Written by Matteo Ciaramella
‘Ultras’ comes from the latin word ultra, meaning ‘beyond’. An extreme term, perfect to describe those who take football support to an entirely different level.
Although football hooliganism is believed to have originated in the UK during the 1880s, you would have to skip a couple of history pages and jump to the 1930s before seeing this phenomenon appear in Italy. With a banner displaying the words Forza Lazio (“Come on Lazio”) at the 1932 Rome Derby, the Paranza Aquilotti collective are widely believed to be the first Italian ultras ever – the trailblazers of a movement that would later become a source of fascination for millions of football fans.
This historic moment had the potential of starting a football revolution right there and then. It would have been very fitting if fans from all over Italy also started displaying flags and banners to support their team. Unfortunately, the Paranza Aquilotti episode remained rather isolated for 19 years, until, in 1951, the formation of Associazione Tifosi Giallorossi ‘Attilio Ferraris’ (representing AS Roma) ignited a boom of organized support groups, with the most prominent ones being Circolo Biancocelesti (SS Lazio) and Fedelissimi Granata 1951 (FC Torino). The 1950s were crucial for ultras culture and history, as this was the first time when support was channeled into the usage of drums and other forms of percussion, as well as carefully assembled tifos for big games. Another important change during this decade was the settling into stadium ends, or curva in Italian. Ultras groups were usually made up of young students and workers who could not afford expensive seats, and seeing as curva seats were generally the cheapest ones, this is where they established their ‘reigns’. Now, 70 years later, the term curva is exclusively associated with ultras supporters and their lifestyle.
Going back to the term – ‘ultras’ – an essential component of these fans emerges: a tendency to go overboard and overdo. In other words, as ultras culture started taking shape, the extreme devotion showcased by these fans would occasionally mutate into ugly violence, which, up until then, was very new in the sports world. As stated earlier, many of these supporters were young males, a demographic that has never shied away from physical confrontation to defend ideas or values. This where ultras history inevitably streams into the Protests of 1968. During this period of severe unrest, Italy saw waves of individuals violently advocate for change and a move away from a traditionalist, conservative society. This anti-establishment and rebellious mentality was perfectly in line with ultra-supporter groups and their values, drawing parallels between ultras origins and one of the most influential socio-cultural movements in human history.
Banners, flags, drums, violence, and civil disobedience. By the end of the 1960s ultras support groups had become a vital element of Italian football culture, as they laid down the very foundation on which their modern counterparts thrive today. However, as we come to the end of this article, I must confess that there is one particular detail that I left out. The term that we are accustomed to today – ‘ultras’ – only gained popularity in 1969, when the Ultras Tito Cucchiaroni group from US Sampdoria were born. As you can clearly see in the name, these fans used the word to describe themselves, but this has nothing to do with what it means. ‘Ultras’, in that case, was actually an acronym: Uniti Legneremo Tutti i Rossoblù A Sangue. When translated to English, the cleverly elaborated cipher loses its effect, though the meaning stays the same: “united we are going to beat all the red and blues until they bleed.” Graphic and confusing, the Sampdoria fans were referencing their hated city rivals from Genoa, who wore red and blue kits, thus adding to the violent connotation of the term ‘ultras’. And although the word was only used as an acronym, it is very likely that they insisted on including it because they identified with it – they loved their team more than the average fan, and were willing to do things for it that others would not. They had the tendency to go overboard, and beyond what was generally considered acceptable.
They weren’t ‘just’ supporters – they were ultras.
References
https://omniafootball.it/le-origini-del-tifo-organizzato-e-degli-ultras-in-italia/https://www.lazionews.eu/notizie/23-ottobre-1932-la-nascita-del-tifo-organizzato/
https://www.sampstory.it/storia/tifoseria/ultras-tito-cucchiaroni/
https://www.tuttocurve.com/storia-ultras-italia#:~:text=Il%20tifo%20organizzato%20in%20Italia,seguire%20la%20squadra%20del%20cuore.: Italian ultras: origins