Welcome to our annual “awards” – celebrating all that is good about the game from our tours around the world. By 31st December we will have seen 115 games in 2011, which as CMF reminds me is one almost every three days. She would only get bored of me if I was at home every day anyway. These are awards based on our opinion. No votes, no favouritism (well, almost none), no trophies and no speeches. Last season’s nominations and winners can be found here.
“On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me, an atmosphere so red-hot it will make you wee”
3rd Place – Brondby IF
A fantastic display in the two derbies we attended in 2011 against FC Copenhagen saw the Danes keep their place in the top three this year. The sheer noise and flag waving needs to be seen to be believed at the Carlsberg Classico.
2nd Place – AIK
People who have no knowledge of Swedish football may dismiss it as pedestrian, laid back and functional – a bit like Ikea. But attend any of the big games features IFK, Malmö FF or AIK and you will see what Scandinavian passion is all about. The biggest game of the season is undoubtably the Stockholm derby, played at the Råsunda stadium (until the new Stockholm Stadion opens in November of course) where AIK meet rivals Djurgården. The notorious AIK hardcore fans, The Black Army, prepare their displays for months and it shows. Recent legislation has meant that if any flares are let off whilst the players are on the pitch then the game needs to be stopped, meaning this game is a long affair. The noise and colour will make your ears ring, the hairs on your neck stand up and your nose fill with smoke. Beautiful.
1st Place – Legia Warsaw
The first time I went I lost my hearing for about an hour afterwards, and that was at a game where they had the lowest attendance of the season. Two weeks ago when the temperature plunged well below zero, thousands of the fans jumped, sang, hugged and generally got 100% behind their team dressed in white t-shirts. If there ever was a “twelth man” theory then this was it in practice. Most Polish fans, irrespective of their allegiance will begrudgingly say Legia have the best fans in Poland. As someone who watches the game all over the world I can honestly say that they are the best that I have seen.
The Ball is Round 
the same match :)
guuuys, the support during Legia’s game agaisnt Cracovia was rubbish, the worst one during whole this season, the guy on the ‘nest’ with a loudspeaker was scolding everyone around all the time for poor performance during the game:) it was irregular, not consistent and pretty quiet as for us, but still enough to be no 1:) peace
Really? Wow…it was an amazing display – really glad to have been there for it
This is true, it was still a pretty poor performance on this game.
IMHO best performances (the loudest support) this season were given against Spartak, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Rapid Bucarest in Europa League and against Wisla Cracow in Polish League. Morover on every Europa League there was a fantastIc choreography:
– Spartak – “We hate everyone” http://www.legia.net/foto/konkursy/kibice2.jpg
– Hapoel – “Jihad Legia” http://www.legia.net/foto/konkursy/kibice4.jpg
– Rapid – “Total Bestial Brutal” http://legia.net/images/zdjecie/big/1845b368ad71b00c7407708a3a215283.jpg
– and the best display against PSV – “We’re not angels” when this http://legia.net/images/zdjecie/big/c42ec86716dea34b774ff2988f7cb521.jpg turned into this http://legia.net/images/zdjecie/big/580d59f317eb59489ba1abeceb2974cc.jpg
In comparison to all above mentioned matches Cracovia was really poor.
Greetings from Warsaw and a happy new year! ;)
I must agree with Legia fan. Support on that game was the worst performance this season. If you want to see/hear how usually it looks like check out video from game against Wisla.
http://legia.com/index.php?typ=news&id=25435
hi friends, I’m Polish and I apologize for my language. See here how LEGIA, has fun as the fans react. Remember the game manchester city of Poznan lech, fans laughed but then they just sang
Well, I think it is pretty impressive for ‘rubbish’ support. It leaves you wondering what happens when you guys have a top day…
WISŁA KRAKÓW!!!!!!!!
I know this wasn’t even Legia fans at their best, but in my opinion it makes it all the more impressive when the fans can ‘raise the roof’ for run-of-the-mill games; those matches against “lesser” opposition. That, to me anyway, shows true dedication.
This was my take on that Legia Warsaw v Cracovia match:
http://europeanfootballweekends.co.uk/2011/12/legia-warsaw-v-cracovia.html
Cheers
I believe the information given here were just for the record and this opinion regarding a rather not “top notch” game is simply just.
Happy New Year and more interesting games and grounds to see.
You can find at least 30-40 teams from Germany for example who has better atomsphere than AIK Solna. Just saying.. Don’t get me wrong, the derby in Stockholm was nice, but Djurgården was better on the stands that game.
YOu are probably right but this is based on what we experienced…
Haha, are you kidding me?
You say that djurgården where better on the stands that game. Somewhere there, all your reliability disappears. Djurgården sucked that game. As always with other words.
Everyone can talk on internet, but take a flight to Stockholm, experience a Stockholm-derby between AIK and djurgården, and you will see that AIK is in the top of the northern Europe. When we get our new arena, with decent acoustics, we will become the nr1. Both Bröndby and Legia has very good acoustics in their arenas. Råsunda does not have any good acoustics at all. There are not top-conditions on Råsunda.
Germany…haha, lots of crowd – but atmosphere, hell no… Maybe Dynamo Dresden could take a place somewhere in the top, maybe the Austrian club Rapid Wien could, but the absolutely top, not a chance.
Have you been on any other polish teams game? Legia have great support but it’s nothing unusual in Poland…
Only the game at Lodz the day after the Legia game
Yes. Legia fans are the best in Polish.
Wisla Krakow Supporter