Italian football is famous for many things but its football fan culture is often a hot talking point among football enthusiasts. At its core are ultras groups and the Juventus ultras are most definitely a big part of that.
While there have been several ultra groups under the Juventus umbrella over the past 50 years or so, the main group are now known as the Drughi. For all the key information on the Drughi, including their history and most notable moments, our guide below has you covered.
Who are the Juventus ultras? A history
There is some contention over when the first set of Juventus ultras were founded because in the early 1970s, two groups known as Venceremos and Autonomia Binaconera were created, however, neither were well organised and established themselves as ‘ultra' groups.
In 1976, the first two proper Juventus ultra groups were founded in the form of Fossa dei Campioni and the Panthers. Over time, these groups evolved and changed with a group called the Drughi establishing themselves as the largest Juventus ultra group in the 1980s.
Not all supporters were happy with the Drughi being the main ultra group, though. In the 1990s, one of the club's most extreme set of supporters, the Gruppo Storico Fighters were involved in many fights with the Drughi as they looked to establish themselves as the number one Juventus ultra group after originally disbanding in 1987.
Their efforts were unsuccessful and the two groups have co-existed alongside each other in relative harmony ever since. There was a brief period in the late 1990s where all fans came together under one name – the Black And White Fighters Gruppo Storico – however, that has since disbanded.
Where do the Juventus ultras sit?
The main group of Juventus ultras, the Drughi, are situated in the Curva Sud at the Allianz Stadium. As the largest group, the majority of pre-match displays and tifos are unveiled in this section of the stadium but they aren't alone in this stand.
Other ultra groups are also situated in the Curva Sud including Viking Juve, Gruppo Marche 1993 and Gruppo Homer. All of these groups are happy to co-exist (for now) which helps to generate a brilliant atmosphere inside the Curva Sud.
On the opposite side of the stadium, in the Curva Nord, you will find members of the Gruppo Storico Fighters. There aren't as many members of this group compared to the groups found in the Cruva Sud which means the atmosphere generally isn't as good on this side.
Looks like for the first time in years, Juventus Ultras have prepared a big banner to show off on the Curva for the Derby ?pic.twitter.com/5r6hsbxOq5
— Juve Canal (@juve_canal) February 28, 2023
Juventus ultras incidents
A dark day against Fiorentina
One of the darkest days in the history of the Juventus ultras came in 1987 when fights broke out between the notorious Gruppo Storico Fighters and Fiorentina ultras. Several members of each firm were seriously injured and countless arrests were made. The damage that was done that day resulted in the group disbanding, although they would return years later.
Fighting on the pitch against Parma
While ultra groups often fight away from the football pitch, Juventus ultras once sparked a mass brawl on the pitch back in 2005 with Parma ultras. Parma fans entered the field after the final whistle and began taunting the Juventus away end. The result – Juventus ultras broke onto the pitch and started a fight that saw 19 ultras arrested.
A reported ten of those fans who were arrested were influential leaders among the Juventus ultras and they all received a stadium ban for three years.
Ultras banned after in-fighting
During a match between Juventus and Inter Milan in November 2022, three of the biggest ultra groups at the Allianz Stadium started fighting among each other in the Curva Sud. Members of Drughi, Viking and Nuclei Armati Bianconeri were all involved with leaders of each group all receiving lifelong bans.
Many Juventus fans feel that the atmosphere at home matches has been negatively impacted by the banning of these ultra leaders.
A silent protest
More recently, Juventus ultras made headlines but not for fighting. This time, they were involved in organising a silent protest for the club's final two matches of the 2023/24 season after the club had rejected a series of requests from them about unveiling large banners and tifos in the Curva Sud.
The ultras explained that these types of demonstrations are the ‘norm in almost every Italian and foreign stadium' and pledged to stay silent for the final two matches of the season.
When announcing the protest, the ultras also sent a message to the Juventus players who had failed to meet the required standards during the season. They said: “We have supported everyone despite knowing some misconducts of some of our footballers, who, off the pitch, tend not to behave as professional athletes. Even if you go far from Turin, there are things we come to know.”