January 13th celebrates the birth of the Italian national football team
January 13th is the anniversary of the birth of the Italian national football team, one of the greatest Italian passions. The various attempts to create a representative of Italian footballers took shape on January 13th 1910, a historic date for Italian football. This year will not be a particularly happy birthday as for the second time in its history the national team will not take part in the World Cup. However, the years of history must be a source of joy and pride, hoping for better times.
The history
The Italian football federation was founded in 1898. At that time the game of football was still at the pioneering level but already a year later a representative team of the federation was formed. On this occasion the best eleven players in the Italian league were selected. The team took the field for the first time on 30th April at the Umberto I velodrome in Turin against a Swiss team. These various attempts to create a national representative team were realized in 1910 when Luigi Bosisio became president of the federation.
The news was presented on January 13th on the pages of the federal magazine called Foot-Ball.
Here it was also said that the selection of players was entrusted to a commission of referees. This was due to the lack of real coaches. The teams were then divided into two different representations that faced each other in a game to determine the best. The first official match took place on May 15th of that year against France at the Civic Arena in Milan.
The victories
Just think: Italian football has been considered a model to be followed at international level for years. Surely it represents one of the greatest Italian passions that has played a decisive role on many occasions in the revival of the country, in particular after the Second World War. Even in recent years it has been a symbol of revival after the various scandals that have taken place in the history of the championship. One example are the betting scandals which have occurred also on some Italian championships.
From the birth of the National football team the “azzurri” have had four successes in the world championship so far. These were in editions:
- Italy 1934
- France 1938
- Spain 1982
- Germany 2006.
The missed qualifications to the world cup
This year is perhaps not the happiest year for our national team. In fact, those that are disputed in the month of June this year will be the second world championships without the presence of Italy. The only precedent dates back to the failure to qualify for the World Cup in Sweden in 1958. There are many similarities that can be found in the two occasions. In particular they are both a symptom of a state of malaise of the whole movement. In fact, the federation is currently without federal president and coach.
The celebrations for the birth of the national team and the Italian players who have made history are therefore an important moment for Italian football even in this moment of evident difficulty. This has always been the main passion for Italians who are inspired thanks to their team.