Top 10 Best Soccer Chants
- Soccer Chants: An Introduction
- Famous Soccer Chants
- Club-Wide Hatred For Luis?
- The Color Controversy
- One Song
- Blame the Ref
- Oh My Darling, Clementine
- A Mutual Hatred of England?
- Nasty Abuse Directed at Team Mascot
- Celtic Mock Mental Illness
- Whitney Houston’s Effect on Palace
- The Beach Boys and Dyson!
- Frequently Asked Questions
Head to almost any soccer stadium in the UK, and you don’t have to get close to hear the action. British soccer fans are infamous for their loud nature at games, and they also love to sing or chant. Whether it’s a catchy tune or a dig at a player or team, it’s pretty hard to find a match for the energy of an English soccer stadium and its fans.
Today, we’re going to look at some of the best soccer chants you might hear if you watch British soccer.
Soccer Chants: An Introduction
Soccer chants are an integral part of the game, and you can hear them at virtually any major soccer game in the UK. From simple one-liners to entire verses, these chants bring fans together and inspire players on the field, although, in true English fashion, some can also be pretty rude, and even nasty at times. In this blog, we’ll look at some of the most famous soccer chants, looking at why they’re sung and what their meaning is.
Famous Soccer Chants
Soccer fans are incredibly passionate about their sport, and one of the most exciting things about attending a game in person is hearing the famous soccer chants. Whether you’re in a packed stadium or beside a small minor league pitch, soccer fans are often coming up with ingenious, funny, and often rude chants.
Chants can motivate a team to win or intimidate the opponents, and many believe they’re an incredibly important part of the game. While it’s possible to hear good soccer chants on TV, they’re not usually picked up well by microphones, and censors sometimes mute them altogether if they get too rude.
As a result, it’s much better to attend a British soccer game in person to experience the true sensation. If you’re not able to just hop on a plane to the UK, however, you can still enjoy the action from the US. One of the best ways of doing so is online mobile betting on soccer games, and if that’s something that interests you, make sure you check out our recommended US-friendly sportsbooks.
Let’s not wait any longer, though. Here are some of our favorite soccer chants and songs.
Club-Wide Hatred For Luis?
Chant: “He cheats, he dives, he hates the Jackson Five, Luis Suarez, Luis Suarez.”
This chant is often heard from opposing fans as a jab at striker Luis Suarez’s on-field antics. The chant references Suarez’s habit of exaggerating contact and his involvement in several controversial incidents throughout his career, including allegations of him biting opponents.
The inclusion of “He hates the Jackson Five” is an accusation that Suarez is racist. While the chant may be seen as disrespectful by some, it shows how much of a polarizing figure Suarez is. For example, when his team was eliminated in the 2022 World Cup, many English soccer fans took great happiness in seeing him so upset on live TV.
The Color Controversy
Chant: “We’ve come for our scarves, we’ve come for our scarves, we’re Norwich City, we’ve come for our scarves.”
This chant was born out of a protest by Manchester United fans against the club’s owners, the Glazer family, although it’s actually Norwich City fans who sing it. When Old Trafford fans were told about the sale of their beloved club, they stopped wearing the iconic red clothing associated with the team.
Instead, they started wearing green and gold scarves, the colors that the club used to wear right at the beginning back in 1878, when they were known as Newton Heath.
When Norwich City played United, the Canaries fans noticed how similar United’s new colors looked to theirs, and started singing this harmless chant, saying that United had “stolen” their colors.
One Song
Chant: “One Song! We’ve only got one Song! We’ve only got one Song! We’ve only got one Song!”
This chant is a playful tribute to former Arsenal midfielder Alex Song. Originally used by opposing fans of any team deemed to lack original chants, it’s sung along to the tune of Blue Moon. The original went: “One Song! You’ve only got one song! You’ve only got one song! You’ve only got one song!
However, Arsenal started singing a variation of it, as displayed at the top of this section. It’s unclear when the revised version of the song was first chanted, but shows how much respect Gunners fans had for Alex.
Blame the Ref
Chant: “Time to blame the referee.”
This chant was heard during a match between Manchester United and Chelsea in 2012, just a few days after they’d both played each other in another game. In the first game, United defeated Chelsea in a gripping match. However, a lot of controversy followed the match, with many questioning several of the decisions made by the referee.
Chelsea fans made accusations about Mark Clattenburg, the referee, and when the two teams played a few days later, United fans started chanting this now-iconic line after they went 3-2 up.
