Ahead of the Borussia Dortmund versus Celtic match in the Champions League next week, here is a guide to which football clubs sing the famous anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone”. Both sets of supporters sing the famous tune, along with other elite European clubs such as Liverpool.
It's an iconic song that has become one of the hallmarks of football chants across Europe. While only a few major clubs sing it, the ones that do it do so with meaning and gusto.
Which clubs sing You'll Never Walk Alone?
Liverpool
Liverpool first started to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone in the mid-1960s, following the cover of the song by Gerry and the Pacemakers in 1963. It was a remake of the song from the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical ‘Carousel’ released in 1945. As Gerry and the Pacemakers were a Liverpudlian band, the song became popular with Reds fans, especially for matches at Anfield.
The song represents the togetherness of the players, supporters, managers, and everyone associated with the club. It also symbolises that those who lost their lives in unlawful tragedies, such as the Hillsborough disaster, will never be alone and that the club will always support them and their families.
The song is now sung before every home game at Anfield, and it is as iconic as the stadium itself. It's intimidating for any side playing at the stadium, and it is something sides have to deal with for the opening five minutes of matches.
Celtic
It is widely accepted that Celtic fans started singing “You’ll Never Walk Alone” after their trip to Anfield during the semi-final of the European Cup Winners Cup tie in 1966. Since then, the Scottish giants have adopted the anthem, which is passionately sung by Celtic supporters before every match, especially on European nights.
Liverpool and Celtic fans have both claimed to have sung the chant first, but as Paul Fields noted in a 2003 Guardian article, the evidence suggests that it was most likely the English club.
He said, “Before the early 1960s, football fans made noise and occasionally chanted something brief (like Play Up Pompey!)., but it was the Kop that started singing popular songs of the day (mainly Merseybeat songs such as Gerry and the Pacemakers' You'll Never Walk Alone) and later started adapting the lyrics of songs to celebrate the team and its players.
“If any Celtic fans still claim that they sang it first, it would have to predate Gerry's version. Now can you really see thousands of working class Glaswegians in the 50s/early 60s spontaneously joining in a sing-along from a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical?” No, us neither.”
Borussia Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund are one of two German clubs to sing You’ll Never Walk Alone. A band called ‘Pur Harmony', who were all Dortmund fans, covered the famous track in the 1990s. It sold 50,000 copies within a week and was quickly adopted by the Dortmund supporters after the recording was shared with the club’s stadium announcer.
The frontman of the band revealed “the story of YNWA and Borussia Dortmund” in an interview with Liverpool’s official website in 2016. Matthias Kartner revealed that his original reaction to being asked to cover the song was “Oh no!”
Other clubs
Other European clubs have adopted the hit chant as their club anthem, including one of Jurgen Klopp’s former teams, Mainz. When asked about the significance of the song to Mainz and Dortmund, he said: “I’m a football romantic, and I like tradition in football and all that stuff,” former Liverpool and Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp has said.
“In Germany, only two clubs sing You’ll Never Walk Alone before the game and that is Mainz and Dortmund… now I’ve come to the original place, if you want, and it never stops feeling really special. It never stops creating goosebumps. That’s how it is.”
Feyenoord and SC Cambuur have also adopted the song, but they prefer to use the Lee Towers version, which was released in 1976.
Feyenoord fans bidding farewell to Arne Slot with a standing ovation and a rendition of YNWA. #lfcpic.twitter.com/CQxCT2o29V
— David Phillips (@lovefutebol) May 19, 2024
During the Champions League clash between Man City and Feyenoord, Feyenoord fans were heard singing the chant as their side came back from 3-0 down to draw with City. The travelling fans sang the chant in part to honour their former coach, who was now the Liverpool manager. After the match, fans also sang “Arne Slot, LA LA LA,” clearly enjoying their evening in Manchester.