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| Foto: Ultras Avanti |
Crotone’s organised supporters, commonly known as the Pitagorici, have built a terrace culture shaped by local pride, generational continuity and the ancient Greek identity of their city. Their home is the Curva Sud Giorgio Manzulli at the Ezio Scida Stadium, where the main collective, Curva Sud Crotone, leads the support behind a single banner. Although smaller in number than some of Italy’s most famous fanbases, the Crotone ultras have developed a recognisable identity based on loyalty, sacrifice and an uncompromising defence of their colours.
The name Pitagorici refers to Crotone’s connection with the ancient Greek city of Kroton and the philosopher Pythagoras, who established his school there. This history is regularly represented through banners inspired by Magna Graecia, Greek warriors, classical symbols and the city’s red-and-blue colours. For the supporters, these images are not decorative references but expressions of belonging to a city with a history older than modern Italy itself.
The First Organised Groups
The roots of Crotone’s ultras movement can be traced to 1978, when the Teddy Boys appeared in the Distinti section of the Ezio Scida. At a time when organised support was spreading across Italy, they introduced a more structured and militant way of following the rossoblù. Flags, scarves, banners and coordinated chanting gradually replaced the looser forms of support that had previously characterised the stadium. Commando Ultrà followed in 1982 and soon became one of the most influential names in the emerging scene. The two groups joined forces in 1984 under the name Commando Ultrà Teddy Boys, commonly abbreviated to CUTB. Their sector became known as the “Curva Matta”, or Crazy Curve, reflecting the spontaneous and intense atmosphere created by the young supporters.
Other groups appeared around the CUTB during the 1980s, including the Fighters. The movement was still concentrated primarily in the Distinti, as the Ezio Scida had not yet developed the structure it has today. Organisation remained relatively informal, but an independent ultras identity was already taking shape. The same year that CUTB was established also brought a historic friendship with the supporters of Rende. Although this relationship later became less visible due to changing generations and the lack of regular meetings, it belongs to the earliest period of organised Crotone support.
Fossa Ionica and the Crisis of the Early 1990s
Fossa Ionica was founded in 1987 and became another important component of the Crotone scene. Its name reflected the city’s location on the Ionian coast and strengthened the connection between the supporters and their territory. Fossa Ionica operated alongside CUTB rather than immediately replacing it, giving the stadium several active identities.
The final years of the decade brought a difficult period. Poor results, relegation from Serie C2 and the financial collapse of Kroton Calcio in 1991 weakened both the club and its following. The crisis did not end organised support, but it reduced numbers and forced the movement to adapt while the city’s main team attempted to rebuild from the regional divisions. The creation of the modern FC Crotone structure in the early 1990s was followed by a rapid rise through the divisions. The recovery of the team brought younger supporters back to the stadium and created the conditions for a new generation of groups. This period would eventually transform both the scale and organisation of the Crotone ultras movement.
The Rise of the Nasty Boys
The Nasty Boys appeared during the 1996–97 season, when Crotone were competing in the Campionato Nazionale Dilettanti. The group emerged following divisions and a wider reorganisation within Fossa Ionica rather than through a simple change of name. Its first banner was reportedly displayed during an away match against Gravina.
The Nasty Boys quickly became the leading force of Crotone’s organised support. Their mentality was based on constant attendance, active participation and the belief that belonging to the group required sacrifices throughout the week, not only during the match. By the early 2000s, the group reportedly had around 120 to 130 members, while its influence extended far beyond formal membership. Their rise coincided with one of the most exciting periods in the club’s history. Crotone climbed from the amateur divisions to Serie C2, Serie C1 and eventually Serie B. The Nasty Boys followed the team through this journey and became the central voice of a generation that had experienced both the difficulties of regional football and the return to the professional leagues.
Gioventù Pitagorica was established in 1997 and represented another important current within the fanbase. It developed its own identity, published the fanzine Il Pitagoriko and openly expressed left-wing ideas. Tribuni Sezione CUTB, composed partly of members of the older generation, also helped preserve a connection with the movement’s origins. As the scene expanded, other groups and neighbourhood sections appeared. Vecchio Stampo was founded in 2003, followed by Crotoniati in 2006. Together with provincial sections and informal crews, they demonstrated that organised support was no longer limited to one generation or district of the city.
From the Distinti to the Curva Sud
Changes to the Ezio Scida forced the supporters to relocate several times. The active groups moved from the Distinti to an earlier version of the Curva Sud, before temporarily occupying the newly constructed Curva Nord during the 1999-2000 season. Once renovation work was completed, they settled in the rebuilt Curva Sud in the 2000-01 campaign.
The move coincided with Crotone’s first season in Serie B and gave organised support a permanent home behind the goal. In 2001, the sector was dedicated to Giorgio Manzulli, a Crotone supporter who had died tragically. His name became inseparable from the stand, which is now properly known as the Curva Sud Giorgio Manzulli.
