Poll: Juventus most loved and hated

By Football Italia staff

A survey has named Juventus as both the most popular and the most hated team in Italy.

The poll, conducted by Coop, a system of Italian consumers' cooperatives, and the Osservatorio Capitale Sociale studied attitudes toward football in the country.

It found that 40 per cent of Italians identify themselves as football fans, down from 56 per cent in 2009, but four per cent up on 2013.

However, of those, 47 per cent described themselves as die-hard fans, with 30 per cent active supporters and 23 per cent more lukewarm.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, those with more extreme political views were found to be more militant about their teams. 50 per cent of those who identified as hard-left were die-hard fans, as were 69 per cent of those on the hard-right.

Of those who considered themselves centrist, 42 per cent identified as active fans, but only 36 per cent as die-hard. Only 7 per cent of those on the right said they were lukewarm toward their team.

Juventus were by far the most popular team on the peninsula, with 35 per cent of respondents identifying as Bianconero.

Inter were next with 17 per cent, followed by city rivals Milan [14 per cent], Napoli [10 per cent] and Roma [7 per cent].

Of those clubs, supporters of Roma were found to be the most left-wing, with Milan slightly to the right. Inter tended more to the left, while Napoli and Juventus were centrist.

The Old Lady also took the crown as the most hated team, with 43 per cent of those questioned naming the Turin giants as their least favourite team. Inter were second on 24 per cent.

Broken down by club, 74 per cent of Napoli and Inter supporters named Juventus as the team they least like, with 63 per cent for Roma and 50 per cent for Milan.

Interestingly, Lazio were not even Roma fans’ second-most hated rival, with Milan taking 18 per cent of the vote. 56 per cent of Juventus fans see Inter as their least favourite team.

The survey sought the opinions of 1,121 people.

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