The Art of the Tifo

An excellent example of a North American Tifo from Seattle.




Among being an avid Football fan and club supporter, I am a massive art fan. However since you will not see me hitting up the next big thing's art exhibit in downtown Toronto anytime soon, I needed a way to meld two of my passions into one. Then I watched a Milan derby game and everything changed.

The game ended up being a fairly comfortable win for AC Milan but what really caught my attention was something that took place even before a single ball was kicked. Up in the Curva Sud, the south end of the San Siro stadium reserved for home supporters (in this case AC Milan) was a large almost canvas like object. The television camera missed it on the first go around; clearly focused on the upcoming match, but when it panned back to the section I could see it as clear as day. What the supporters of Milan had created was a replica of the famous Last Supper painting by Da Vinci, with a twist. Instead of depicting Judas in his place at the table, they replaced him with the likeness of Inter Milan manager Leonardo.



Leonardo probably wasn't expecting this!


As a former AC Milan player now managing "the great enemy within" the parallel was obvious and a bit humorous. However it got me thinking about displays of club support around the world, what kind of time and effort had to go into creating such works of art. I also had to wonder, was this type of art making its way to North American football? What examples were out there? So I began my Internet search and soon found some amazing works of art and passion.

Before I share my favorites I should explain a bit of where this phenomenon came from. From everything I could gather the practice began in Italy, the works were, and still are called Tifo's. The Wiki/dictionary explanation reads:

"Tifo's are mostly used as a name for any spectacular choreography displayed by supporters on the terraces of an arena or stadium in connection with a sport event, Tifos are primarily arranged by Ultras or a supporters group to show their love to the club, but are sometimes sponsored or arranged by the club itself."

From what I've witnessed they are dominant displays of affection and pride towards the home club, or an expression of intimidation or dislike of the opposing club.  Tifo's can be as small as one guy with a simple banner, to massive displays which cost thousands of dollars and take weeks, and in some cases months to prepare. Some have come in the form of large banners with the club logo or crest, others are dependent on supporter participation. In many of these case the supporters are not even affiliated with the supporters group, they just show up that day with a ticket and receive cardboard or paper cut out with instructions.

These types of displays are starting to become more prevalent in the North American game. Seattle and Los Angeles are some of the top clubs in the MLS when it comes to Tifo's. D.C United recently did a touching one for the return of U.S international Charlie Davies from serious injury after a devastating car crash. Toronto FC now have a "Play as we dream" Tifo in the south end of BMO Field. As the game grows and the fan base for these supporters groups grow, you will see the size of tifo's grow in both size and complexity.

And now I present my favorite tifo's:

Cheers,
Mike



AC Milan- Best Tifo's going!







Inter are a close second

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Tifo for the opening of the 2010 World Cup






At Barcelona they get they whole crowd into it!



French style in Marseille!

 

The most famous Everton defender Jonny Heitinga will ever be.

Saved the best for last, AC Milan at it again....with flares!





Ronaldinho back in the mix with the Seleção?

When the final rosters were announced for the 2010 World Cup squads, one name what was ominous by its absence was that of Brazilian super star Ronaldinho. After being frozen out by then manager Dunga it seemed Ronny's time on the international stage was over. At 30 and struggling for a glint of the form that made him the best player in the world at one point, the questions surrounding him were more about his suspected party life then about his football.



Welcome back



Coming into the new Serie A season there were a lot of questions as to how Ronaldinho would handle the national team rejection and if he could maintain the good form he showed near the end of last season with Milan. The answer to both after 8 rounds is .......very well. By no means is he back to the 2003-2007 form which saw him become the most electrifying player in the world (and I had ever seen) but there are flashes of the pace and ball skills that in any other situation than Dunga being manager would make him a automatic selection for a national team.

Though his goal output is lower than his amazing stint at Barcelona, he is starting to mesh with midfield partners Andrea Pirlo and the ageless Clarence Seedorf at A.C Milan and is a major reason to Milan's excellent start to their season. The club currently sit second in the league are looking good to make the second round of the Champions league. Ronaldinho's contribution has not just been noticed in Italy, but also by new Brazil manager Mano Menezes who is looking to return Brazil to is free flowing attacking football. Menezes said in a press conference last Tuesday that he was excited to bring Gaúcho back to the Brazil fold.

"I think I will call Ronaldinho. I have seen him play well and he is adapting to his new role," the coach told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Although it is doubtful that he'll be in the Seleção fold by 2014 for their home World Cup, he could still make an impact in the next Copa America in 2011 to help Brazil retain it's South American title. More than anything it will be an opportunity for Ronny to prove one more time that he is deserving to be mentioned in the discussion of greatest footballer of all time. Currently I would say that he's still a ways off from being in that level of player but I do not believe he's not that far off the list.

The question for fans of the Brazilian machine, the question will be where does he play? He now started to play in a more withdrawn and deeper role at Milan, and is no longer the up front dynamo he was, though like I mentioned earlier he still has flashes of it. I would imagine Menezes would prefer to have him supporting the attacking the mid or be the attacking mid in a short substitute role. Either way it was clear in the World Cup this squad still needs a player like Ronaldinho even if it`s off the bench for 20-25 minutes.

The question now is can he re-discover that made him the best player in the world, or will he squander the chance yet again?

Cheers,
Mike

Barcelona Outclass AC Milan amid transfer rumors for Ibra

In front of a completely sold out Camp Nou, FC Barcelona defeated 3-1 on penalties after the game ended in a 1-1 draw to capture the Gamper Trophy. The crowd of 98,787 were entertained by an overpowering display by the home team as they out passed their Italian counterparts for the majority of the match.