The Manzulli curva offered the fanbase a space in which banners, flags and coordinated chanting could develop on a larger scale. It became the centre of Crotone’s visual and vocal support during the Nasty Boys era. Even when the team returned to the lower divisions, the Curva Sud remained the symbolic home of the rossoblù ultras.
Repression, Generational Change and Unification
The Italian ultras movement changed dramatically in 2007 following the introduction of stricter security laws and stadium regulations. Increased controls, stadium bans, restrictions on banners and limits on away travel affected groups throughout the country. Crotone’s scene was not immune to these pressures.
The Nasty Boys continued their activity until 2011, completing approximately fifteen years as one of the most important groups in the city’s fan history. Their disappearance formed part of a wider generational change that also affected Crotoniati, Vecchio Stampo and other established identities. Rather than allowing the Curva Sud to fragment completely, the remaining supporters chose a different organisational model. Curva Sud Crotone was established in 2011 as a unified collective. Different generations, neighbourhoods and provincial sections gathered behind one name rather than displaying a collection of competing group banners. The decision created a common identity intended to place Crotone, the city and the rossoblù colours above individual organisations.
This unified structure remains one of the defining characteristics of the modern Curva Sud. Its members have repeatedly described themselves as a community rather than simply a matchday group. Home support, away travel, social initiatives and remembrance of deceased members are organised through the shared identity of the curva. The collective has also declared itself apolitical. This does not erase the political history of earlier groups such as Gioventù Pitagorica, but it means that party propaganda and external political control are officially rejected in the present Curva Sud. The common principle is that people with different personal opinions stand together in defence of the same city and colours.
The Curva Nord Experience
A separate current developed around supporters connected to Gioventù Pitagorica. In 2004, part of this scene reorganised around the Assenze Arbitrarie identity, created in support of fans affected by stadium bans. The group moved from the Curva Sud to the Distinti before establishing itself in the Curva Nord from 2011.
The northern sector did not initially have one permanent official name and was often described simply as the “Gruppo della Nord”. It maintained a more independent identity from the unified Curva Sud and continued some of the traditions associated with Gioventù Pitagorica. In later years, the Ultras 1997 name was used by supporters connected to Gioventù Pitagorica and Assenze Arbitrarie. Although the Curva Nord represented an important stage in Crotone’s supporter history, it is no longer generally described as a second central organisation equal to the Curva Sud. Contemporary organised support is primarily associated with Curva Sud Crotone and the Giorgio Manzulli stand. The history of the northern group should therefore be presented as part of the movement’s evolution rather than as an unchanged description of the present scene.
The Road to Serie A
The first promotion to Serie B in 2000 transformed the scale of football in Crotone. The stadium was rebuilt, attendances increased and the supporters found themselves travelling to grounds that had previously seemed far removed from the club’s reality. Although relegations followed, the fanbase remained attached to a team that continued to move between Serie B and Serie C. The rivalry with Benevento gained additional intensity through repeated promotion battles. Crotone defeated the Campanian side during their rise through Serie C and again in the 2009 play-offs, securing a return to Serie B. These meetings helped turn Benevento into one of the most significant non-regional rivals for the Pitagorici.
The greatest moment came on 29 April 2016, when approximately 1,200 Crotone supporters travelled to Modena. A 1–1 draw secured the club’s first promotion to Serie A, completing a journey from regional football to the highest division in Italy. The scenes in the away end and the celebrations that followed in Crotone represented the fulfilment of a dream shared by several generations. Crotone spent two consecutive seasons in Serie A and later returned for the 2020–21 campaign. Results eventually brought the team back to the lower divisions, but the experience changed how the club and city were viewed across Italy. For the ultras, however, the principles remained the same regardless of category: presence, loyalty and defence of the shirt.
Identity, Memory and Community
The modern Curva Sud Crotone combines matchday support with activities intended to preserve the history of the local movement. One of its most important initiatives is the memorial Tramandare per non Dimenticare, dedicated to ultras and supporters who have died. The event brings together different generations and ensures that younger members understand the people and groups that shaped the curva before them.
The memorial reflects the meaning of the unified Curva Sud banner. Teddy Boys, CUTB, Fossa Ionica, Nasty Boys, Gioventù Pitagorica, Vecchio Stampo and Crotoniati belonged to different eras, but their histories are treated as parts of the same movement. The objective is not to revive every old group but to preserve the values and memories that connect them. The Greek identity of the city remains another central feature. References to Pythagoras, Kroton, Magna Graecia and ancient warriors regularly appear in supporter imagery. These symbols distinguish Crotone from other Italian fanbases and reinforce the belief that the curva represents both a football club and a territory with its own cultural history.
