This Saturday, June 10th, Italy’s Inter Milan will face England’s Manchester City in the Champions League 2023 final, which will be played at Istanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium. From what we’ve seen so far, it promises to be an exhilarating game between two well-matched teams!
Whether Italy comes out victorious or not, you may wish to know how to congratulate the team on a game well-played in the Italian language. Whereas in English, we tend to say Well done!, Italians tend to use the catch-all term Bravo! in the world of sports.
But before you go using bravo, it’s important to keep in mind that everything in Italian must agree in gender and number. This means that bravo must become the masculine plural bravi when directed toward Gli Azzurri (lit. the Light Blues), which is the name of the Italian team.
Bravi Azzurri! Siete arrivati in finale!
Well done, Italy! You made it to the finals!
Italian fans also refer to the team simply as ragazzi, which means guys, boys or young men, rather than its official name.
Bravi ragazzi! Ce l’avete fatta!
Well done, guys! You did it!
If you are referring to individual male players, however, you have to use the masculine singular bravo.
Bravo Federico! Che bel gol!
Well done, Federico! What a great goal!
Sometimes Italians use the exclamation Grande! instead of Bravo! which is an informal way of saying Awesome! Great job! or Good for you! Once again, if it is being used to describe Gli Azzurri or ragazzi, both of which are masculine plural nouns, you need to put it into its plural form grandi.
Grandi Azzurri! Siamo in finale!
Great job, Italy! We’re in the finals!
Grandi ragazzi! Avete giocato molto bene!
Great job, guys! You played really well!
Did you know that…?
The men’s national soccer team tend to get all the attention, but did you know that Italy has a female team as well? It goes by the name of Le Azzurre, which is the feminine equivalent of Gli Azzurri.
A more formal way to give someone a verbal pat on the back is by using the word complimenti (congratulations). For example:
- Complimenti ragazzi! = Congratulations guys!
- Complimenti alla squadra italiana! = Congratulations to the Italian team!
- Complimenti Italia / all’Italia! = Congratulations Italy / to Italy!
However, when cheering on a team, it is more appropriate to use bravi or grandi.
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
