The 2008–09 Coppa Italia is the sixty-first season of the tournament. The competition started on 9 August 2008 and will end on 13 May 2009. The radically different format used in the 2007–08 Coppa was abandoned, with the new format more closely resembling earlier editions of the tournament.
In the previous year, the number of teams participating was reduced to only 42: the teams in Serie A and Serie B. For 2008–09, that number was expanded to 78 with the addition of 18 clubs from Lega Pro Prima Divisione (formerly Serie C1), 9 clubs from Lega Pro Seconda Divisione (formerly Serie C2) and 9 clubs from Serie D. Also, except for the semifinals, all rounds are one-leg fixtures. The one-game final played at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, which was first adopted in 2007–08, remains.
The winners earn a spot in the play-off round of the UEFA Europa League 2009–10. If the winners qualify for European competition by virtue of their league position, this berth would be be given to the cup runners-up. If the runners-up also qualify for any European competition by virtue of their league position, then the Serie A team positioned 6th moves up from the UEFA Europa League 2009–10 third qualifying round to the play-off round, and the 7th-placed team in Serie A qualifies for the Third Qualifying Round.
Throughout the tournament, home stadium advantage is given to the projected higher seed (i.e., assuming no upsets). In the two-leg semifinals, the projected higher seed plays the second leg at home.
1 The match was played and Cremonese won by a score of 1–0, but were later disqualified for using a player who should have been under suspension. Reggiana was awarded a 3–0 victory as a result.
