Footy-Socialism

Vincenzo.togni, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Sports and Socialism, are two things that a layman may never associate with each other. The above image is a soccer game played at the Millerntor-Stadion where FC St. Pauli plays their fixtures. F.C. St. Pauli is just one of many left-wing-leaning soccer clubs that are very outwardly socialist or ideologically lean to the left. One of the things people should aim to do in their lifetime is to attend a game from the clubs mentioned below.

Another soccer club that leans left is Red Star F.C. in the third tier of French soccer. Their name is already a dead giveaway for their ideology. For many at the club, it isn't just a sport; to them, it's also a lifestyle. They live and breathe their club. Generations of their family support it. Their club is currently at one of the lowest points in their history, but the supporters will keep supporting their club no matter what in the streets of Paris where they also have a fierce rivalry with Paris F.C. who currently sit in the second tier of French soccer.

Celtic is a club in Glasgow, Scotland that is part of the "Old Firm" of clubs. The other club is Rangers. Celtic was founded with the purpose of alleviating Irish immigrant poverty and to this day has a solid fan base that comprises mostly Irish supporters. Both club supporters are fierce. Because Celtic F.C. supports Irish independence and Rangers supporters typically support the British Crown, the Old Firm rivalry is seen as one of the fiercest in all of soccer.

Mentioning fierce rivalries of course means a mention of the El Clásico derby between F.C. Barcelona and Real Madrid. The history between both clubs is enough on its own, but they also share a rivalry that deserves its own story. Real Madrid is typically associated with Francoist leanings and also with royalty/monarchy. Barcelona on the other hand is more associated with Catalan independence. Barcelona's Camp Nou is in Catalan and their slogan, mes que un club, is also in Catalan.

But rivalries like these don't only exist in Europe, they exist in the Americas too. Specifically, one that isn't necessarily based on ideology but instead on class:

Boca Juniors and River Plate are two storied clubs with a rich history of their own, but with their rivalry being ever more intense it can literally create familial divides. Boca Juniors is generally considered a working-class club from La Boca which is a neighborhood in Buenos Aires. River has been considered an increasingly middle-class/bourgeois club.

All the soccer clubs mentioned have rich histories in their own right, and the rivalries they have should be on everyone's bucket list for things to experience in person.