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Step into the coliseum of humankind’s definitive sport, where the gladiators are not always the players but the awesome fans as well. Whether you’re rooting for West Ham United, Barcelona or Juventus, it doesn’t take a Luciano Pavarotti to turn your ordinary stadium into an extraordinary opera house of fans roaring out their love.
Here are The18’s most epic terrace moments. Feel free to chant along, just don’t wake up your neighbors.
The Most Amazing Soccer Crowd Chants
| Camp Nou chanting - " Iniesta, quédate " (Iniesta Stay) pic.twitter.com/SaXN60LClV
— BarcaTimes Media (@BarcaTimemedia1) March 18, 2018
During a match against Athletic Bilbao earlier this month, Barcelona fans inside the Camp Nou went into berserker mode when they saw Andres Iniesta warming up on the sideline. When the beloved midfielder stepped onto the pitch, the now berserking fans surprisingly began to sing “Iniesta, quédate!” in an effort to charm the Barcelona legend against his rumored move to China.
After Barcelona’s match with Chelsea, Iniesta disclosed that he’s interested in moving to China and will be making his decision before the end of April. Iniesta is also obligated to a lifelong contract with Barcelona but promises are meant to be broken…isn’t that right, Bridget? Why’d you leave me, why?!
Iniesta has been with Barcelona since he was 12, but hey, loyalty is the stuff of fairytales and Bridget won’t ever come back, so why should he?
Not to be confused with the Village People’s “Y.M.C.A.”, Liverpool’s “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is one for the ages. Actually, one for all ages given the charmingly simple lyrics which make you want to cry out with joy.
Club Atletico River Plate, also known as Los Millonarios (The Millionaires), La Banda (The Strip) and Las Gallinas (The Hens), isn’t only known for its crazy nicknames but for its crazy fans as well. The Argentinian club is named after its city’s estuary, Rio de la Plata, and possesses a fan base that eats, sleeps and dreams soccer. The fans are constantly energetic, making their epic cheers a must-see spectacle.
Along with Rangers, Celtic are undeniably one of the household names of Scottish soccer, and their fans are the ideal building blocks to any footie house. Celtic’s fan base is simply phenomenal and as organized as William Wallace’s army itself!
Amongst the fans and their super controlled structure of cheering and chanting is one attribute that makes them exceptionally admirable: they do not tire!
Don’t know about you but I secretly wish they’d dress up in kilts and blue war paint one day. That, and Bridget of course, would make me die a happy fan.
When Borussia Dortmund isn’t singing Liverpool’s song, they’re usually sending shivers down the spine of any and all who dare face them with a most impressive tifo game. The tifo, an Italian word, refers to the fandom of a soccer team but the word has grown to encompass the phenomenon of carefully choreographed banners in terraces.
To add to its terror, Dortmund usually accompanies its tifos with AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck”. Absolute genius! However, the whole Usain Bolt trying out for the legendary German squad is, just, how do I nicely put this, absolutely bonkers.
After its defeat of England at Euro 2016, Iceland became a worldwide favorite with their marvelous sportsmanship and hearty performances. When Cardiff City’s Aron Gunnarsson led his fellow Vikings in a memorable and epic war chant, he ensured that it still echoes to this day. Seriously, my ears are still bleeding.
When the Icelandic team returned to Reykjavik, 10,000 fans welcomed back their heroes with more epic fun. Luckily for us, or better yet England, the chanting didn’t lead to any over excitement and there was no raiding and pillaging done after.
In the early 1990s, Manchester United faced off with Galatasaray in a Champions League match organized by Lucifer himself. The Turkish team welcomed Man Utd with banners reading “Welcome to hell” and the Red Devils, with a late equalizer by Eric Cantona, were escorted by riot police back to their hotel. The history between these two has been nothing but terrifying ever since.
In the 2012-13 season, Galatasaray and Manchester United opened UCL Group H with Michael Carrick stealing the win for the Devils. Although the tensions were calmer this time, Galatasaray showed up with the same scare tactics the Ottoman Empire probably used when they reclaimed Constantinople. Moral of the story? Turkish fans are undying in their support, just don’t get close to one.
No, this isn’t a fan club for Disney’s Cars. Racing Club de Avellaneda, one of the biggest five clubs in Argentina, will have you shaking your hips faster than college kids at Mardi Gras…note to self: work on original analogies later.
If that doesn’t impress you, in 1998 the club declared bankruptcy and hadn’t won a local tournament in over 30 years, but only a few years after, Racing won the 2001 Apertura championship which resurrected a wild and festive fandom.
In a match against Tottenham in 2013, West Ham United hammered away their Forever Blowing Bubbles song which is a delight to any soccer fan. The song reached further prominence in the soccer cult classic Green Street Hooligans, where Elijah Wood (whose real name is Frodo) starred as an American journalism student who falls in love with soccer’s dark and violent subculture, hooliganism. Go back to the Shire from whence you came, Frodo!
If you didn’t get that reference, and might I add epic pun, then please go watch the entire Lord of the Rings series and don’t you dare come out until it’s all done. God! Casuals, everywhere!
Amsterdam Football Club Ajax, also known as De Godenzonen (the Sons of the Gods), is perhaps the scariest team in Scandinavia. In a match against Copenhagen FC last year, fans could not contain their mania and started chanting and cheering in the parking lots all the way till the match’s end.
Legend has it that if you whisper Ajax three times in front of a bathroom mirror, turn around again, then you’ll see Ajax himself in the mirror wearing nothing but a helmet and a towel, giving you relationship advice on how to handle heartbreakers like Bridget.
Speaking of Tolkien, I’d imagine that walking into the stands along the fans of Aris Thessaloniki FC’s would feel exactly like entering a goblin cave. The Greek fans’ chanting will not be translated for the sake of human decency, but let’s just say it involves their opponent’s mothers, a pimp and something about homicidal tendencies. Oh Greece, you’re so flattering.
The Most Amazing Soccer Crowd Chants.
Morocco’s Wydad Athletic Club, also known as the Masters of Moroccan Soccer, won the award for best Tifo in 2005. With over 79 titles and a record holding 19-time Moroccan League championships, Wydad capitalized on Zack Snyder’s 2007 action packed movie, 300, two years before its release! That’s either way too fishy or way too awesome but conspiracy theories aside, how about that Gerard Butler, eh? What a stud, probably more loyal than Bridget will ever be…
Shhh...1, 2, 3...#Beşiktaş! Così inizia una partita in Turchia! pic.twitter.com/vNHxl6MARO
— MondoFutbol (@MondoFutbolCom) October 23, 2017
Beşiktaş Football Club, known in Turkey as Kara Kartallar (the Black Eagles), have been rumored to have broken the world record for loudest crowd volume with some saying it was 136 decibels and others saying it was 141. That shouldn’t matter at all as this legendary mantra, by far, will have any soccer fan smile ear to ear at the sheer pride of its amazing fans.
The Black Eagles has long symbolized the efforts and ardor of Turkey’s working class, making it the underdog in most situations — and everyone loves the underdog. Remember Rocky Balboa? He was an underdog, Bridget got me the Blu Ray version…if you’ll excuse me, I have to go burn something.
