When it comes to the most popular sports in Italy, no one denies that football is rightfully the first place. And there are a number of reasons for this. The Italian national team won the world championships in 1934, 1938, 1982 and 2006. Today, it can be confidently called the second most popular national team in history.
Nevertheless, Italians love not only to drive the ball. And here are the ten most popular expressive nation sports activities.
- Rugby- A very popular sport, especially in northern Italy. He first appeared on the Apennine Peninsula more than a hundred years ago, and Italians were taught to play by the natives of Great Britain somewhere in the years 1890-1985.
- Golfalso quite famous in the country. Today it is played by more than 9000 registered club and hole buffs. Outstanding Italian residents such as Francesco Molinari and Costantino Rocca also flash into the professional world of this sport.
- Tennis. Italian television covers the topic of tennis extensively, so this sport has many fans in the country of wine and sun. If you look at the table of the most successful tennis players, you will definitely notice a couple of Italian names there. In 2006 and 2009, Italy managed to win the Federation Cup in tennis, and in 1976 - the Davis Cup.
- Athletics. This sport is quite popular in Italy, and Olympic champions in this sport are widely honored in the country. Numerous athletics competitions are held annually on the Apennine Peninsula, in which a huge number of athletes take part.
- Wrestling. Despite the fact that many do not consider wrestling to be a real sport, this does not detract from the full power of professional wrestling in Italy. And although this sport may seem unsuitable for Italians, the people of this country often glorify it in the world arenas.
- AT water polo both professionals and amateurs play in Italy, and the national team for this sport today occupies an honorable fourth place in the world.
- Cycling. But in this sport, the Italians can only be compared with the Italians: only they managed to beat Italy in the number of cups won from world championships. Moreover, who does not know the famous bicycle marathon Giro d'Italia, which is the longest race in the world.
- Volleyball - Pallavolo (volleyball) - actually very common in Italy. A huge number of people play it. The Italian Volleyball League is very revered among professional athletes and is considered one of the best in the world. And the Italian women's and men's volleyball team have repeatedly been among the four most powerful teams in the world.
- Italy is one of the most "basketball"Nations in Europe, along with Turkey, Greece and Spain. Until 2000, the Italian League held the title of the best home league outside the United States.
- Italians belong to football not like sport, for them he is almost a religion. Italian football players have repeatedly shown an excellent game not only in the European Championships, but also on the world stage.
Every weekend, thousands of people in this sunny country put off their affairs and go to bars to monitor the successes of their favorite teams, and if possible they prefer to see everything with their own eyes right at the stadium. And of course, on Monday the work of the Italians is moving slowly: they are discussing the results of yesterday's matches.
