On This Day in Italian Football – October 6: Serie A is born in 1929

On 6 October 1929, Serie A was born.

That day marked the first round of matches in the inaugural national championship structure, replacing the older regional and interregional formats.

Inter Milan would go on to win the first official Serie A and kicked off their campaign on this day with a 2-1 away win against Livorno.

Meanwhile, Juventus beat Napoli 3-2, Lazio thrashed Bologna 3-0, Milan defeated Brescia in a 4-1 win and Pro Vercelli played out an exciting 3-3 draw with Genoa.

The ball of Italian Serie A is pictured before the Italian Serie A football match between Juventus and Atalanta at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on March 10, 2024. (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP) (Photo by MARCO BERTORELLO/AFP via Getty Images)

There were also wins for Modena against Padua, Pro Patria against Cremonese, Torino against Triestina and an impressive 3-1 win for Alessandria against Roma.

Serie B was also born at the same time, after the decision was made to re-organise the football pyramid into a nationwide two-division hierarchy, to replace the regional and interregional divisions that came before.

It reshaped Italian football – providing the framework for what would become one of Europe’s most storied domestic leagues, showcasing giants like Juventus, Milan, Inter and many others in the 96 years since.

On This Day in Serie A – October 6

Milan’s 6-0 Rout Over Torino (6 October 2002): A hat-trick from Filippo Inzahgi helped the Rossoneri to an impressive victory against the Granata in one of their most impressive results at San Siro since the turn of the millennium.

MILAN, ITALY – OCTOBER 06: Gonzalo Higuain of Juventus celebrates his goal with his team-mate Rodrigo Bentancur during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Juventus at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on October 6, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images)

Inter 1-2 Juventus (6 October 2019): On 6 October 2019, Juventus hindered Inter’s strong start to the season with a late Gonzalo Higuain strike. Paulo Dybala opened the scoring for the visitors before Lautaro Martinez equalised from the penalty spot. With just ten minutes left, Higuain found the back of the net and secured an important three points for the Bianconeri at San Siro. Juventus would go on to win the title by just one point over the Nerazzurri, giving this match great significance in the overall Scudetto race.

Birth of Ottavio Bianchi (6 October 1943): On this date, Ottavio Bianchi was born – the coach who would later guide Napoli to their first ever Serie A title in 1986-87. The Italian also lifted the Serie C1 trophy with Atalanta in 1981-82, Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup with Napoli in 1986-87 and 1988-89 respectively. Bianchi would also lift Coppa Italia as head coach at Roma in the 1990-91 season.