Meet the ‘German’ team on brink of Italy’s Serie A with back-to-back promotions
There's something strange happening in northern Italy.
As Italian football looks towards the Champions League final, with Inter Milan representing the nation, there's a more intriguing story silently developing lower down the pyramid.
In Italy's far north sits the autonomous region of South Tyrol, an area that's not really Italian. The province borders Austria – and it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until end of the World War I, when it was granted to Italy, but it was given self-governance in 1926.
Italian is seldom heard in the small province, which is about twice the size of Kent. Instead, locals speak German or an old local dialect called Ladin. The bizarre situation leads to road signs having three different languages; it's been compared to a 'geopolitical wife swap'.
READ MORE: Juventus docked 10 points to drop them out of Champions League spots in Serie A
In a region that's not really anything, FC Sudtirol had hoped to unify the fans under one badge – and that's exactly what's happened over the past two seasons.
Located in the region's capital, Bolzano, FC Sudtirol had never been anything more than a small side, and a date with Serie A wouldn't have been in their wildest dreams. However, the side won Serie C last season, earning promotion to Italy's second tier for the first time.
And the underdog story isn't finished there. fC Sudtirol earned a spot in the Serie B play-offs and are now within touching distance of Serie A for the first time in their history.
What do you think is the bigger underdog story, FC Sudtirol or Luton Town? Let us know in the comments section
Luton Town's Kenilworth Road has earned headlines following their play-off win – but FC Sudtirol's stadium holds just 5,500 people.
Their first play-off game came against Reggina, which they won 1-0. And it was the same result in their semi-final first leg with Bari, who graced Serie A themselves a decade ago. On Friday, FC Sudtirol will travel down to southern Italy for the second leg, knowing a draw will put them within on the verge of the top-tier.
To put into perspective their achievement, the other clubs in the play-offs include Venezia, Cagliari, and Parma.
However, there is some controversy in their sudden rise. The Gradinata Nord Bolzano, one of the ultra's groups, claim they don't feel represented by the German name.
And local councillor Alessandro Urzi said: "This is how you keep the mass of Italian-speaking fans away from their ‘natural team’." However, those sentiments might die down if FC Sudtirol welcomes Juventus to their small corner of the world next season.
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