Genoa

Founded in 1893 by members of the city's British community, Genoa are Italy's oldest existing football club. Physician James Richardson Spensley helped establish football within the original cricket and athletic club and shaped its early success. Known as Il Grifone after the griffin on Genoa's civic arms, the red-and-blue side share the Stadio Luigi Ferraris in the Marassi district with city rivals Sampdoria.

Genoa won nine Italian championships, all before the national league adopted its unified Serie A format, and were the dominant force in the game's formative Italian decades. Spensley featured in the earliest title-winning teams, while coach William Garbutt introduced more systematic training and tactical preparation before the First World War. The club later added the Coppa Italia in 1937 and the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1996.