Does Coppa Italia Favor Serie A Sides? Lower League Fans Push For Change As Italian Giants Continue To Dominate Iconic Tournament

Italian soccer fans have vented their frustrations over the Coppa Italia tournament, with many suggesting that the competition favors the bigger Serie A sides.

Are Serie A Sides Favored In Coppa Italia?

The Coppa Italia tournament first began in 1922, being regarded as one of the most iconic trophies available in Italian soccer and it sees clubs from Serie A, Serie B and four teams from Serie C compete in a knockout format.

Juventus are the most successful team in Coppa Italia history, as the Turin-based side have won the competition 15 times – however last season the trophy was raised by Bologna after a 1-0 win over AC Milan.

The Rossoneri recently competed in their opening Coppa Italia match of the season, as Milan beat Bari 2-0 but were hit with a major blow as Rafael Leao was forced off through injury.

Winning the Coppa Italia trophy is not only a huge piece of silverware for supporters, but it also secures a spot in the Europa League which is the biggest incentive for teams that cannot qualify for Europe during the domestic season.

However, the tournament has received heavy criticism from supporters in recent years, especially by supporters from lower league clubs, as they claim it favors the ‘bigger’ clubs in Italy.

This year, Napoli, Inter, Fiorentina, Roma, Juventus, Atalanta, Lazio and Bologna have all received byes into the Round of 16 stage, which obviously boosts their chances of reaching the final.

Whereas, teams from Serie B and the four teams from Serie C, will have to make their way through two or three rounds, before facing one of the previously mentioned Serie A sides.

The first stages of the 2025/26 tournament have now been played and only five Serie B sides made it into the final 32, while all four of the Serie C sides were eliminated.

One Italian soccer fan said (Via Reddit): “This format screams anti-competitive at every step of the way, I get giving the best performing teams a round bye or two but making the top 8 teams basically skip half the tournament seems dumb and it’s not like the Coppa consists of a thousand teams to even justify this unlike let’s say the Coupe de France. They have less teams than we do in the Pokal (64) and everyone starts from Round one no matter what.”

One interesting part that many believe plays a part is the third-tier cup tournament in Italy, the Supercoppa Italiana, which used to be played between the Serie A title winners and Coppa Italia winners.

However, in 2023 this was changed to a four-team tournament between the winners and runners up from both competitions, while also being held in Saudi Arabia.

Some skeptic fans believe that this negatively impacts the Coppa Italia, as Saudi Arabian supporters would much rather see the bigger Italian sides than a Serie B side.

It’s difficult to say whether the competition needs to be changed, to give smaller Italian sides a chance to enjoy a cup run, as Serie A teams continue to dominated the competition.

https://twitter.com/FT_Italiano_/status/1957612456747925865

Has A Team Outside Of Serie A Ever Won Coppa Italia?

The David vs Goliath theme in cup competitions has brought some of the best moments in across European soccer, with the FA Cup in England being known for its fairy tale stories.

However, the ability to see giant-killing match-ups in Coppa Italia is not quite the same and the statistics behind which teams tend to lift the trophy support this.

Throughout history there has never been a Serie C Coppa Italia winner, which is not that ground-breaking as lower-league teams in England do not tend to win the FA Cup.

However, a Serie C has never reached the final in the competition’s history and moving into Serie B, only one team from Italy’s second division has lifted the Coppa Italia trophy – a feat achieved by Napoli in 1961-62.

Despite this piece of history, Gli Azzurri do not appear to be that concerned with the Coppa Italia, as Antonio Conte weakened Napoli’s lineup in the competition last season to focus on the Serie A campaign.

The Coppa Italia final has been made up of two Serie A sides for multiple decades in a row now and the last time a Serie B side reached the deciding clash came in 1978/79 as Palermo lost 2-1 to Juventus.