Best Stadium Tifos of All Time

While the main focus at a football match is naturally enough the players themselves, in many parts of the world that is hard to remember. The fans, complete with fireworks, banners and goosebump-inducing songs, cannot help but steal attention thanks to their fanaticism. 

Tifo was originally the Italian denomination for any supporter. But with time, the phrase has become most associated with those covered head-to-toe in tattoos of the club, for example, or who arrange elaborate displays in and around the stadiums to show their loyalty. 

In an effort to salute the craziest, most passionate and committed fans across the world, here are six of the very best Tifos. 

6. River Plate's 'Banderazo'

Along with Boca Juniors, Buenos Aires giants River Plate are one of Argentina's largest, most widely supported clubs. The Millonarios pack out the Monumental stadium week in, week out, with a historic relegation in 2011 only drawing more fans back to the imposing ground. 

Shortly after returning to the top flight, supporters of the Nunez-based club collected funds for an attempt at the world's longest football banner, the "Banderazo" as it was dubbed by local media in a play on words that referenced solidarity to the team (Minuto Uno). 

The flag spanned almost eight kilometres, stretching out over a great swathe of Buenos Aires on its way to the Monumental. Taking advantage of a public holiday, more than 20,000 River aficionados turned out to carry the banner on its way. 

5. Marseille's Paper Trail

Supporters of Olympique Marseille have a reputation for being among the most vociferous and passionate in French football. Displays such as the impressive paper banner shown in 2010 are exactly why the club's fanbase is so highly regarded. 

Accompanied by two fetching red flares, the OM hardcore organised a sea of paper sheets to spell out their initials in the buildup to a clash against Grenoble, as reported by The Guardian.

4. Atletico Nacional Fan Tattoos Escobar's Shirt

Great Tifos do not necessarily have to be a team effort, although the most eye-catching tend to be. Sometimes, the act of just one fan can create a moving tribute to his or her heroes. 

Enter 25-year-old Atletico Nacional fan Felipe Alvarez. Although he was just a young boy in 1994 when Verdolaga idol Andres Escobar was tragically gunned down in Medellin, Alvarez's devotion led him to go to great lengths in order to show his love for the former Colombia defender. 

According to Perfil, the fan had green stripes and a No. 2 tattooed across his torso to recreate the jersey Escobar wore while at Nacional. Alvarez's act quickly became known across Colombia, and the fanatic was even invited onto the pitch prior to a game to show off his artwork. 

3. Dortmund's Mosaics

Under Jurgen Klopp, Borussia Dortmund have catapulted themselves to the forefront of world football with their cavalier, all-action style. The Champions League finalists of 2013 are also blessed with one of the most inventive, committed fanbases in European football. 

The BVB hardcore specialise in creating mosaics in the terraces, using coloured card and banners handed out amongst the fans to create dazzling images. These visual feasts are a regular feature of the club's most important clashes. 

There are plenty of classics to choose from, but this AC/DC-inspired skull unfurled against Wolfsburg in 2011 in the video above is without a doubt one of the best. 

2. Penarol's Biggest Banner Ever

Montevideo club Penarol are one of South America's largest and most successful sporting institutions. With 38 Uruguayan titles, five Copas Libertadores and three victories in the Intercontinental Cup, the Carboneros have plenty to be proud of. 

Another landmark was reached in 2011, the same year that the Uruguayans reached the Libertadores final only to lose out to Neymar's Santos. Fans of the club unveiled what was claimed to be the biggest banner ever seen in a football stadium, cloaking a significant part of Montevideo's iconic Estadio Centenario, per the New York Times. 

The numbers speak for themselves: almost $35,000 spent on 15,000 square metres of fabric to create a banner 310m wide and 48m tall. The flag was introduced to the world during a Copa clash against Independiente, and Penarol once more wrote their place in history. 

1. Racing Club 'Bury' Independiente

In June 2013, Argentine football giants Independiente were condemned to the second-tier Nacional B division for the first time in their history. Their mourning became a source of great glee for Racing Club, the Rojo's Avellaneda neighbours and most bitter rivals. 

Racing's next home game was preceded by an elaborate "funeral" to say goodbye to the not so dearly departed rival. There was a coffin, pallbearers, wreathes and hundreds of fans dressed as ghosts, and a mysterious blackout at half-time gave the club's barra brava hooligans the perfect chance to read the last rites. 

Argentine authorities failed to see the funny side. Suspecting reasonably enough that directors had colluded with the celebrations, the local football association slapped Racing with a two-game home ban on fans, via infobae.