Manchester City suffered a night of ignominy on Tuesday, not only because they succumbed to a 3-2 home defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League but also because that followed a very public display of prematch hubris from their fans.
Prior to the first leg of their knockout phase playoff tie at the Etihad stadium, City supporters unfurled a large banner teasing Real Madrid and forward Vinícius Júnior over their melodramatic reaction to missing out on the 2024 Ballon d’Or to City midfielder Rodri.
The tifo featured a picture of Rodri kissing the trophy along with the quip “Stop crying your heart out,” a reference to an Oasis song of the same name. The banner was a sharp dig aimed at Real Madrid’s unedifying display of petulance leading up to the award ceremony in October, when the Spanish club boycotted the ceremony in protest and publicly criticized the award.
Unfortunately for City, it was Madrid who had the last laugh on the night after a brace of late goals saw the visitors come from behind to seize the advantage in the heavyweight clash to reach the round of 16.
Just to cap things off, Vini Jr. was also named Player of the Match by UEFA after a standout individual display which he later admitted was provoked at least in part by the banner.
“I saw [the banner],” Vinícius said postmatch. “But when opposition fans do things, it always gives me more strength to play a great game, and here I did that … [City] know our history, and everything we’ve done in this competition.”
Let’s see how Madrid’s own ultras respond when the two teams meet for the second leg at the Bernabéu next Wednesday, for they are no strangers themselves when it comes producing arrogant tifos.
When Los Blancos hosted neighbours Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semifinals in 2017, they belittled their local rivals by flaunting their wins over them in the 2014 and 2016 finals.
The gloating display showed the sites of all 11 of their European Cup triumphs on a giant map of Europe as well as pointing out that they beat Atlético in finals in both Milan and Lisbon. The accompanying message read: “Tell me how it feels.”
Madrid, typically, won the tie 4-2 but Atlético did at least manage to riposte to their cocky foes before the second second leg at the Calderon with a chastening tifo that proclaimed they were “Proud to not be like you.”
The Champions League also witnessed a bitter back-and-forth between fanbases in 2023 when Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan exchanged blows with provocative tifos over the course of the group stage.
It began in Paris when ultras at the Parc des Princes unveiled a gigantic image of French actor Jean-Paul Belmondo (in his renowned movie role as a secret agent in “Le Professionnel“) while taking aim at a giant red-and-black devil symbolizing Milan at the far end of the stadium.
Milan’s hardcore fans responded a fortnight later in the return fixture at San Siro. In an impressive choreo of their own, Neo from “The Matrix” was depicted stopping Belmondo’s bullets in mid-air using his iconic telekinetic prowess.
While Milan may be their principle rivals, there is certainly no love lost between supporters of Inter Milan and Juventus either. That was more than evident in 2015 when the Nerazzurri ultras riled their opponents from Turin with a tifo mocking their failure to secure the treble the previous season.
After unfurling large images of the Serie A scudetto, the Coppa Italia and the European Cup, the Inter fans waited for a moment before moving into phase two of the choreo. A message was then unveiled that referenced the Champions League final in Germany in which Barcelona beat Juve 3-1: “Berlin, 06/06/2015… You almost did it.”
We have a sneaking suspicion that the sympathy on show might not be entirely genuine.
Montreal Impact vs. New England Revolution. The sign is on point.
Translation: your maple syrup is weak. pic.twitter.com/sa5Rvs8hZB
— Roberto Rocha (@robroc) February 29, 2020
However, arguably the most egregious example of tifo trolling occurred on the opening day of the 2020 MLS season, when Montreal Impact (since renamed CF Montreal) launched a coruscating attack on the U.S.’s cuisine ahead of their game against New England Revolution.
Written in French, the message read “Your maple syrup is weak.”
Ouch. There really is no coming back from that.