Oh My Darling, Clementine
Chant: “Tom Vermaelen, Tom Vermaelen, Tom Vermaelen Number 5, f*** your Rooneys, f*** your Drogbas, ‘cause he’ll eat those c**** alive!”
This chant, while not the politest (by a long stretch) is sung to the tune of “Oh My Darling, Clementine”, a classic American Western folk ballad. It’s about Arsenal’s center back, Thomas Vermaelen.
This celebratory chant also takes a playful jab at two of the Premier League’s most famous players, Wayne Rooney and Didier Drogba. While the language is very strong, it shows you just how creative English soccer fans can be, and for many, it’s one of the funniest famous soccer chants in the EPL!
A Mutual Hatred of England?
Chant: “We hate England, we hate England, we hate England more than you! We hate England more than you!”
This chant was heard during a match between Wales and Scotland, and it’s sung to the tune of “Bread of Heaven.” While it’s definitely not a politically correct song, it’s basically a tongue-in-cheek way for Scottish fans to express their dislike of their southern neighbors.
Without getting into too much detail, many in Scotland want independence from the UK, although a vote was held and the majority of Scots voted against leaving the United Kingdom. Many Welsh also have negative feelings towards England.
Nasty Abuse Directed at Team Mascot
Chant: “Your head’s too big for you! Your head’s too big for you! Your head’s too big for you! Your head’s too big for you!”
When it comes to chants that have an abusive tone, they’re almost always about specific players, managers, or referees. However, a group of Ipswich Town fans decided to torment Barnsley’s mascot, Toby Tyke, during a clash between the two teams.
The Ipswich Town fans sang the chant to the tune of “La Donna E Mobile” from Verdi’s Rigoletto. Luckily the mascot dog was able to take the chant in good humor!
Celtic Mock Mental Illness
Chant: “There’s only two Andy Gorams! Two Andy Gorams! There’s only two Andy Gorams! Two Andy Gorams!”
It’s common to hear a team celebrating a player’s talents by singing: “There’s only one [Player]! One [Player]! There’s only one [Player]! One [Player].”
It’s sung to the tune of “Guantanamera”, and it’s usually one of the most appreciative soccer chants for players – or at least it was, until Celtic fans started singing the version we opened this section with.
They started singing it during a match with their rival, Rangers, as the opposition’s goalkeeper, Andy Goram, had reportedly recently been diagnosed with schizophrenia, a serious illness that should never be joked about.
This was not the first time Celtic fans have been involved in controversy, and a small subset of the club’s fan base appears to live in a different world to the rest of us in terms of understanding what’s morally (and even potentially legally) acceptable, and what’s not.
Whitney Houston’s Effect on Palace
Chant: “N’Diaye-e-i will always love you-oo-oo-oo-ou!”
This chant is a good example of what the best soccer chants look like. They don’t insult anyone, and mix popular culture (in this case, Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You”) into the game.
Alassane N’Diaye, a French-Senegalese midfielder for Crystal Palace quickly earned respect from his team’s fans, and they sang this chant in celebration and honor of him.
The Beach Boys and Dyson!
Chant: “We’ve got Novak, we’ve got Nova-a-ak, our carpets are filthy, we’ve got Novak.”
In some parts of the world, the word “vac” is used as a colloquial abbreviation for a vacuum cleaner. Huddersfield Town fans decided to utilize this for their lead striker, Lee Novak, and they sang this chant along to the tune of “Sloop John B” by The Beach Boys.
Below, we’re going to show you a few more soccer chants to give you even more of an idea of what to expect at a British soccer game:
Player/Team | Chant |
---|---|
Craig Woodman | “No Woodman, no cry.” |
Emile Heskey | “There’s only one Emile Heskey, one Emile Heskey. He used to be s***e, but now he’s all right, walking in a Heskey wonderland.” |
Unknown Referee | “You’re supposed to be a gnome, you’re supposed to be a gnome.” |
Various | “Sacked in the morning, you’ll get the sack in the morning.” |
Dirk Kuyt | “Rafa’s got his Dirk Kuyt, Rafa’s got his Dirk Kuyt, nah nah nah nah.” |
Fabricio Coloccini | “Oh Coloccini, you are the love of my life, oh Coloccini, I’d let you s**g my wife, oh Coloccini, I want curly hair tooooooooooo!” |
As you can see, British football fans can often get pretty intense with their chanting. While most of the best soccer chants are sung in good humor, some fans do start to get carried away, although the EPL is now much better at taking action against racism, homophobia, and discrimination. If fans are caught being discriminatory, they can be banned from soccer stadiums for life.