Italian Football Quiz

A questions & answers game about Italian soccer.

Italian football: Question 1
Who has scored the most goals for the Italian national team?

a.    Roberto Baggio
b.    Giuseppe Meazza
c.    Silvio Piola
d.    Luigi Riva
    
Italian football: Question 2
For which of the following Italian teams the prolific striker Christian Vieri has never played?

a.    Inter Milan
b.    A.C. Milan
c.    A.S. Roma
d.    S.S. Lazio

Italian football: Question 3
Against which team the Italian football team won the UEFA Euro 1968 final?

a.    Soviet Union
b.    Yugoslavia
c.    England
d.    France

Italian football: Question 4
Which Italian club has the nickname “La Vecchia Signora” (The Old Lady)?

a.    Juventus
b.    Fiorentina
c.    Sampdoria
d.    Torino

Italian football: Question 5
Inter Milano and A.C. Milan share the 80,000-seat San Siro stadium. What is the official name of this stadium?

a.    Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
b.    Stadio Dino Zoff
c.    Stadio Adolfo Baloncieri
d.    Stadio Giacinto Facchetti

Italian football: Question 6
For which Italian club Diego Maradona has played?

a.    Genoa
b.    Napoli
c.    Hellas Verona
d.    Juventus

Italian football: Question 7
What is the meaning of “Scudetto”, the Serie A championship title?

a.    Little shield
b.    Little trophy
c.    Little player
d.    Little ball

Italian football: Question 8
Who is the manager of “Il Grande Inter” during the 60s?

a.    Nereo Rocco
b.    Helenio Herrera
c.    Arrigo Sacchi
d.    Vittorio Pozzo

Italian football: Question 9
Who said “Football is not for ballerinas” in response to his performance against Maradona in the 1982 World Cup?

a.    Claudio Gentile
b.    Gaetano Scirea
c.    Giuseppe Bergomi
d.    Franco Baresi

Italian football: Question 10
Which Italian is considered the best football referee ever?

a.    Pier-Luigi Pairetto
b.    Roberto Rosetti
c.    Luigi Agnolin
d.    Pierluigi Collina



Answers to the Italian soccer quiz:


Soccer Italy: Answer 1
Luigi Riva

Luigi Riva is the top goal scorer in the history of the Italian football team, with 35 goals in 42 matches. Nicknamed “Gigi,” he spent most of his club career with Cagliari with which he won one Serie A Title. He has also a European Championship under his name, which he won in his homeland in 1968.

Soccer Italy: Answer 2
A.S. Roma

Christian Vieri was one of most brilliant football strikers of his time. He has played for the two giant clubs of Milan (Internazionale & A.C. Milan) and Turin (Juventus & Torino), for Lazio, and many other clubs but never for A.S. Roma. He once held the record for the highest football transfer when he joined Inter in 1999 for $46.5 million.

Soccer Italy: Answer 3
Yugoslavia

After an initial final game that ended in a 1-1 draw, Italy faced Yugoslavia again in a replay to settle the 1968 European Championship. It took place two days later and Italy emerged as the winner with a 2-0 score.

Soccer Italy: Answer 4
Juventus

When it comes to Italian soccer team nicknames, Juventus has one of the most numerous. It is dubbed “The Girlfriend of Italy,” “The White-Blacks,” “The Zebras,” and “The Lady Killer.”

Its most popular nickname is La Vecchia Signora, “The Old Lady.” Such reference is paradoxical, considering that Juventus means youth in Latin. It is believed that the nickname have originated from the team’s black and white striped jersey, which calls to mind the black clothes and pale faces of elderly Italian women.

Soccer Italy: Answer 5
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza

Giuseppe-Meazza Stadium is a football ground in the Italian city of Milan and home to both Inter Milano and A.C. Milan. It was originally named Stadio San Siro, after its location, but was renamed in honor of Giuseppe Meazza, a former footballer who played for both Milan clubs. Yet fans still affectionately call this Italian soccer ground by its old name: Stadio San Siro

Soccer Italy: Answer 6
Napoli

Diego Maradona, one of the best players in football history, joined Napoli SSC in 1984. This modest Italian football club brought him in for $12 million, a record during that time. Napoli is the only Italian club he played for and his arrival at its home ground was frenzily welcomed by 70,000 fans.

Soccer Italy: Answer 7
Little shield

The Italian football championship title is called scudetto (“little shield”). The term was first used in 1924 when Genoa added a little shield, which bears the tricolors of Italy, on their shirt to celebrate their 9th title. Since then, winners would add the shield to their uniform and keep it until another team claims the championship.

Soccer Italy: Answer 8
Helenio Herrera

Helenio Herrera, one of the best soccer managers of all time, was an Argentine-born French coach who popularized a defensive strategy known as catenaccio calcio. With Internazionale, he won two Champions’ Cup, two Intercontinental Cups, and three Serie A titles. These successes earned Inter the reputation of being the best club in the world during the 1960s.

Soccer Italy: Answer 9
Claudio Gentile

Claudio Gentile was an unparalleled man-marker and was often assigned to guard the best player of the opposing team. Diego Maradona had a taste of Gentile’s unforgiving defense during the 1982 World Cup match between Italy and Argentina. After the game, Maradona complained of his roughness for which the Italian commented “football is not for ballerinas”. Gentile’s reply became one of the most famous quotes in football history. Despite being one of the toughest defenders, he was never been sent off in his career and is considered one of the greatest soccer defenders of all time.

Soccer Italy: Answer 10
Pierluigi Collina

Pierluigi Collina is a former Italian international football referee who was awarded best referee of the year six times in his career. These recognitions were affirmed by his fair conducts on the field and his willingness to apologize when he made a wrong call.