The night was also a chance for the supporters to celebrate and properly send off Ronaldinho, who was with the club from 2003-2008. The crowd were treated to a video montage of some of his classic moments in the Barca shirt, and was given the biggest cheer of the night when he entered the pitch solo. He even took the squad photo with the Barca players at the behest of club captian Puyol.

It took all of 5 minutes for Barca to create their first opportunity. After some sublime passing between Iniesta and Jeffren, Iniesta picked out new boy David Villa who beat his marker but blazed the shot 5 feet over the crossbar. It was an early signal of intent by Barca and proved the set the tone for the rest of the first half.

It was clear that both clubs were still in pre season form as there were some periods of less than fluid play in the first 20 minutes, especially for AC Milan who looked like a squad still trying to figure out how to play with each other. They lacked link up play between the midfield and the front pairing of Klass Jan Huntelaar and Marco Borriello. This would normally be provided in the form of Clerance Seedorf, but he was not in the starting 11.

The best chance of the first half was created the electric play of Pedro who after cleverly beating Bonera played in a cross to the streaking Zlatan Ibrahimović who scored on a stretching flick in. However the goal was disallowed after the linesmen incorrectly flagged the Swedish International offside. Ibra has been the focus of many transfer rumors over the past week. One of the rumored destinations is AC Milan, if this is the case AC Milan brass would have been impressed with what they saw. He easily linked up with strike partner David Villa time and time again. It looks like a potential fruitful partnership, if Ibra stays of course.

The rest of the first half dominated by Barcelona position, and half chances. Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri set the squad up to hit Barca on the counter and almost scored on a half chance for Borriello, but he could not get his shot on target just on half time.

Just a minute into the start of the second half, Barca opened the scoring after Adriano crossed the ball into the box and Villa, having moved into the middle after Ibrahimović was replaced at the half for Bojan, beat the keeper with a finely placed volley. This brought the crowd to it's feet as it was Villa's first goal with the club since joining from Valencia. After the goal it seemed that the flood gates would open and Barca would go on to route the Milan club, however Fillipo Inzaghi had other ideas.

After he was brought on in the 50th minute it did not take the mercurial Milan striker long to find the back of goal. With their only real chance in the game, another half time sub Seedorf sent in a magnificent long ball cross into the direction of Inzaghi, who incredibly let the ball run across his body and lashed the first time left footed volley past Pino in goal to equalize in the 66th minute. In a move that might not be understood in North American sports the pro Barca crowd applauded the goal before rallying their team.

From there the game lacked a bit of cutting edge even with the entrance of Leo Messi in the 67th minute. At the end of 90 minutes the game ended 1-1.

In penalties Messi, Bojan and Thiago scored for Barca while only defender Mario Yepes scored for the visitors.

With both squads starting their domestic season this coming weekend there are still some issues both sides need to iron out, for Milan the counter attacked needs to be a bit faster. The when the full 11 start playing the link up play will need to improve if they wish to stop bitter rivals Inter from winning their 6th title in a row. For Barcelona, the key will be getting the David Villa gelled quickly into the squad. Regardless of whether or not Ibrahimovic stays, a new partnership will need to be formed up front. If they can do this quickly then Real Madrid will have an extremely hard time taking the title from the hands of the blaugrana.


Cheers,
Mike

The Barca adventure

(Written on Aug16th)

As I currently crusing at an altitude of 35,000 feet, on a course to England all I can really think about is Barcelona. Don't get me wrong I'm excited to be back in the U.K, beyond the football possibilities to explore there, I'll be in the good hands of family as we prepare for the wedding of my cousin. I'm hoping to catch a match while I'm here although I'll be pretty busy with family business of course. I'll keep you informed if I can get to any EPL or npower championship matches over the next week.

However what I'm gearing up for from a football and blogging perspective is happening next Wednesday night. After the wedding, your junior birdman will be back in the air heading towards Barcelona and more specifically the Camp Nou. Now I hope I don't have to go into the serious importance of the home of FC Barcelona, however just in case there are any newbies to the game let me take a few moments to explain.

Barca can possibly be described as art of a soccer pitch, if you have never seen a Barcelona game I highly encourage you to do so (Note: The Spanish season starts on the 28th I believe) When you are watching the game also note the stadium referred to as the Camp Nou or Nou Camp (Pronounced "New" for us who cannot speak Catalan). The crowd at the matches are a lot different than any TFC crowd, most have compared it to something close to a religious experience. Of course this is probably an overstatement but with the opening song that the supporters sing upon the entrance of the players being called the hymn of the people, you can see why people may feel this way.

The moto of the club is in Catalan "Més que un club" or in English "More than a club" is one of the truest statements in world football. Club members are consulted on major decisions made by club management, they also have a presidential election for the club. The supporters have a large influence on how the club runs, both on and off the pitch. During the recent revelations that the club had failed to pay the players May wages due to debt issues, the club released a financial statement to all club members that requested it.

That along with Barca's long standing commitment to building its squad from it academy ranks, has made them not only one of the most popular football clubs in the world but in the eyes of the people of Barcelona the national team of the Catalan people. Through out the years of General Franco's rule Barcelona more than any other club represented the anti-Franco movement. As Franco banned the Catalan language, the Camp Nou was in many cases the only place it could be spoken freely.

This is what is at the heart of the stadium, not only is the place a venue of excellent football, but in a way it is one of the expressions of the Catalan culture.

This is where I come in, I'll be watching the Friendly match between Barca and AC Milan on the 25th. I'll be posting just before and after the match so look out for those.

Cheers,

Mike

P.S: (It's now Aug 18th) I'm hoping to get to either Villa Park or St.Andrews (Home of Aston Villa and Birmingham City respectively) before I leave the U.K on the 23rd. Will let you know as soon as I know.