During the course of a season, from August to May, each club plays each of the other teams twice; once at home and once away, totalling 38 games for each team by the end of the season. In Italian football, a true round-robin format is used. In the first half of the season, called andata in Italy, each team plays exactly one time against each league opponent, a total of 19 games. In the second half of the season, called ritorno, the teams play in exactly the same order that they did in the first half of the season, the only difference being that home and away situations are switched. Since 1994 teams are awarded three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Since Italy is currently rated as one of the top three European countries in terms of club football ratings, the top four teams in the Serie A qualify for the UEFA Champions League. The top two teams qualify directly to the group phase, while the third and fourth placed teams enter the competition at the third qualifying round and must win a two-legged knockout tie in order to enter the group phase. Teams finishing 5th and 6th qualify for the UEFA Cup Tournament. A third UEFA Cup spot is reserved for the winner of the Coppa Italia. If the Coppa Italia champion has already qualified for one of the two European tournaments by placing in the top six of Serie A, the third UEFA Cup spot goes to the losing finalist. If both Coppa Italia finalists finish among the top six teams in Serie A, the 7th classified team in Serie A is awarded the UEFA Cup spot. The three lowest placed teams are relegated to Serie B. Before the 2005–06 season if two or more teams were tied in points for first place, for only one spot in a European tournament, or in the relegation zone, teams would play tie-breaking games after the season was over to determine which team would be champion, or be awarded a European tournament spot, or be saved or relegated. Since 2005–06, if two or more teams end the season with the same number of points, the ordering is determined by their head-to-head records. In case two or more teams have same total points and same head-to-head records, goal difference becomes the secondary deciding factor. [edit] The Golden Star In 1958, based on an idea of Umberto Agnelli, the honor of Golden Star for Sports Excellence ("Stella d’Oro al Merito Sportivo" in Italian) was introduced to recognize sides that have won multiple championships or other honours by the display of gold stars on their team crests and jerseys. In Italy, the practice is to award one star for ten titles. The first team to adopt a star was Juventus in Italy and Europe[10], who added a star above their crest in 1958 to represent their tenth Serie A title. In 1982, they received their second golden star for having won their 20th league title. The current officially-sanctioned Serie A stars are: Juventus (27; received in 1958 and 1982). Milan (17, received in 1979). Internazionale (16, received in 1966). [edit] History Serie A, as it is structured today, began in 1929. From 1898 to 1922 the competition was organised into regional groups. Because of ever growing teams attending regional championships, FIGC split the CCI (Italian Football Confederation) in 1921. When CCI teams rejoined the FIGC created two interregional divisions renaming Categories into Divisions and splitting FIGC sections into two North-South leagues. In 1926 due to internal crises FIGC changed internal settings adding southern teams to the national divisions which lead to 1929-30 final settlement. No title was awarded in 1927 after Torino were stripped of the championship by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC). Torino were declared champions in the 1948-49 season following a plane crash near the end of the season in which the entire team was killed. The Serie A Championship title is often referred to as the scudetto (small shield) because since the 1924-25 season the winning team will bear a small coat of arms with the Italian tricolour on their strip in the following season. The most successful club is Juventus with 27 championships, followed by Milan (17), Internazionale (16) and Genoa (9). From 2004-05 onwards an actual trophy was awarded to club on the field after the last turn of the championship. The trophy, called Coppa Campioni d'Italia, is official since the 1960–61 season, but between 1961 and 2004 it was consigned to the winning clubs at the head office of the Lega Calcio. [edit] Television rights As of 2007 individual clubs competing in the league have the rights to sell their broadcast rights to specific channels in Italy, unlike in most other European countries. The three broadcasters in Italy are the satellite broadcaster SKY Italia, along with terrestrial broadcasters Mediaset and La7 for their own pay television networks; RAI is allowed to broadcast only highlights (in exclusive from 13:30 to 22:30 CET). In countries outside of Italy, the league is broadcast on Raitalia (numerous countries in several continents), KBS Sports (South Korea), TV7 (Bulgaria), Trans 7 (Indonesia), NTV Turkey (Turkey), Telma (Macedonia), mio TV (Singapore), Telelatino (Canada), FSC (United States), TV Esporte Interativo, Rede Bandeirantes, ESPN Brasil (Brazil) and ESPN Latin America (Latin America). In Australia Serie A is broadcast by Setanta Sports Australia (the home games of the bottom 10 teams in the league) with 2 live games per week, ESPN Australia (the home games of the top 10 teams in the league) with three live games per week and Raitalia with four live games per week. [edit] Champions Main article: Italian football champions

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