Curva

Curva [ˈkurva] (plural: curve [ˈkurve]) is an Italian term or name for curved stands of seating located at sports stadiums, particularly in Italy; so named, originally, due to their curved or bending shape. The curva plays an integral part in the culture of Ultras and European football.

Composition

Inter Milan Fans in Curva Nord Milano

The majority of stands referred to as a "curva" are located behind the goals in their respective stadiums and contain the most vocal supporters within them, often known as Ultras. They are usually curved in shape, in some form whether minor or major, often due to the presence of a running track around the pitch.^[1] The Stadio Giuseppe Meazza provides an example of two prominent stands referred to as "curva", "Curva Nord" and "Curva Sud", which contain only minor curves at their corners, while the Stadio Olimpico provides an example of two completely curved stands. A curva may extend from one corner flag to another or be located centrally behind the goal, bordered by two separate corner sections for ticketing or organizational purposes.^[2]

Significance

A.S. Roma Fans in Curva Sud

Being home to the most openly passionate supporters in a stadium, the curva is usually the focal point of a club's support. It is often the scene of dramatic choreographed displays of support and occasionally, disapproval for a team or club.^[3] These displays often take on an importance of their own, particularly in games involving rivals where both sets of supporters aim to outdo each other.^[4] In certain countries, particularly those where sports clubs and supporters are extremely reflective of the local culture, the curva can become quite politicized in nature.^[4] Therefore, it is not uncommon for a curva to be split into individual factions or groups, either solely or partially, based on politics, and for one group to hold significant control of the curva and its inhabitants on match days. Ultras groups within a curva often benefit from this degree of relative uniformity, when there are issues regarding supporters' rights and the commercialization of sports and football in particular.

Locations

Greece

Gate 13

Stadium	Club	Stand
Peristeri Stadium	Atromitos F.C.	Fentagin
Apostolos Nikolaidis	Panathinaikos F.C.	Gate 13
Karaiskaki Stadium	Olympiacos F.C.	Gate 7
Toumba Stadium	PAOK F.C.	Gate 4
Olympic Stadium (Athens)	AEK Athens F.C.	Original 21
Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium	Aris F.C.	Super-3
Kaftanzoglio Stadium	Iraklis Thessaloniki F.C.	Autonomous Gate 10
AEL FC Arena	AEL 1964 F.C.	Monsters Gate 1
Genti Koule	OFI Crete	Snakes Gate 4
Nea Smyrni Stadium	Panionios	Panthers Gate 3

India

Stadium	Club	Stand
Salt Lake Stadium, East Bengal Ground	East Bengal F.C.	Curva Nord

Italy

Curva Nord Milano

Stadium	Club	Stand
Juventus Stadium	Juventus F.C.	Curva Sud / Curva Scirea
Arena Garibaldi	Pisa Calcio	Curva Nord Maurizio Alberti
San Siro	F.C. Internazionale Milano	Curva Nord Milano
San Siro	A.C. Milan	Curva Sud
Stadio Artemio Franchi	ACF Fiorentina	Curva Fiesole
Stadio Atleti Azzurri d'Italia	Atalanta B.C.	Curva Pisani
Stadio Ennio Tardini	Parma F.C.	Curva Nord
Stadio Luigi Ferraris	Genoa C.F.C.	Gradinata Nord
Stadio Luigi Ferraris	U.C. Sampdoria	Gradinata Sud
Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi	A.C. Chievo Verona	Curva Nord
Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi	Hellas Verona F.C.	Curva Sud
Stadio Olimpico	S.S. Lazio	Curva Nord
Stadio Olimpico	A.S. Roma	Curva Sud
Stadio Olimpico (Torino)	Torino F.C.	Curva Maratona
Stadio Partenio A. Lombardi	U.S. Avellino 1912	Curva Sud
Stadio Renato Dall'Ara	Bologna F.C. 1909	Curva Bulgarelli
Stadio San Paolo	S.S.C. Napoli	Curva A/Curva B
Stadio San Nicola	A.S. Bari	Curva Nord
Stadio Angelo Massimino	Calcio Catania	Curva Nord
Stadio Nicola Ceravolo	FC Catanzaro	Curva Massimo Capraro
Stadio Sant'Elia	Cagliari Calcio	Curva Nord
Stadio Mario Rigamonti	Brescia Calcio	Curva Nord
Stadio Friuli	Udinese Calcio	Curva Nord
Stadio Franco Ossola	A.S. Varese 1910	Curva Nord

