FC Zurich’s south curve is notorious. Different social classes come together in it. Things used to be different.
A wide variety of people find a place here: the Zurich south curve in the Letzigrund stadium.
Dominic Steinmann / NZZ
How many season tickets do you think FC Zurich sold in its fan base 20 years ago? Were there 1000 or even 2000 subscriptions? No, there were only 200.
Today there are 3,000 season subscriptions.
Where does this enormous increase come from? And how does one of the largest fan curves in Switzerland work? In order to answer these questions, you have to know the history of Zurich’s south curve. And the history of Swiss fan culture.
Before the 1960s, it was only men with hats and vests who went to football. The stadiums are well attended, with tens of thousands watching the games on a regular basis. The fan songs are limited to individual “hop” calls. At the beginning of the 1970s, the mood and the audience changed. British hooligans come to Switzerland through the European Cup. They fight, drink copious amounts of alcohol and sing their own songs. Instead of suits and ties, they wear brands like Lacoste or Adidas. This style of clothing, known as “casual”, still shapes the fan curves in European football stadiums today.
It was loud in 1942 too: the spectators shouted their support to the players through paper funnels.
Photopress-Archiv / Keystone
A spectator wears a denim robe with the name of his favorite player.
Walter L. Keller / RDB / Ullstein / Getty
In the 1970s, at the same time as the “casual hooligans,” cowboys arrived in Switzerland and Zurich. Men in denim jackets with colorful patches make their way into the fan curves. They stand for the working class and also founded the first fan clubs. At FC Zurich they are called Fanclub Letzi and Blue Wizards. But the Zurich south curve is only sparsely filled. “This is mainly due to the political orientation of some fans,” says Michael Jucker, the sports historian and co-director of the FCZ Museum.
Skinheads versus ultras
Because of these fans, right-wing radical slogans were on the agenda at FCZ between 1980 and 1990. Racist monkey noises directed at opposing black players can also often be heard in Letzigrund. Skinheads shape fan culture throughout Switzerland. It was not until the mid-1990s that social change took place in Zurich. Football is gaining acceptance in left-wing circles. “This also has to do with the secondos from South America and Italy,” says Jucker. Football is much more important in their home countries than in Switzerland. They bring this passion with them and carry it into the stadiums.
At the beginning they appear disorganized. They want it more colorful. Just like the ultras, their role models, have been doing in Italy and South America for a long time. They support the team with their fan chants regardless of the game – with multi-verse and melodic songs. They take melodies from hit and pop culture and adapt them. Flags and pyrotechnics are also part of this culture.
The cowboys and skinheads cannot be found in this culture. A shared existence with the Ultras seems impossible. The young ultras in Zurich realize this and organize themselves for the first time. They then violently push the cowls and right-wingers out of the stadium. For the first time they feel what is possible as a unit. It is the birth of the FCZ’s first ultra group. The “Boys” were founded in 1996. They are still active in Zurich’s southern curve to this day.
Since then, politics has no longer had a place in the southern curve. “It doesn’t matter whether someone is politically left or right,” says sports historian Jucker. This is also one of the reasons why so many people find a place in a fan scene. The media often presents ultras as a community on the fringes of society. Rather, they are a mirror of society, with all its positive and negative sides. Young and old let off steam in the curves: graphic designers, lawyers, unemployed people, teachers, craftsmen, painters and many more.
A collective stretching of hands: everyone is welcome in the south curve.
Eddy Risch / Keystone
Ultras become chaotic
After the Boys were founded, other groups followed at the beginning of the 2000s: those with a South American influence, an Italian influence, or those that came from the skater scene. The skaters unite under the name Hallygally, which also gives rise to the Zurich hip-hop crew Radio 200 000. The different groups all have a common denominator: the south curve. And this southern curve is now growing from year to year – and with it the ultra culture in Switzerland.
Fan chants can now be heard in stadiums across the country. The ultras support their team with elaborate choreographies: hand-painted, 40-meter-large pictures are presented, smoke pots, flares and confetti complement the pictures. A thoroughly choreographed production. The media applauds this kind of support. The SRF commentator Beni Thurnherr regularly speaks of an “atmospheric atmosphere that has unfortunately become so rare in our country”.
A choreography painted on fabric is presented in the south curve.
Ennio Leanza / Keystone
It was only in the run-up to the 2008 European Championships in Austria and Switzerland that public opinion changed – the federal government and cantons relied on repression and tightened the laws, and the police took tougher measures. The media is now increasingly calling the ultras chaotic and calling for tougher action. The cantons follow suit and adopt the temporary measures of the European Championship in the following years – and incorporate them into the Hooligan Concordat.
