Brigada 1874 – Louder and Prouder for the New Season
When it comes to the eternal dilemma of putting the atmosphere back into Villa Park, one Aston Villa group of supporters are peerless – The Brigada 1874. Of course, having a team that plays free-flowing attacking football would always help matters, in terms of raising the crowd, but the Brigada 1874 ultras keep the support coming, whether it’s raining or shining on the pitch.
Last season saw the Brigada grow from strength to strength; on top of their customary vocal support and great selection of banners was their streamer display during the Christmas period, messages to Sky Sports and their continual support for Stiliyan Petrov above and beyond the club’s organised 19 minute tribute.
Initially, some fans were dubious of the Brigada 1874 due to their ‘ultra’ tag. There were misconceptions of them being ‘communists’ or even ‘fascists’, but anybody who knows their football. will know what it stands for in the context of football. It’s all about supporting your team to the max.
Other Villa supporters, certainly in the remarks we’ve received on MOMS social media sites have been very complimentary of the Brigada 1874’s efforts. The best remarks often by parents, informing us how much their children enjoyed being in L7 or L8 of the Holte due to the atmosphere the Brigada 1874 created.
As gratitude for their efforts, the group also enjoys its own section on MOMS.
Below is the Brigada 1874 video review of the 2012/13 season, which includes behind-the-scenes pictures of the creation of their infamous banners.
In terms of the 2013/14 season, Brigada 1874 informed MOMS that they were looking to further the group’s achievements from last season.
“In terms of the coming season, will shall be remaining in L8 and building on last season’s developments, with an eye to building the atmosphere and the general group ethic in that area of the Holte. We’ve taken on a few new members over the summer who can offer something to the group and we are always looking for new faces who agree with our principles and fit the bill.”
If you’re in a section of Villa Park, where you feel at the moment you can’t really express yourself and are renewing your season ticket, check out the Brigada 1874 forum and reach out to them to get involved. UTV
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If Brigada want wider support and recognition – could I suggest that friends and supporters try being a bit less touchy. Brigada are great but …
The ‘Ultra’ stuff is wank.
Drop it – you don’t need it – and you won’t get universal support with it. Brigada 1874 is enough. It is not about context – it is about perception. Ultras are violent fascist gangs – not ‘special’ fans.
The project to bring exciting passionate support to VP is great. The ‘marketing’ as BrumBeat calls it – is lame. Drop the ‘ultra’ and enjoy all our support.
SonLyme SonLyme Ultras are not violent fascists gangs, though you do get ultras who are far right it doesn’t follow that all ultra groups are fascist boot boys and anyone who knows a little about the ultra scene around the world knows this. We are by definition an ultra group, the ethos of the group is ultra, there are is no other word that best describes the group and this is why we gave ourselves this label.
” but anybody who knows their football. will know what it stands for in the context of football ” …. sorry MOMS, but ‘Ultra’s are extreme political right wing collectives, serious groups linked to corresponding political parties, that’s their whole point in European Leagues, a voice through football terraces. I spend a lot of time in Italy, especially at the Guiseppe Meazza in Milan watching AC and mix with them at various points in bars and cafe’s. I neither condemn or approve, but English football has moved on for the better. Calling yourself an ‘Ultra’ then chanting Oooooh Christian Benteke or Sylla Sylla etc.. is almost laughable. UTV
Are you suggesting that left-wing ultra groups don’t exist?
Brumbeat ….. no, in fact the Brigate Rossonere are left wing union originally, changed since Berlusconi took over to be fair. But left wing out there isn’t the same as the Labour party over here my friend. We’ve never had Ultras, it isn’t an English thing. Ultras rule the stadia in Italy, thats why there are no Police inside only outside.
I’m no Labour supporter. They’ve not been on the left for decades.
I just found myself humming along to an Otis Redding song. I could never be an Ultra.
Brumbeat mock all you want mate, but it’s like trying to make frogs legs English or Paella Scottish …. be who you are and you will be true. UTV
LeeMerrett Brumbeat Stop trying to me Mr Italy then!
MyOldManSaid LeeMerrett Brumbeat lol … half my family are Italian.
