Top 10 tifos of 2023

A well-designed choreography, otherwise known as a Tifo, is a sight to behold when attending a football match.

Tifos take days of preparation and hard work by dedicated fans. The final product is a carefully designed visual piece of art that aims to amplify the atmosphere inside the stadium.

Fan groups across the world produced some electrifying choreographies in 2023, some stretching over 600 yards across the stadium and others inspired by King Kong.

Below, we have listed the top ten choreographies of 2023 as decided by the ‘Ultras World’ YouTube channel. Let’s see which ten made the final cut.

10 – Feyenoord Rotterdam vs Go Ahead Eagles – 14/05/23

Feyenoord’s huge banner which stretched over 600 yards was unveiled before their Eredivisie match against Go Ahead Eagles on 14, May 2023. A 3-0 win clinched the title for Feyenoord, securing their 16^th league title.

The huge banner read “Feyenoord, Feyenoord, What are we doing today? We are winning. The only question is by how much.” Covering all four stands with the white, blue and red mix of colours, the Tifo was made off-site and required hundreds of people to get it into the stadium prior to kick off.

 

9 – Esperance Sportive de Tunis vs JS Kabylie – 29/04/23

Esperance Sportive de Tunis (ES Tunis) revealed a stunning tifo before their CAF Champions League Quarter Final against JS Kabylie on 29, April 2023.

The tifo depicts a soldier holding a football in full armour, while riding a horse with a scarf bearing the red and yellow colours of ES Tunis. The scarf has 1919 written on it, which is the year that ES Tunis were formed in the early stages of African football when Tunisia were under French colonial rule.

Behind the soldier is a wide yellow coliseum structure. There are various other figures depicted, such as a man with a mask and a shield, as well as other soldiers holding swords in the air behind the main soldier on the horse.

ES Tunis originally played in white and green shortly after their formation in 1919, however after the suggestions of a young student, Chedly Zouiten, the club changed their colours to red and yellow. All in all, the tifo is a symbol of resistance and a nod to the club’s origins in the face of French colonialism.

8 – Dynamo Dresden vs Waldhof Mannheim – 22/04/23

To celebrate 70 years of Dynamo Dresden, their fans created a spectacular four-part tifo. The first two parts covered the stadium and read “70 Jahre” in the main stand. Behind one end it said “Dresden”, while at the opposite end the Dresden badge was on display.

First time round this was done in red and white, which was followed by the same words and symbols displayed in yellow and black, representing the colours of Dynamo Dresden.

As well as this, there was a display of a man holding a Dresden flag with the message under him saying “Created by God 70 years ago to hold up the flag for Dresden!”

Finally, behind the goal the ‘K-Block ultras’ displayed the yellow, black and white colours in organised strips behind the goal. The ultras then ignited pyros with the corresponding colours in each strip going off at the bottom of the southern stand.

7 – Djurgårdens IF vs AIK – 24/09/23

Djurgårdens IF displayed a mouthwatering tifo inspired by King Kong before the Tvillingderbyt (The Twin Derby) against AIK in September. Both clubs originate from Stockholm, and it is widely renowned as one of the most intense derbies in Sweden.

Before the league match away at AIK, Djurgårdens IF fans revealed a display with King Kong holding a rat, while hanging on a building.

The meaning behind the tifo is that AIK fans refer to Djurgårdens IF fans as ‘monkeys’, while Djurgårdens IF supporters refer to AIK followers as ‘rats’. King Kong represents Djurgårdens IF and the rat represents AIK. Significantly, the building that King Kong is holding onto is the Stockholm City Hall.

In the background of the tifo is a sparkle of blue and white pyrotechnics going off at the bottom of the stand.

6 – Raja Casablanca vs Wydad Casablanca – 05/04/23

Raja Casablanca’s ultras deployed a stunning five-part tifo before their derby match against Wydad Casablanca in April.

The supporters of Raja Casablanca displayed a conductor before the following words ‘allegro’, ‘adagio’ and ‘scherzo’ were lifted one after the other. All three of these words are musical terms used by conductors and people reading music. Finally, an infinity sign was displayed as the final part of the tifo.

All five parts were displayed in the green, black and white colours of the Moroccan club, Raja Casablanca.

