 | 0.46 | 0.06 | 4.47 |
| Frosinone Calcio | 24 | 4.00 | 0.00 | 0.46 | 4.46 |
| US Cremonese | 25 | 4.15 | 0.00 | 0.10 | 4.25 |
| Brescia Calcio | 26 | 3.77 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 3.80 |
| Pisa Sporting Club | 27 | 3.58 | 0.00 | 0.06 | 3.64 |
| AS Cittadella | 28 | 3.57 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 3.59 |
| Palermo FC | 29 | 3.14 | 0.00 | 0.27 | 3.40 |
| Cosenza Calcio | 30 | 3.35 | 0.00 | 0.04 | 3.39 |
| Como 1907 | 31 | 3.25 | 0.06 | 0.07 | 3.38 |
| SSC Bari | 32 | 3.11 | 0.00 | 0.13 | 3.24 |
| Modena FC | 33 | 3.11 | 0.00 | 0.06 | 3.17 |
| FC Südtirol | 34 | 3.12 | 0.00 | 0.02 | 3.13 |
| AC Reggiana 1919 | 35 | 3.06 | 0.00 | 0.06 | 3.12 |
| US Catanzaro | 36 | 3.03 | 0.00 | 0.05 | 3.08 |
| SS Juve Stabia | 37 | 2.96 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 2.97 |
| Cesena FC | 38 | 2.92 | 0.00 | 0.03 | 2.94 |
| Mantova 1911 | 39 | 2.92 | 0.00 | 0.01 | 2.93 |
| Carrarese Calcio 1908 | 40 | 2.92 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.92 |
Club Summaries
1. Juventus FC
Founded: 1897
Division: Serie A
Stadium: Allianz Stadium
Recent Success: Juventus, once at the absolute top of European football, has seen better times but is nonetheless ranked in second place in this category.
Historic Achievements: Juventus is a massive club in Italian club history, and has a record number of league titles with 36 and a record number of cup trophies with 15. This puts them very comfortably at the top in this category.
Overall Size: They have had a little downfall in recent years, and are no longer the biggest club in Italy in overall size. They are currently ranked at number five in this category.
2. Inter Milan
Founded: 1908
Division: Serie A
Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza
Recent Success: Inter Milan is the team in Italy with the most recent success, having won two league titles and two cup trophies in the last five years. They have not found the same success in the Champions League, but that goes for all of the Italian teams, and therefore Inter Milan is comfortably on top of this category.
Historic achievements: Inter Milan has a rich trophy cabinet which ranks them at number three in this category, only beaten by historic giants Juventus and AC Milan, and far ahead of the teams ranking at number four and below.
Overall Size: They have found a lot of success on the pitch lately, which is always helpful when building a club. They also have one of the biggest fanbases in Italy, which makes them rank at number one in this category.
3. AC Milan
Founded: 1899
Division: Serie A
Stadium: Giuseppe Meazza
Recent success: Very close to Juventus in the category for recent success, but ranking just behind them at number three.
Historic Achievements: AC Milan is one of the best clubs in Italy historically, and they have an Italian record number of Champions League trophies with 7. This ranks them at number two in this category, just ahead of Inter Milan.
Overall Size: It is fair to say that AC Milan and Inter Milan have the two biggest fanbases in Italy, both playing at the same stadium which is pretty much sold out every match. They have one of the biggest brands in Italian football and are ranked second in this category, only beaten by Inter Milan.
4. AS Roma
Founded: 1927
Division: Serie A
Stadium: Olimpico di Roma
Recent success: AS Roma has not found too much success in recent years, with fifth place being the top placement in Serie A in the last five years. This puts them as low as number seven in this category.
Historic Achievements: AS Roma is far behind the top teams in historic achievements, and ranks at number six in this category.
Overall Size: Out of all the categories, this is where AS Roma ranks the highest at number four, thanks to a huge fanbase and a big name in Italian football. The numbers are close when excluding the top three teams, and this is why they also rank at number four in total.
5. SSC Napoli
Founded: 1926
Division: Serie A
Stadium: Diego Armando Maradona
Recent success: No teams in Italy have been totally dominant in recent years, and Napoli is one of the teams that have won one league title in recent years. They rank at number six in this category.
Historic Achievements: Napoli is known for having one of the football’s greatest in their team, Diego Maradona. Their stadium name reflects that. However, they are not close to the top for historic achievements in Italy, ranking as low as number eight.
Overall Size: Despite being far behind the top teams in both recent success and historic achievements, they are ranked number five in total, thanks to being ranked three in this category. Napoli is one of the biggest Italian clubs, with a solid fanbase.
Honorable mentions
6. SS Lazio
Just outside of the top five, SS Lazio ranks at number six. They have shown variable recent success on the pitch, but they rank at number five in this category. If they take the next step on the pitch and find some persistency, they can certainly climb the ranking in the future.
7. Genoa CFC
Genoa CFC is low in the ranking both in recent success and overall size, but from a historical perspective, they are a huge club that ranks at number four in historic achievements. That is also the biggest reason they rank at number seven in the total score.
9. Torino FC
Pretty much the same as Genoa, Torino is struggling with low recent success and low overall size compared to the other top clubs in Italy, but a top-five ranking in historic achievements makes them rank at number nine in total.
10. Atalanta BC
Opposite of Genoa and Torino, Atalanta have found a fair amount of recent success, despite not being in the top historically or by size. Ranking at number four in recent success, this puts them in 10th place in the total ranking. If they keep this up, there is a good chance they will climb the ranking in the future.
Conclusion - The Best Italian Football Team
In summary, the race for the best Italian football team is very tight between Juventus FC and Inter Milan. Juventus is on top of the statistics, but they will soon be passed by Inter Milan if the recent success continues. Following these two teams is AC Milan, which concludes the top three. These three teams will stay in the top three for a long time because the gap to the rest is huge. Will Inter Milan soon take over the first place, or will Juventus push back and consolidate its position at the top? This ranking is last updated after the 2023/24 season and will be updated as soon as the 2024/25 season ends. Sign up for our newspaper to get notified when the new ranking arrives!