LeeMerrettDifferent context completely. There are more meanings to the word. I’ve been to several Italian games and had a serious run in with Juve’s Drughi and I’d hardly compare Brigada with them. There’s no political motivations. Calling yourself an ‘Ultra’ then supporting your team to the hilt and not being being fascist is far from laughable. UTV
MyOldManSaid LeeMerrett dude you can add what meanings you want to it, not all Ultras are hardcore granted, but the vast majority are, I’m in Milan soon and if I said we had Ultras at Villa I’d be covered in Pannini and Peroni in minutes … Buono Come il Pane
LeeMerrett You really should go read what they are all about as you are completely wrong if you are putting them in to that kind of group.
Can we avoid the use of the word ‘ultras’ in relation to Villa please? Ultra does not mean super duper in a footballing context. It means fascist. It means thug. It means hatred and violence. And that cuts against everything I have ever experienced in 40 years at Villa Park.
I’m all for the Brigada boys having a good time and bringing fun into the stadium. I’m not so keen on an EDL section. So lets can the ultra stuff?
Cheers.
Brigada 1874 are vehement anti-fascists. This is no secret. Please research the facts before making reactionary comments about something you don’t understand.
Brumbeat It seems I have failed to explain my point sufficiently well. My issue is not with Brigada. My issue is with the use of the term ‘ultra’. The Brigada story is now being circulated across the interweb thingy – ‘ultras’ is being used in every tweet and post.
Let me restate – no problem with B1874 – quite enjoy them on away days – problem with Villa being associated with ‘ultras’. The Brigada need to get on this – and make it clear – the use of the term ‘ultra’ as lazy journalistic shorthand for ‘super fan’ is inaccurate.
Do you understand me now Brumb?
Brigada are an ultra’s group. They market themselves as such. They’re not going to distance themselves from a tag that they gave themselves. Do you think that the ultra tag is inherently incompatible with anything but right-wing politics and fascist ideology? I could point you in the direction of several successful left-wing ultra groups in the UK and across Europe.
Brumbeat Ultras rule the stands, you do as the stewards say, end of.
Brumbeat and whats ‘successful’ ??? what have they achieved ???? who are they ?
It is across the web unfortunately and from Tyneside to Southampton Premier League fans are sniggering at our fantastic club.
LeeMerrett Brumbeat Why don’t you visit the Holte End and see…
LeeMerrett In real life, it’s a bit different. I met with the hardcore supporters of several clubs on the march to the Premier League offices. The Brigada were mentioned by Liverpool and Chelsea supporters in a positive light. They’re are an example of supporters trying to get a foothold back in their game and also bringing back some actual atmosphere in sterile stadiums. Poo-poo all you like, but it’s people making an effort and these things don’t grow over night. UTV
There are left-wing ultra groups at St Pauli, Celtic, Athletico Bilbao, Nicosia, Crystal Palace, AS Livorno. It depends what your idea of success is. As long as they make a difference for the better at their respective clubs (as Brigada have, in my opinion) who gives a shit?
MyOldManSaid LeeMerrett Brumbeat I’ve been in the Holte End since 1978 mate. Although I prefer the Doug Ellis for the past 4 years for the view of the game. You don’t have to test my credentials mate, I just have spent 20 years among Ultras abroad and I’ve never seen flares, giant banners, drums, constant 90 minute chanting from over in L8 .. pmsl
MyOldManSaid LeeMerrett Brumbeat and I for one applaud anyone getting the crowd up for it so knock yourselves out and go for it. Just don’t try and be something you’re not. This is England, this is our game.
LeeMerrettMyOldManSaidBrumbeat As a half-Italian you should know Rome wasn’t built in a day. The guys have only been going in earnest for a few seasons.
Of course, any supporter group in England don’t put on displays like the best of the Italian ultra groups.
Their influence is established on club level in Italy though. In England, it’s all about control, CCTV, rules and regulations, so it’s very difficult to get any atmosphere in a game.
Something must be done in the Premiership though, and these guys are trying to do something, at least at Villa Park. They do sing for 90 mins and have banners, but their numbers mean they are limited to just one block of the Holte.