The tifo was dedicated to Symphony No.3, also known as Eroica, composed by Ludwig van Beethoven from 1802 to 1804. This symphony is performed in four movements including the Allegro, the Adagio, the Scherzo and the Finale, which is represented by the infinity sign in the tifo.

5 – Legia Warsaw vs Midtjylland – 31/08/23

Before their UEFA Conference League play-off round against FC Midtjylland, Legia Warsaw displayed an impressive Legoland inspired tifo.

The tifo depicted three Lego figures in the green, white and red colours of Legia Warsaw. Below the three figures was the word ‘Legioland’ in white writing with a green outline.

Legia Warsaw’s opponents FC Midtjylland are from the area in Denmark where the original Legoland was opened in 1968. The tifo was a clear reference to the origins of the world-renowned theme park.

The Polish fans then lit red pyros on both sides of the Legoland tifo, adding to the visual spectacle to create a hostile pre-match atmosphere.

4 – Olympique de Marseille vs Brest – 27/05/23

Olympique de Marseille’s home league match against Brest on 27, May 2023 was a day after the 30^th anniversary of Marseille’s Champions League victory against AC Milan in 1993.

To celebrate the legends of 1993, Marseille fans deployed a tifo covering all four stands of their stadium, Stade Vélodrome.

Around the ground, the blue, white and red colours of Marseille were displayed with various players, supporters and the manager Raymond Goethals lifting the Champions League trophy.

Behind one goal, there was a display of the players and Goethals lifting the trophy together with the scoreboard showing the final score of Olympique Marseille 1-0 AC Milan. Below this, the words “À jamais les premiers” were written, translating to “forever the first” as Marseille’s triumph was the first season of the Champions League era.

On the opposite end of the ground was a depiction of Patrice de Peretti, nicknamed ‘Depe’, who was a popular Marseille ultra who gained close relationships with the players and staff. After the final whistle in 1993, Depe was allowed onto the pitch and lifted the Champions League trophy topless, which is what the tifo captures. Behind Depe was a gold star representing Marseille’s one Champions League success.

3 – Paris Saint Germain vs Olympique Lyonnais – 02/04/23

PSG’s ultras groups are well-known across the world for their tifo displays and ability to create an atmosphere home and away. PSG ultras are historically known as ‘Virage Auteuil’, however in recent times the ultras group that are recognised by the club have been reorganised under the umbrella group called ‘Collectif Ultras Paris’ (CUP).

There are four main ultras groups involved in the CUP and the main group is the K-Soce team. The displays before PSG’s home match against Lyon on 2, April 2023 were largely dedicated to the 15^th anniversary of the K-Soce Team.

There were various tifos and airborne pyrotechnics in PSG’s colours of red and blue. This included three masked figures in PSG colours with the words “Depuis 15 ans, de la bleue à la rouge” written at the bottom of the Tribune Auteuil stand, which translates to “for 15 years, blue to red”.

A huge, masked figure in a PSG shirt with K-Soce team written in the middle was also depicted holding a flare in each hand, with one blue and one red.

2 – Rapid Wien vs Sturm Graz – 24/09/23

The Rapid Wien ultras celebrated the 35^th anniversary of ‘The Ultras Rapid’ fan group with various tifos and pyro displays during their match against Sturm Graz.

Fans in the West block of the stadium wore red and blue to show ‘35’ in the middle of the stand, with fans in green shirts making up the background. This was then followed by the abbreviation ‘UR’ for Ultras Rapid with the same colour coordination.

As well as this, during the match, a tifo with a man holding a Rapid Wien flag with ‘Ultras’ in big writing written either side of him was displayed.

Airborne pyrotechnics were also lit towards the sky in green, yellow, blue and red while the game took place.

1 – FC Basel vs Lausanne Ouchy – 01/10/23

Before FC Basel’s home match against Lausanne Ouchy in the Swiss Super League, the Basel ultras revealed an extremely creative tifo aimed at inspiring the next generation.

The tifo depicts a boy asleep with four thought clouds above him with the message below him reading ‘Hesch au schomol dä Draum gha?’, which translates to ‘Have you ever had a dream?’.

Shortly after, the thought clouds are ignited with smoke to reveal the different stages of a player scoring a goal and celebrating.

This display takes number one spot for its imaginative design and inspiring message for young FC Basel fans.

You can see a full breakdown of the top ten tifos here: