Wikipedia

USM Alger supporters

USM Alger Supporters have special songs for each rival club. Their repertoire also includes sociopolitical songs with committed lyrics such as “Qilouna!” (leave us alone!), La casa del Mouradia, Babur ellouh, etc. These songs resonate widely among the Algerian population. In 2019, during the protests that Algeria experienced, the songs of the group Ouled El Bahdja were covered by demonstrators across the country, thus propelling them to the forefront of the international scene.[1] Some ultra groups existed such as the “I Rossi Algeri” or the “Ultras Diablos”, but they disbanded around 2010.[2]

Tifo Groupe UNITED 37 against AS FAR in the quarterfinals of the 2022–23 CAF Confederation Cup

The famous Musical Group, “Groupe Milano”, created in the 1990s, also represents a large part of Usmist musical and artistic culture, contributing in the past to the production of many popular songs among USMA supporters, sung so far in the stadiums. The Milano Group was also one of the first groups of supporters to produce stadium songs, as well as socio-political songs at that time, during the black decade that Algeria experienced, the group, known for his exceptional music and covers during the 1900s and 2000s, continues to produce songs for the club occasionally.

Accidents

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On July 5, 1997, in the middle of the Algerian Civil War, three USM Alger supporters who were celebrating their team's victory in the Algerian Cup were murdered at a false roadblock at Frais Vallon.[3]

On 21 September 2013, during a match against MC Alger, two supporters of USM Alger died and several hundred spectators were injured after part of the stadium collapsed. The incident occurred ten minutes after the end of the match.[4][5] Following the incident, there was a plan to destroy the whole stadium, but it was ultimately decided that only the upper terraces would be completely removed and renovate, during which the stadium was closed.

On 9 September 2018, seventy minutes into a match between USM Alger and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in the Arab Club Champions Cup, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya's players withdrew in protest at offensive chants from spectators,[6] including mentioning the name of the former president Saddam Hussein and anti-Shia slogans. The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Algeria's ambassador in Baghdad over "sectarian chants" made by Algerian fans. Ahmed Mahjoub, Iraq's foreign affairs spokesperson, expressed "the government and the people of Iraq's indignation ... at the glorification of the horrible face of Saddam Hussein's deadly dictatorial regime". Later, General Manager Abdelhakim Serrar apologized to the Iraqi team for fan behavior. The goalkeeper and captain, Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche, also apologized to the Iraqi delegation for the conduct of the supporters.[7]

Rivalries and friendships

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The Cercle of USM Alger where the team's supporters meet

The principal and oldest rivalry of Ouled EL Bahdja was against supporters of MC Alger, the other football club in Algiers. Other rivalries included against supporters of CR Belouizdad, JS Kabylie, and USM El Harrach. The group had few local friendships; its only twinning was with the ultras of CS Constantine and WA Tlemcen.

At the international level, there is good friendship with supporters of Wydad AC of Morocco and Espérance de Tunis of Tunisia. Despite the diplomatic relations between Algeria and Morocco, supporters of the two teams are friendly—during the 2017 CAF Champions League, Wydad supporters received free stadium tickets to the game in Algeria, and vice versa for the second match.[8][9] During the 2019–20 CAF Champions League, Wydad's captain Brahim Nekkach presented a special gift to Algerian footballer Mohamed Lamine Zemmamouche: a 77-year-old letter from Union Sportive Musulmane Algéroise that invited Wydad Casablanca to participate in a friendly tournament in Algeria in 1943.[10]

Notable supporters

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Musician El Hadj M'Hamed El Anka was one of the biggest fans of the club.[11]

The most notable celebrity supporter of USM Alger was El Hadj M'Hamed El Anka, the Grand Master of Andalusi classical music and Algerian chaâbi music.[11] He helped the club through his revenues from concerts. On 5 July 2023, on the 86th anniversary of the founding of USM Alger, his son Al-Hadi performed an old song written by El Hadj El Anka about USM Alger.[11] Chaâbi singers El Hachemi Guerouabi,[11][12] Abdelkader Chaou,[11] and Mourad Djaafri are also famous supporters of USM Alger.

Among politicians, the most prominent fan was the first president of Algeria, Ahmed Ben Bella, who was a former player during the period of French colonialism.[13] Even after being placed under house arrest following the 1965 coup, Ben Bella kept asking about USM Alger. He was the honorary president of the club until his death in 2012.[13]

Saadi Yacef, one of the leaders of Algeria's National Liberation Front, was club president from 1972 to 1975 and also honorary president until his death in 2021.[14][15][16] Mohamed Boudiaf, an Algerian political leader and one of the founders of the National Liberation Front, was a fan of the club. Former president of the Algerian Football Federation, Mohamed Raouraoua, is a fan of the club; however, during his tenure, Raouraoua was accused of helping USM Alger and that he was behind the team's achievement of titles.

Algerian singer and rapper Soolking is also known as a big fan of The Reds and Blacks[17] and collaborated with Ouled EL Bahdja in releasing the song "Liberté". Parts of the music video for Soolking and Rim'K's song Lela (2021) were filmed at Omar Hamadi Stadium and featured supporters of USM Alger. Among Algerian athletes, fans include the track and field Olympic and world champion Djabir Saïd-Guerni, decathlete Larbi Bourrada, and footballer Adlène Guedioura (son of the former Algerian international striker Nacer and a former player for USM Alger).[18]

Additional notable supporters include:

References

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  1. ^ "Les supporters algérois chantent leur mépris pour ceux qui les gouvernent". 27 September 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  2. ^ ""Un club comme l'USMA mérite vraiment un groupe ultra digne de son histoire"". Dialectik Football. 25 March 2019. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
  3. ^ "Algérie: Nouveaux massacres". liberation.fr. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
  4. ^ "Alger : polémique après la mort de deux supporters dans un stade". france24.com. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  5. ^ "الزوالي دائما هو يخلص.....والمسؤول عن هذه الجريمة يجب أن يحاسب". elheddaf.com. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
  6. ^ "Arab C. : Quand les irakiens politisent le match face à l'USMA". dzfoot.com. 9 September 2018. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  7. ^ "Pro-Saddam chants at Algeria-Iraq football match spark diplomatic spat". middleeasteye.net. Retrieved 11 September 2018.
  8. ^ "CAF Champions League : Les supporter du Wydad remercient les Algérois pour leur accueil !". fennecfootball.com. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  9. ^ "CAF LIGUE DES CHAMPIONS : WAC-USMA À GUICHETS FERMÉS". africatopsports.com. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  10. ^ "الوداد يهدي اتحاد العاصمة وثيقة تاريخية". kooora.com. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d e "Il était une fois l'USMA…". usm-alger.com. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  12. ^ "EL HACHEMI GUEROUABI Le chaâbi et le foot, passionnément..." djazairess.com. 9 February 2006. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  13. ^ a b "L'USMA perd son président d'honneur". djazairess.com. 13 April 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  14. ^ "yacef saâdi est mort : un grand nom de le révolution s'éteint". algerie360.com. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Décès de Yacef Saadi, l'un des symboles et architectes de la Bataille d'Alger". aps.dz. 11 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Carnet Noir/USM Alger : Le président d'honneur Yacef Saâdi n'est plus". agazettedufennec.com. 10 September 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
  17. ^ "L'Algérien Soolking parle de son club de coeur". dzairdaily.com. 13 July 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  18. ^ "Adlène Guedioura, sur les traces de son père". djazairess.com. 4 May 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2022.


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