7 of the Best Fan Rituals Around the World

Every football club in the world is unique and fans have their own special ways of supporting the team at each game. For some sets of supporters, such rituals

Every football club in the world is unique and fans have their own special ways of supporting the team at each game. For some sets of supporters, such rituals have captured the imagination further afield and are widely fawned upon. 

Here's a look at seven of the best fan rituals from around the world...

The Poznan - Manchester City/Lech Poznan

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For a few brief seasons, virtually every Manchester City goal was celebrated with 'The Poznan', with fans turning their back to the pitch, linking arms and jumping up and down as one.

City supporters, who brought international attention to the routine, had witnessed it during a Europa League tie against Polish club Lech Poznan in 2010 and soon adopted it as their own.

'The Poznan' didn't last more than a few seasons at the Etihad Stadium, but other fans of other clubs around the world, including Western Sydney Wanderers and San Jose Earthquakes, have also been known to use it.

Ultra Chanting - Beijing Guoan

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Fans of Beijing Guoan have a reputation for being the loudest in the Chinese Super League, creating an ultra group called the 'Gangs of Beijing'.

It isn't a typical ultra group in the European sense, with women and even children part of the noise, but they could rival any such fan group in the world given the cacophony of sound that they make before every game.

In huge blocks of green, they're impossible to miss as well.

Flying Eagle - Benfica

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Benfica supporters revel in the spectacle of a bald eagle flying around the stadium prior to every home game at the famed Estadio da Luz, building the atmosphere through the club's storied history and tradition.

Either of the club's current eagles, 'Victory' or 'Glory' is released to fly around the arena, before landing on top of the crest to complete it.

Not only are the eagles part of the matchday spectacle, but they also live in the stadium itself.

Forever Blowing Bubbles - West Ham

West Ham's association with 'Forever Blowing Bubbles' is close to 100 years old after the song was adopted by the club during the 1920s.

The pre-match anthem is accompanied by actual bubbles being blown and the renditions at West Ham's final game at the old Boleyn Ground and farewell ceremony were particularly emotional.

In one instance prior to a home game against Middlesbrough in 1999, 23,680 fans inside the stadium set a new world record for the number of people simultaneously blowing bubbles.

Viking Thunder Clap - Iceland

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Iceland captured the imagination of the whole continent and wider world at Euro 2016 after reaching the quarter finals in their first ever summer tournament.

Their support in the stands was magnificent and the 'Viking Thunder Clap', which first garnered major attention after Iceland booked their place in the knockout stages, was a sight to behold.

So infectious it was that other nations, including Wales, quickly copied it, and it has been more regularly seen in club football in the two years since.

Yellow Wall - Borussia Dortmund

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Borussia Dortmund's Westfalenstadion is among the biggest club stadiums in the world and the Südtribüne has an iconic reputation as one of the loudest stands anywhere in Europe.

The atmosphere is notorious and it is in this south stand where Dortmund's 'Yellow Wall' lives and breathes as if a life form of its own, handing the team a tremendous home advantage.

With flags waving and fans singing before and during each game, it is an incredible sight.

'You'll Never Walk Alone' - Liverpool/Celtic

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Originally from the 1945 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical 'Carousel', 'You'll Never Walk Alone' is sung by fans before every Liverpool home game after being adopted as the club's anthem in 1963 when it was a UK chart topping single for Gerry & the Pacemakers.

Reds fans raise their scarves before kick-off and belt out the iconic song, the title of which features above the 'Shankly Gates' at Anfield, as well as on the club badge.

It has also been adopted by Scottish giants Celtic, believed to be the result of a 1966 meeting between the two clubs in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-finals.

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