The Poznań

"Grecque" redirects here. For other uses, see Greek (disambiguation).
For the city in Poland, see Poznań.

The Poznań or Grecque (the Greek) is a form of sporting celebration that involves supporters standing with their backs to the pitch, linking shoulders side-by-side and jumping on the spot in unison. It is mostly associated with supporters of football club Lech Poznań in Poland, although it has been performed by fans of many football clubs throughout the world such as Manchester City in England. Its first use is thought to have been as a protest against club management while still supporting the team.

Usage

Manchester City fans doing the Poznań.
Lech Poznań fans.

The Poznań celebration involves the fans turning their backs to the pitch, joining arms and jumping up and down in unison.[1] In Poland, and among many fans across Europe, it is not called "the Poznań" but is known as a "Grecque", and it is performed by fans of many teams.[2] Despite initially failing to impress Manchester City fans when it was done during the teams' meeting in the UEFA Europa League group stage on 21 October 2010, it was subsequently adopted by City supporters during a game early the following month.[3] The activity was coined 'The Poznań' by Manchester City fans, in homage to the club that inspired them to celebrate in this way. The Poznań was briefly adopted by other English football supporters, notably those of Leicester City after their clash with Manchester City in the third round of the FA Cup in January 2011,[4] and is referred to by English football fans as "doing the Poznań".[5]

Initially, the supporters group of Australian club Western Sydney Wanderers, The Red and Black Bloc, performed it in the 80th minute of matches to represent the first football match played in Western Sydney in 1880. Subsequently, this has grown into an all stadium celebration.[6]

Alternatives

Fans of the Scottish club Celtic have a similar celebration known as "The Huddle", whilst also facing away from the pitch; the words sung by the fans are "Let's All Do The Huddle". The "Huddle" performed by Celtic fans is closely linked to the on-field huddle conducted by the Celtic team prior to kick-off which was introduced by Tony Mowbray during his playing career at the club in the mid 1990s.[7] Over the years, Celtic fans have carried out various versions of the huddle,[8] although the first example of it being performed by large numbers of the club's supporters at a game was during a 3-0 win over Rangers at Celtic Park in February 2011.[9]

Supporters of Deportivo Alavés, a La Liga team, have been known to celebrate most of their team's goals with a variation of "The Poznań" since at least 2014, in which they stand with their backs to the pitch, linking shoulders side-by-side and jumping on the spot while they sing the tune to the Pippi Longstocking TV series.[10][11][12]

FC Copenhagen ultras have the past several years celebrated wins using a variant of the Poznań where the fans turn their backs to the pitch and jump from side to side while the players on the pitch do the same.[13]

Charlotte FC fans begin home matches with the Poznań, where fans across the stadium turn their backs to the pitch and bounce up and down to the tune of Pepas. The dance has grown drastically in popularity since their inaugural season where it began with a few supporters groups, it now has spread across the majority of the stadium. They begin every home match with Pepas, and call it such as well.

In 2009, fans of Beşiktaş used this celebratory ritual as a means of voicing discontent with the club's management amidst a period of disappointing results. By adopting this unconventional form of protest, supporters called for the resignation of the club’s chairman.[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Video: Poznań, Selebrasi Sindiran Gooners Untuk Manchester Biru". Bola.net. 9 April 2011. Retrieved 29 April 2011.
  2. ^ "The "Poznań" and the Death of the Goal Celebration?". Modern-football.co.uk. 20 May 2011. Archived from the original on 15 January 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  3. ^ Pitt-Brooke, Jack (20 April 2011). "Poles apart: how fans of Poznań inspired City's unlikely dance craze". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
  4. ^ "Leicester fans doing the Poznań". YouTube. 24 August 2013. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  5. ^ "History Of The 'Poznań'". Vital Manchester City. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  6. ^ "RBB Poznań at the A-League grand final". YouTube. 22 April 2013. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  7. ^ Murray, Ewan (16 June 2009). "Tony Mowbray confirmed as new manager of Celtic". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 31 December 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  8. ^ "Celtic fans Huddle". YouTube. 8 June 2007. Archived from the original on 8 April 2016. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
  9. ^ "Celtic 3 - 0 Rangers (20 February 2011)". YouTube. 23 February 2011. Archived from the original on 15 June 2015. Retrieved 18 November 2014.
  10. ^ Juan carlos gonzalez (26 October 2014). "Afición del Alavés celebrando gol en el Sardinero". Archived from the original on 29 December 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2016 – via YouTube.
  11. ^ Tribuna General (30 August 2015). "Grada de animación del Deportivo Alavés. Temporada 2015-16". Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2016 – via YouTube.
  12. ^ "Alaves fans Doing 'the Poznań'!". Twitter. La Liga. 14 May 2017. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2020.
  13. ^ "FC København fans performing their variant of the Poznań after derby win against rivals Brøndby". YouTube. 5 December 2019. Archived from the original on 12 January 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  14. ^ [1] - BeINsports