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I tifosi credevano che non avremmo pareggiato la finale.

I tifosi credevano che non avremmo pareggiato la finale.
The fans believed that we would not draw the final.
From Lesson 210:Taking offense and feeling up to it (prendersela, sentirsela)·Italian

Questions & Answers about I tifosi credevano che non avremmo pareggiato la finale.

Since credevano che expresses a belief, why isn't the next verb in the subjunctive?
Because it expresses the 'future in the past'. When someone in the past believed or said that something would happen later, Italian uses the past conditional (avremmo pareggiato). If they believed something was happening at the exact same time, you would use the past subjunctive.
Why is credevano in the imperfect tense rather than the passato prossimo?
The imperfect is used for ongoing states of mind, feelings, and continuous beliefs in the past. It describes how the fans felt over a period of time leading up to the match, rather than a single, completed action.
Why is finale feminine (la finale) here?
The noun finale changes gender depending on its meaning. Il finale (masculine) refers to the ending of a book, movie, or song. La finale (feminine) specifically means the final match in a sports tournament.
What is the base verb for pareggiato?
The infinitive is pareggiare, which means 'to tie' or 'to draw' in a game. It is built from the adjective pari, which means 'equal' or 'even'.

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