Kaspar Meng was head of security at FCZ from 2015 to 2023 and worked with the Hooligan Concordat. For him, the concordat also has dark sides. One of them is the lack of differentiation between pyrotechnics and violence. Meng says: “Burning down pyrotechnics is considered violent behavior and is punished with rayon bans and an entry in the hooligan information system.”
Igniting a flare as part of a choreography is punished in the same way as violent behavior. The south curve reacts to this. The ultras try to defend themselves, they wear uniforms and masks in order to remain anonymous. Same jacket, same pants, balaclava: Since then, the supporters of the Südkurve have also been wearing uniform shoes – white Reebok Classic.
Other fan groups in Switzerland also rely on this form of uniform. This may seem strange to the outside world, but for the Ultras this is a way to continue living their culture.
Pyrotechnics and violence
Pyrotechnics are an important part of the south curve. Hardly any fan curve in Switzerland lights flares as spectacularly as Zurich’s southern curve. The effort sometimes goes beyond the coordinated choreographies, which is a matter of lively discussion within the Südkurve. That’s why in October 2023 the South Curve called on the new generation of curves to refrain from pyrotechnic shows that have nothing to do with the course of the game. “We’ve had enough of the big smoke pots with so much smoke coming out of both ends that no one can sing because of the coughing,” says the Südkurve magazine “Igang 3”. With such individual actions the “line of embarrassment” was crossed.
Crossing borders is part of fan culture, says an FCZ fan who regularly stands in the south curve. He would like to remain anonymous, which is why his name is not mentioned here. He says: “For some people, the south curve is also an outlet outside of their job. A place where everyone is treated equally and you can simply forget your everyday frustrations.” Violence is also part of the fan culture, just as it is in society.
A topic that the media is only too happy to take up; the headlines regularly exceed each other: fan chaos, excesses of violence and beating parties. This newspaper also reported in February about a violent altercation between GC and FCZ fans. But a look at the statistics shows: the incidents have decreased significantly since 2019. Fan violence has not increased in recent years, but continues to steadily decrease, as the University of Bern has shown.
Kaspar Meng also sees it that way. He has worked closely with the Ultras for over ten years. He does not attribute a general problem of violence to the south curve. It offers a low-threshold opportunity for young people to get to know other young people in the real world and get excited about something together. The south curve is also significantly younger and more female than comparable fan scenes in Switzerland or abroad.
Blue and white smoke rises from the south curve during a derby against the Grasshoppers.
Alessandro Della Bella / Keystone
Special attraction for young people
For some time now, Zurich’s southern curve has had a special attraction for young people under the age of 16. The sports historian Michael Jucker knows possible reasons: “The fan curves are the largest youth centers in Switzerland. After Corona, the boys were looking for a community, but there are no comparable offers or large youth centers in Zurich. The young people wanted to do something that made sense. Some want to get involved, and some may also be looking for a ruckus.”
The new generation and increased interest are putting the south curve to the test. The male-dominated culture is changing, and among the many young people there are suddenly girls between the ages of 14 and 16. They want to belong and take responsibility within the group, just like men of the same age. The groups in the southern curve are dealing with the increased interest, but women are not yet accepted – even if other curves in Switzerland are much further along.
The south curve is more than just hype in Zurich. It is part of the cityscape. This can be seen in the hundreds of graffiti all over Zurich as well as in the dozens of items of clothing that young people now wear, regardless of match days. The south curve sells these at stands behind the curve, the offer goes far beyond uniforms. The Südkurve can produce any clothing items that the young people can buy – T-shirts, sweaters, hats, jackets.
«I would always like mee. . .», sings the Südkurve in one of her songs. That’s right – today it’s bigger than ever. The Zurich south curve is now more than 25 years old. And younger than ever.
City of Zurich closes south curve – FCZ appeals against the ruling
for him. FC Zurich played against Servette in Geneva on April 6th. There were clashes between FC Zurich supporters, the security service and the police. Servette then filed a complaint against unknown persons.
The security department of the city of Zurich has therefore ordered that the standing areas in Letzigrund be closed for the Super League game against St. Gallen on Sunday, April 21st. “FC Zurich is therefore not allowed to sell tickets for the standing areas D24 to D27 for this game and the season tickets in these sectors are also not valid,” the FCZ wrote in a statement.
The FCZ announces that it strongly condemns the violent behavior of some of its fans and the resulting property damage. At the same time, however, FC Zurich attaches importance to the statement that the behavior of employees of the responsible security company Securitas at the Stade de Genève was aggressive, uncooperative and unprofessional. A security report with all parties involved, which is usual for Super League games, did not take place in Geneva.
FC Zurich does not agree with the closure of the south curve. The club officials consider the planned cascade model and high-profile collective punishments to be the wrong approach. They prefer an objective review involving everyone involved. For FC Zurich, the renewed closure of stadium sectors for a home game is neither understandable nor does it consider this to be legal and proportionate. The FCZ will therefore also challenge this order.