I’ve been in the middle of the hardcore Drughi in the middle of the curva sud and it was intoxicating (literally and in atmosphere), I’ve never experienced anything near that at Villa Park or any English ground.
The next day, after seeing Juve, I went to the San Siro to see Inter and the stadium was a sad sight. Maybe a 1/4 full. The Italian game has big problems, but that’s another story. Although, i was with the ultras again, and we sang for the full 90 mins – and in relation to your mocking comments about Villa ultras singing Sylla & Benteke songs, all that the Inter hardcore sang was Inter player chant/songs.
Again, though, you’re directly associating the word ‘ultra’ with Italy. You don’t have to tell me they don’t match up with the Italian real deal, but in this context Brigada (like other English team groups), use it to emphasis their ardent support of their team.
Words and their meaning do evolve over time.
MyOldManSaid LeeMerrett Brumbeat I get it, but Ultra’s are Italian and were formed in Italy, other countries have just copied. As for Internazionale they are actually a small club with few supporters but massive wealth through Morretti and his Pirelli empire (bit like Blues but without a bank account, lol) so they are a poor example of Italian football. Like I said I applaud anyone trying to get the atmosphere going at PL grounds, but be original, as for the English element to it, why aren’t they called Brigade ?? Brigada is a non English word ?
In one breath, you’re saying you don’t want Italian style ultra’s down Villa Park, and then you’re mocking Brigada for not being like the Italian’s. Make your mind up.
Brumbeat I never said that, if VP was like a San Siro Milan game it would be amazing, but the powers that be would never let it happen. So how are you gonna justify the’Ultra’s’ tag ?? You can’t even put banners up without the stewards taking them away. No drums allowed. No standing allowed. No scarves round faces allowed. No flares allowed. Basically you sit there singing just like the Upper Holte, but quieter. My mind is fine, yours needs making up. UTV
LeeMerrett Brumbeat They also don’t speak Italian. Again, it’s nothing to do with Italian ultras. Italians are famous for coffee, it doesn’t mean we can’t drink it in the UK.
Maybe you need binoculars from your ivory tower in the Doug Ellis, as the Villa boys in L8, stand for the whole game, have banners & have rhythmic instruments. They do it in an English stadium that is controlled far more than Italian ones, where you can do lines of coke and smoke weed to your hearts content. Lets see if the Italian ultras do what they do when their stadium is CCTVed up to the ass, has stewards & police inside, has loads of rules and regulations and no standing is allowed. The Brigada have all that to contend with, yet still manage to generate an atmosphere.
MyOldManSaid LeeMerrett Brumbeat sorry mate but I’ve spoken my opinion and you are the ones being so defensive. Like I say I applaud anyone trying to generate atmosphere. As for their match day antics, they need to be louder then, because from where we are right under the Sky cameras I’ve never even noticed them. As for their stadia, they will never allow the pansy arse politically correct and health and safety freaks mess with their game, police can’t enter their stadiums and they control how they wish to support their teams …. that’s the whole idea of Ultras, a powerful voice to the powers that be, they don’t want the game commercialised to the hilt and turned into some American style spectacle where you sit and clap occasionally like the EPL. They wouldn’t stand for it, they would demonstrate on mass and hit the Italian FA where it hurts. Our lot ? they play rhythmic instruments ?? nuff said.
LeeMerrett MyOldManSaid Brumbeat I’m just defending them from mocking. I agree with all of what you say on the difference and what goes on in Italy. The solidarity between Ultra fans in Italy is something I could never imagine seeing here in the UK. Most fans have no principles anymore and can be controlled very easily by the clubs. Anybody who speaks out against clubs are believed to being negative against the club. It’s close to mind-control.
Another time I saw Inter(vs Parma), the Inter Ultras had a protest against the proposed ID scheme,by not entering the stadium for the first 10minutes. I was with them and was very impressed. Nobody broke the line, despite missing two goals in the first 10 mins! Would this happen in the UK? I think people are too selfish here – as we saw when 9 Villa fans complained about the ‘One Stan Petrov’, because it blocked their view for a few seconds. Pffft.