What is "ultras". Football ultras

What is "ultras", heard by those who are related to football or are interested in sports number 1 on the planet. Commonly used word did not become, often causes associations with football hooliganism. The modern movement "ultras" is gradually moving away from aggression or exists within its controllability. The activity of the representatives of this subculture is aimed at popularizing a certain football club in various ways and methods, with attributes.

The notion of "ultras" as a designation of organized groups of people appeared in the second half of the last century. After the war, the first in Europe such a group of fans became "Milan". The forms of "pain" used by the Italians quickly spread across Europe.

Ultras - organization of fans

As the official reference book says, ultras is a union of fans, a movement whose goal is to support sports teams. Of the existing ultras, most of them have clubs in Europe and South America. In other regions, the movement is for individual teams, but does not have a clearly defined focus.

Ultras identify themselves with their club, with its name, spirit, history and glory. The idea, to which all the life and aspirations of the supporters of the movement are subordinated, can not be challenged. How can you not prove the ultras that is good or bad.

Does football hooliganism go to the past?

Persons who substantiate the violation of public order by football preferences are called football hooligans. They regard themselves as supporters of the subculture. In the history of football, there are many small clashes between fans and police or fans of the opposing team, which ended without casualties, but there are also "black pages" of football, when dozens of people became victims.

After the tragedy at Eisel, in Brussels and at the Hillsborough, followed by severe sanctions against fans and football clubs, football hooliganism gradually began to come to naught. In the world there are small clashes, to which the police, the security forces, are organized.

Movement today

What is ultras Today: it is an informal structure in which are united from ten to many thousands of active fans. Proponents of a special subculture are engaged in all possible types of information promotion and support of their football club. Including the distribution and sale of tickets, the creation of promotional attributes, the organization of trips to matches in other countries. There is a group at the expense of membership fees (about 10 euros per month).

Methods and attributes

Football ultras use for the promotion of the movement and the sports club a variety of promotional attributes. It can be stickers, graffiti, leaflets, etc. The usual practice was the use of audiovisual methods of supporting the team during the match - the choreography. They can be in the form of fire-shows, flares and smoke, cascade of tapes, chaotically or according to a certain idea launched from the stands.

More complex choreographies are huge images, formed from flags or other modules. They can be either static or moving. Attributes of the ultras are also scarves, in the Russian-speaking space - "roses" (from the "rosette" - earlier the ribbon of the colors of the club was pinned to the chest).

The form of the coorography is also banners or posters. They contain information about the team (their own or the opponent), about the fans, specific players or football functionaries. An important role is played by style, the wit of texts.

Also, fans use drum rolls, chant the chants or sing harmoniously odes - texts in support of the team.

Large ultra-organizations own specialized shops, other real estate, beer establishments. They serve as a source of finance to participate in the support of teams during matches, take a direct part in the commercial side of the existence of their football clubs. Organization of support during one match can cost tens of thousands of dollars.

What is ultras in Russia

Being ultras in Russia initially meant going against a state machine that dictated to a person for the sake of a quiet life not to stand out, not to do what is not accepted, keep your opinion to yourself. It is not important that it was not the guarantor of serenity. Life ultras basically can not be calm. Ideology prescribes responsibility for their words, actions and actions of the whole group. Is this possible in modern Russia?

To answer the question, what is ultras in Russia, you can by considering the activities of organized fans of the most popular football clubs in the country. Russian ultras today is a social phenomenon, formed within certain frameworks of the structure of the English type of club support. Groups, or "firms", have clubs not only of the Russian national league, but also of the teams of the second league as well. The Russian direction of ultras is organized in the style of casuals, in addition, often in the circle of football hooligans are strong ideas of Russian nationalism.

Rules of Russian ultras

The Russian subculture has its own code of honor in defending the ideology, honor and interests of its club:

• Do not use improvised means, fight only on fists;
• The number of opponents must be approximately equal;
• Do not beat the recumbent;
• Fights only in uninhabited territories, without involving strangers;
• Not all "firms" are nationalistic, "right".

The national peculiarity of Russia's ultras is the inadequate support of teams at home matches. The exception is the Moscow derby, as well as the fans of Zenit.

Ultras "Zenith"

The difference between the fans of the club and many other Russian supporters of the subculture is the support of the team at all matches, regardless of whether within the country, home city or any other place in the world they are held. Ultras "Zenith" Follow the basic traditions and principles of the European movement of sports fans.

In the history of the club there are facts of real beating of fans, which can be talked about with the terminology of this war. The movement of the ultras "Zenith" (St. Petersburg) Beautifully and powerfully demonstrates that in Russia the subculture is not only in words but also in deeds. Fanaticism in Russia is vividly represented in one of the matches with "Spartacus", where almost 1000 football hooligans have entered into the clarification of relations. Also, there are notable conflicts with CSKA. In the ranks of the ultras, young people are constantly coming.

CSKA fans

For ultras CSKA unity - above all. Ideology of fans of "army men": "tribune is our home". And there must be order and mutual understanding in it. Fans of CSKA adhere to the principle of unity of Russians. "Army men" are famous for the fact that they do not turn their backs on blood brothers. In the ranks of the ultras CSKA are those who do not mix incompatible concepts, has a head on their shoulders, knows how to express and discuss dissatisfaction on an army resource without public insults.

Fans of "Spartacus"

Speaking about ultras Russia, we can not fail to mention the fans of "Spartacus." Spartak's association of fans of football for the first time caused confusion of the Soviet militia on a match with "Dnepr" in November 1972. The army of fans grew rapidly, the first peak of fanaticism occurred in 1977. The era of football hooliganism - from 1998 to 2001.

Organized European fans

Currently, the most active, advanced, developed are the ultras of England, Germany, Serbia, Italy, Spain and some other states. In the modern European movement of soccer organized fans, nationalist ideas are not as relevant and manifest as the Russian ultras. European fans survived these moods in the 70's and 80's.

The strongest European ultras organizations directly contact the top management of FC, and influence the policy of the club. Ultras can be a decisive factor in solving the problems of this or that player, other important questions of the team. Between the subculture groups and the sports club, there are usually certain commercial relationships.

Real football ultras are not just football fans, fans who support their teams as much as possible. These are people for whom the organized movement is a way of life, an ideology. True ultras adhere to the rules, no matter what. External attributes and active behavior during the match in favor of his team - not all that is a manifestation of the football subculture. Of course, the ultras are defending club colors, but in general, membership in the club implies much more:

• To help the development of the ultras by the popularization of the movement;
• To be always devoted to the club;
• Visit all matches of the club, regardless of the prices for tickets and venues;
• Do not stop expressing support to the team, despite the progress of the match and the final result.

Football fans as radical forces

At the heart of the ideology of ultras lies the protest. The fan proves his ideas, faith, the right to express and exist, despite the police, the fans or the leadership of other FCs and the state as a whole. This is faith-aggression, which compromises compromises. In the history of ultras, there is confirmation that their ideology can turn into a violation of generally accepted values.

March ultras Various clubs can be organized not only to promote and promote the idea of sports, in support of their club. Active fans participate in organized processions of political orientation, thereby expressing their civic position. The problem of the spread of radical sentiments among football fans is quite obvious today in the post-Soviet space.