Thescudetto (Italian:[skuˈdetto];Italian for 'little shield') is a decoration having the colors of theflag of Italy which is sewn onto the jersey of the Italian sports clubs that won the highest level championship of their respective sport in the previous season. Thescudetto was created in the 1920s to honour thewinner of the national association football league (in 1929 rebranded asSerie A) and the first team to wear it wasGenoa in 1924. Later, it was adopted by the teams of other sports.
The wordscudetto isalso used to indicate the Serie A trophy; "winning thescudetto" is a synonym of "winning Serie A".
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Sources generally agree that Italian poet and playwrightGabriele D'Annunzio was the inventor of thescudetto. In his youth, D'Annunzio was an avid football enthusiast. In 1887, he bought a leather football inLondon from the same manufacturer that supplied theFootball League,[1] and he would play often with his friends on the beaches of his hometown,Pescara.[1]
In 1920, the former Austro-Hungarian city ofFiume (now theCroatianRijeka) was annexed to Italy. Following this event, D'Annunzio proposed that the local football team acknowledge supporting the Italian sovereignty over the city with atricolored shield ofgreen,white andred on their jerseys.[1][2]
In 1924, theItalian Football Federation approved the decision to honour the defending champions allowing them to wear thescudetto on their jerseys. The Italianrugby union championship which started in 1928 became the second league to adopt thescudetto on a team's jersey to indicate a title-holding team. Since then, thescudetto has become the symbol of the defending champions of every sports league in Italy.
Between 1936 and 1943, the tricolour scudetto was awarded to theCoppa Italia winner; the Serie A champion was awarded aSavoyard scudetto.
Other countries includingPortugal andTurkey also have their reigning champions wear a national symbol on their chests.
