What is "ultras", heard by those who are related to football or interested in sports number 1 on the planet. The word has not become commonly used; it often causes associations with football hooliganism. The modern ultras movement is gradually moving away from aggression or exists within the framework of its controllability. The activities of representatives of this subculture are aimed at popularizing a certain football club in various ways and methods, with attributes.
The concept 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 became fans of Milan. The Italians used the form of "pain" quickly spread throughout Europe.
Ultras - fans organization
According to the official directory, ultras are an association of fans whose movement aims to support sports teams. Of the existing ultras, most of them are in clubs in Europe and South America. In other regions, individual teams have movement, but they do not have a pronounced focus.
Ultras identify with their club, with its name, spirit, history and fame. The idea to which all life and the aspirations of the movement's supporters are subordinated cannot be disputed. How impossible it is to prove ultras, what is good or bad.
Is football hooliganism a thing of the past?
Persons who justify the violation of public order by football addictions 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 the police or fans of the opposing team that ended without casualties, but there are also black pages of football when dozens of people became victims.
After the tragedy on Eisel, Brussels and the Hillsboro, followed by harsh sanctions against fans and football clubs, football hooliganism gradually began to fade. There are small clashes in the world, to which the police and security forces respond in an organized manner.
Movement today
What is ultras Today: This is an unofficial structure, which unites from ten to many thousands of active fans. Supporters of a special subculture are engaged in all possible types of informational 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 a variety of promotional attributes to popularize the movement and the sports club. It can be stickers, graffiti, flyers, etc. It has become common practice to use audiovisual ways to support a team during a match - coreography. They can be in the form of fire shows, flares and smokes, a cascade of tapes, randomly or according to a certain idea launched from the stands.
More complex coreography is huge images formed from flags or other modules. They can be either static or moving. The attributes of ultras are also scarves, in the Russian-speaking space - “roses” (from “rosette” - before the ribbon of flowers of the club was pinned to the chest).
Type of coreography are also banners or posters. They contain information about the team (their or their opponent), about fans, specific players or football functionaries. An important role is played by the style, wit of the texts.
Fans also use drum rolls, chant songs or sing harmoniously odes - lyrics in support of the team.
Large ultras organizations own specialized stores, other real estate, and beer establishments. They serve as a source of finance for participating in supporting teams during matches, and are directly involved in the commercial side of their football clubs. Organizing support during one match can cost tens of thousands of dollars.
What is ultras in Russia
To be ultras in Russia initially meant to go against the state machine, which dictated to a person for the sake of a quiet life, not to stand out, not to do what was not accepted, to keep his opinion to himself. It doesn’t matter that it was not a guarantee of peace. Life ultras cannot fundamentally be calm. Ideology prescribes responsibility for one’s words, actions and actions of the whole group. Is this possible in modern Russia?
You can answer the question of what is ultras in Russia by examining the activities of organized fans of the country's most popular football clubs. Russian ultras today is a social phenomenon that has formed within a certain framework of the structure of the English type of club support. Groupings, or “firms,” are in clubs not only in the Russian national league, but also in teams of the second league as well. The Russian trend of ultras is organized in the style of casuals, in addition, often in the circle of football hooligans the ideas of Russian nationalism are strong.
Russian Ultras Rules
The Russian subculture has its own code of honor in upholding the ideology, honor and interests of its club:
- do not use improvised means, fight only on fists;
- the number of opponents should be approximately equal;
- Do not beat the speed bumps;
- fights only in deserted territories, without involving outsiders;
- not all "firms" are nationalist, "right-wing".
The national feature of Ultras Russia is the lack of support for teams in home matches. The exception is Moscow derby, as well as Zenith fans.
Ultras Zenith
The difference between the club's fans and many other Russian subculture supporters is the support of the team at all matches, regardless of whether they are held within the country, hometown or anywhere else in the world. Ultras Zenith follow the basic traditions and principles of the European movement of sports fans.
In the history of the existence of the club there are facts of real massacres of fans, which can be discussed in the terminology of a real war. The movement of ultras "Zenith" (St. Petersburg) beautifully and powerfully demonstrates that in Russia there is a subculture not only in words but also in deeds. Fanaticism in Russia is clearly represented in one of the matches with Spartak, where almost 1000 football hooligans entered into a showdown. Confrontations with CSKA are also noticeable. Youth is constantly arriving in the ranks of ultras.
CSKA fans
For ultras CSKA, unity is paramount. The ideology of the fans of the “army”: “the rostrum is our home”. And it should have order and mutual understanding. CSKA fans adhere to the principle of Russian unity. “CSKA” are famous for the fact that they don’t turn their backs on blood brothers. Those who do not mix incompatible concepts, have a head on their shoulders, know how to express and discuss discontent on an army resource without public insults enter the ranks of CSKA ultras.
Spartak fans
Speaking about the ultras of Russia, one cannot but mention the fans of Spartak. The Spartak association of football fans for the first time caused confusion of the Soviet police at a match with Dnipro 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 considered the ultras of England, Germany, Serbia, Italy, Spain and some other states. In the modern European movement of football organized fans, nationalistic ideas are not as relevant and manifest as Russian ultras. European fans survived these moods in the 70-80s.
The most powerful European ultras organizations have direct contact with the top management of the FC and influence the club’s policy. Ultras can be a decisive factor in solving the problems of a player, other important issues of the team. There are usually commercial relations between subculture groups and a sports club.
Real football ultras are not just football fans, fans who support their teams whenever possible. These are people for whom an organized movement is a way of life, ideology. True ultras adhere to the rules, no matter what. External paraphernalia and active behavior during the match in favor of your team are far from all that is a manifestation of the football subculture. Of course, ultras defend club colors, but overall membership in the club implies much more:
- help the development of ultras by popularizing the movement;
- to be constantly loyal to the club;
- attend all club matches, regardless of ticket prices and venue;
- do not stop expressing support to the team, despite the course of the match and the final result.
Football fans as radical forces
The ideology of ultras is based on protest. A fan proves his ideas, faith, the right to their expression and existence, despite the police, fans or the leadership of other FCs and the state as a whole. This is a faith-aggression that compromises are alien to. 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 popularize and promote the idea of sports, in support of their club. Active fans participate in organized processions of a political orientation, thereby expressing their civic position. The problem of the spread of radical sentiment among football fans is quite obvious today in the post-Soviet space.