The 1910 Founding Era

Lore & Background

The 1910s produced no World Cups to win (the tournament would not arrive until 1930) and no continental titles to chase. What the decade produced was infrastructure — a federation that learned to function, a coaching culture that was only beginning to be imagined, and a generation of players who understood they were not merely representing a club but a country. That conceptual leap, small as it seemed in the muddy fields of 1910, was the true foundation upon which Vittorio Pozzo's 1934 and 1938 champions would later build.

Reader's Guide

The 1910 Founding Era is best understood as a decade of institutional birth. There was no permanent head coach in the modern sense; selection committees of club representatives chose the squad match by match, and tactical instruction was minimal. The style of play was direct and physical, reflecting the sport's still-early adoption in Italy. Northern clubs — Genoa, Pro Vercelli, Torino — supplied virtually the entire squad, as football had not yet penetrated the south.

The team's identity was therefore regional before it was national, a tension that would take decades to resolve. By the mid-1910s, the Azzurri had played a handful of internationals against Switzerland, France, and other neighbours, winning some, losing others, and learning the rhythms of international competition. The era ended without a major trophy — none were yet available — but it ended with something more durable: a federation, a badge, a colour, and the unshakeable precedent that Italy, as a footballing nation, existed.

Did You Know?

• The nickname 'Azzurri' (The Blues) dates back to this founding period, when the blue shirt was chosen to distinguish the national side from the white kits worn by most clubs.
• Italy's first World Cup victory would not come until 1934 under Vittorio Pozzo — more than two decades after this founding era — but the institutional and cultural groundwork was laid in the 1910s.