Across Europe · Italy · Germany · Asia · 1960s
Ultras and tifo
The Italian ultras invented the modern organised support: capos, drums, banners and tifo displays. Asian leagues copied the format in the 2000s, and Malaysian ultras added drums and flares.
No words — a card mosaic, a banner and 90 minutes of noise.
When it is sung
Before kick-off for the tifo, then continuously. A good tifo takes 300 volunteers, three hours and a plan approved by the club.
A club song is not entertainment. It sets the stadium’s tempo, signals to players that the crowd still believes, and in a silent match it can be the only pressure the away team feels.