Netherlands

Stadium	Club	Stand
Amsterdam Arena	AFC Ajax	Zuid/F-Side Vak 410
De Kuip	Feyenoord	[[Feyenoord#Stadium|Gerard Meijer Tribune			Parkstad Limburg Stadion	[[Roda JC Kerkrade#Stadium|Koempel Tribune	Philippines Stadium Club Stand Panaad Park and Stadium Ceres–Negros F.C. South Side Curva Poland Stadium Club Stand Stadion GOSiR Arka Gdynia Górka Stadion Miejski Lech Poznań Kocioł Polish Army Stadium Legia Warszawa Żyleta Portugal Stadium Club Stand Estádio do Dragão F.C. Porto Topo Sul Estádio das Antas F.C. Porto Curva Norte Estádio da Luz S.L. Benfica Topo Sul Estádio José Alvalade Sporting Clube de Portugal Curva Sul Estádio 1º de Maio Sporting Clube de Braga Curva Norte Romania Stadium Club Stand Stadionul Steaua FC Steaua Bucureşti Peluza Nord Stadionul Steaua FC Steaua Bucureşti Peluza Sud Stadionul Giuleşti FC Rapid Bucureşti Peluza Nord 1996 Stadionul Dan Păltinişanu FC Timişoara Curva Sud Stadionul Stefan cel Mare FC Dinamo Bucureşti Peluza Catalin Haldan / Peluza Sud Stadionul Ilie Oana FC Petrolul Ploiesti Lupii Galbeni / Peluza I Stadionul Ilie Oana FC Petrolul Ploiesti Peluza Latina Stadionul Ion Oblemenco CS Universitatea Craiova Peluza Nord Russia Stadium Club Stand Petrovsky Stadium FC Zenit Saint Petersburg Virazh(Virage) (in Russian) Stadium Club Stand Lokomotiv Stadium FC Lokomotiv Moscow Jug(South) Scotland Stadium Club Stand Celtic Park Celtic Block 111 Ibrox Stadium Rangers Section BF1 Pittodrie Stadium Aberdeen RDS Centre Block Serbia Stadium Club Stand Stadion Crvena Zvezda Crvena Zvezda North Stand / Sever Stadion Partizan FK Partizan South Stand / Jug Stadion Čair FK Radnički Niš South Stand / Jug Stadion Karađorđe FK Vojvodina North Stand / Sever Omladinski Stadion OFK Beograd South Stand / Jug Spain Stadium Club Stand Estadio Vicente Calderón Atlético de Madrid Fondo Sur Estadio Santiago Bernabéu Real Madrid Fondo Sur Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera Real Betis Gol Sur Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Sevilla Gol Norte Estadi RCDE RCD Espanyol Gol Cornellà Estadio Mestalla Valencia Curva Nord Mario Alberto Kempes La Rosaleda Málaga CF Frente Bokeron / Brigadas Sur Estadio Municipal de Riazor Deportivo la Coruña Riazor Blues/Maratón inferior Sweden Stadium Club Stand Friends Arena AIK Norra Stå Tele2 Arena Djurgårdens IF Sofialäktaren (Södra Stå) Gamla Ullevi GAIS, Örgryte IS Sektion 23, Östra Stå Tele2 Arena Hammarby IF Västra Långsidan Bajen Fans 1981 Norra Stå Hammarby Ultras 1993, Ultras Boys 1999, Söder Bröder 1998, Bajen Fans flagg-Grupp, Bara Bajare 1996, Bajen Kollektivet Olympia Helsingborgs IF Södra Stå Sektion 37 Borås Arena IF Elfsborg Elfsborgsläktaren Gamla Ullevi IFK Göteborg Kommandobryggan Nya Parken IFK Norrköping Curva Nordahl Stadion Malmö FF Norra Ståplats Behrn Arena Örebro SK Västra Stå Switzerland Stadium Club Stand Letzigrund FC Zürich Südkurve St. Jakob-Park FC Basel Muttenzerkurve Tunisia Stadium Club Stand Stade Olympique de Radès ES Tunis Curva Sud Tunis Stade Olympique de Radès Club Africain Curva Nord Tunis Stade Taïeb Mhiri CS Sfaxien Curva Nord Sfax Stade Olympique de Sousse ES Sahel Curva Nord Sousse Stade Olympique de Gabes SG Gabes Curva Sud Gabes Turkey Stadium Club Stand BJK İnönü Stadı Beşiktaş J.K. Kapalı Tribün Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium Fenerbahçe SK Türk Telekom Tribünü Bursa Atatürk Stadium Bursaspor SK Teksas (taraftar grubu) Ukraine Dynamo Kyiv fans show in a match against Borussia Mönchengladbach. Stadium Club Stand Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex Dynamo Kyiv Sector'41 & Sector'43 Dnipro-Arena FC Dnipro Curva Nord (Sector'9) Ukraina Stadium Karpaty Lviv Sector 15'16 Donbas Arena Shakhtar Donetsk Sector 111'112 Metalist Oblast Sports Complex Metalist Kharkiv Curva South Chornomorets Stadium Chornomorets Odesa Sectot 20 Oleksiy Butovskyi Vorskla Stadium FC Vorskla Poltava Sectot 22 Avanhard Stadium FC Volyn Lutsk Sectot 17 Slavutych-Arena Metalurh Zaporizhya Sʹomyy Sektor Avanhard Stadium FC Zorya Luhansk Sectot'7 See also Ultras Major football rivalries References Specific ↑ "Football in Rome". Italy Heaven. Retrieved 9 July 2009. ↑ "LO STADIO OLIMPICO". Archived from the original on 6 August 2009. Retrieved 9 July 2009. ↑ Micheal Lehane (7 January 2004). "Soccer: Roma Therapy". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 9 July 2009. 1 2 "Il Derby della Capitale". CBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2009. General Testa, A. and Armstrong, G. (2008). "Words and actions: Italian ultras and neo-fascism" Social Identities, vol. 14 (4), pp. 473 – 490 Testa, A. (2009) "UltraS: an Emerging Social Movement", Review of European Studies, vol. 1 (2), 54–63 Testa, A. (2010). Contested Meanings: the Italian Media and the UltraS. Review of European Studies, vol 2(1), 15–24 Testa, A. and Armstrong, G. (in press; November 2010). Football, Fascism and Fandom: The UltraS of Italian Football, A&C (Bloomsbury), London, Black Publishers.