Italy's capital question: Why have AS Roma and Lazio enjoyed such little Serie A success?
In a league dominated by Juventus, AC Milan, and Inter, it can be hard for anyone south of Italy's Po Valley to challenge for a Serie A title. Fans in Rome, in particular, have certainly found success fleeting, with AS Roma and Lazio winning just five scudetti between them.
Both Roma and Lazio have been on the cusp of sustained success throughout their respective histories but neither have been able to fully break the stranglehold that the clubs from Turin and Milan have held on Italian football.
With three titles celebrated in the Giallorossi side of the capital to Lazio's two, Rome's representatives fall well short in the list of most Serie A winners.
Serie A an anomaly in Southern Europe
Despite the low-level success of Roma and Lazio, Rome stands out for being a major capital city that does not enjoy footballing dominance, particularly as Juventus and Torino of Turin, and Milan and Inter have racked up a combined 82 titles.
Perhaps indicative of Italy's prominent north-south divide, the majority of success has been enjoyed by clubs from the country's most prosperous regions, with most other European countries seeing their financial power based in their capital city.
Whilst Barcelona are one of Spain's most successful clubs, their 27 La Liga titles fall short of the 47 Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have brought to the capital. In France, Paris Saint-Germain's 12 titles remain unmatched.
It's an even more stark contrast in Portugal, with Benfica and Sporting CP claiming 58 titles in addition to Belenenses' single success for capital Lisbon, and the city of Porto enjoying 31 league championships. Greek football, meanwhile, has been dominated by the Athens region as 80 of the total seasons have seen the league title head to the capital.
Premier League and Bundesliga similarities
In England, Arsenal and Chelsea have been regular challengers for the Premier League, whilst Tottenham Hotspur have also won two league titles to take the combined total to 21 London champions. Whilst this pales in comparison to 58 won in Liverpool and Manchester, the divide is far less noticeable.
Berlin has contributed just five titles in the history of the Bundesliga, compared to Bavaria's 46 and the 26 shared across North Rhine-Westphalia. Meanwhile, few cities have as strong a stranglehold on their domestic league as Glasgow, with Celtic and Rangers fighting to 110 Scottish titles, whilst Edinburgh's Hearts and Hibernian claiming just four each.
AS Roma: always the bridesmaid?
Things could have been so different in the history of Italian football and the spread of Serie A titles had Roma not arguably been one of the unluckiest teams in Europe.
The Giallorossi have come second an incredible 14 times to just their three wins, and were unfortunate to have been challenging when Roberto Mancini's and Jose Mourinho's Inter were at their peak in the late 2000s, before Juventus swept aside all before them in the last decade.
Indeed, Roma have finished as runners up nine times in the 21st Century alone as they try in vain to end a winless run stretching back to 2001.
Most Serie A title winners
- 1 – Juventus - 36 Serie A titles
- 2 - Inter - 20 Serie A titles
- 3 – AC Milan – 19 Serie A titles
- 4 - Genoa - 9 Serie A titles
- =5 - Torino - 7 Serie A titles
- =5 - Bologna - 7 Serie A titles
- =5 - Pro Vercelli - 7 Serie A titles
- =8 – AS Roma – 3 Serie A titles
- =8 – Napoli – 3 Serie A titles
- =10 – Lazio – 2 Serie A titles
- =10 – Fiorentina – 2 Serie A titles
- =12 – Casale – 1 Serie A title
- =12 – Novese – 1 Serie A title
- =12 – Cagliari – 1 Serie A title
- =12 – Hellas Verona – 1 Serie A title
- =12 – Sampdoria – 1 Serie A title