Friendships
The strongest and most visible modern friendship is with sections of Catania’s organised support, particularly groups traditionally based in the Sicilian club’s Curva Sud. The relationship was strengthened in 2001 following the death of Catania ultra Fabrizio Lo Presti in a road accident while travelling to an away match. Crotone supporters expressed solidarity with his family and the Catania curve through banners that remained remembered by both sides.
The relationship has continued through mutual visits and gestures of respect, although it is more accurate to describe it as a friendship between particular sections of the two scenes rather than an official alliance involving every group. The bond with Catania has also influenced some of Crotone’s rivalries, particularly the more recent hostility towards Messina. A significant friendship also developed with the supporters of Virtus Entella. During a meeting between the clubs in 2016, an Entella fan lost a wallet containing personal documents and approximately €1,700. A Crotone supporter found it and ensured that everything was returned, strengthening a relationship that had already included hospitality and mutual visits.
Historical friendships and respectful contacts have also existed with Cavese and Ancona. The Cavese relationship was particularly associated with the former Gioventù Pitagorica, while the connection with Ancona developed during the late 1990s and was strengthened when the clubs competed near the top of Serie C1. Both became less visible during long periods without direct meetings but remained part of Crotone’s network of terrace relationships. The former link with Empoli mainly involved Gioventù Pitagorica and the Tuscan group Desperados. Contacts with Bologna were similarly connected to particular individuals and the Forever Ultras group rather than the entire Bologna fanbase. An international friendship was also reported with supporters of the Greek club Panachaiki, fitting naturally with Crotone’s strong identification with its Hellenic origins.
Older generations maintained relationships with supporters from Rende, Marsala, Ragusa, Sambenedettese, Ostuni, Leonzio and Lanciano. Some were once considered twinnings, while others were friendships between individual groups. Most should now be regarded as historical contacts whose intensity changed after groups disappeared or the clubs stopped meeting regularly. Relations with Cosenza are based primarily on mutual respect rather than an official twinning. Sections of the two fanbases have recognised shared local values and common rivalries with Catanzaro and Reggina. The relationship should therefore be described as good relations between parts of the two scenes, not as a formal brotherhood.
Rivalries
Crotone’s most important regional rivalry is with Catanzaro. It is shaped by territorial identity, proximity and the historical connection between the two areas, as Crotone formed part of the province of Catanzaro until the creation of its own province in 1992. Meetings between the clubs have frequently produced intense atmospheres, restrictions on travelling supporters and confrontations between sections of the two fanbases.
The rivalry with Reggina is another central part of the Pitagorici identity. Their meeting is known as the Derby della Magna Grecia, a name reflecting the ancient Greek histories of Crotone and Reggio Calabria. Although the clubs had faced one another in the lower divisions for decades, the rivalry intensified after they first met in Serie B in 2001. During that period, an incident involving a Crotone banner contributed to the transition from a relatively neutral relationship to open hostility. One of the most memorable results came on 15 March 2014, when Crotone won 4–1 in Reggio Calabria. The defeat did not mathematically relegate Reggina that day, but it became one of the defining moments of a season that eventually ended with their demotion.
Benevento are among Crotone’s strongest rivals outside Calabria. Promotion battles, play-off meetings and repeated encounters in Serie C have given the fixture particular importance. The rivalry became even more intense after Crotone defeated Benevento in the 2009 play-offs to return to Serie B. Relations with Lecce are also highly hostile. Serious clashes occurred at the San Pelagio motorway service area in May 2010, when Crotone and Lecce supporters crossed paths while travelling to separate matches in northern Italy. The incident reinforced an existing rivalry and remains one of the most serious confrontations associated with the two fanbases.
Hostility also exists towards Salernitana, partly influenced by the close friendship between Salernitana and Reggina. Other significant or historical rivalries involve Avellino, Palermo, Juve Stabia, Foggia, Bari, Taranto and Verona. Their intensity has changed depending on direct meetings, incidents and relationships with other supporter scenes. Vigor Lamezia was once one of Crotone’s fiercest regional rivals, particularly until the middle of the 1980s. The relationship later lost some of its intensity as the clubs spent long periods in different divisions. More recent tensions have developed with Messina, Brescia and Fiorentina, but these do not carry the same historical weight as the rivalries with Catanzaro, Reggina or Benevento.
From Teddy Boys to Curva Sud Crotone
The history of Crotone’s organised support is defined by repeated transformation. The Teddy Boys and Commando Ultrà established the first foundations, CUTB created the Curva Matta, Fossa Ionica represented the Ionian identity of the city and the Nasty Boys became the leading force during the club’s climb through the divisions. Gioventù Pitagorica, Vecchio Stampo, Crotoniati and numerous smaller sections added their own ideas and generations to the movement.
The creation of Curva Sud Crotone in 2011 did not erase those identities. It brought their experiences together under one banner at the Curva Sud Giorgio Manzulli. The decision to unite remains the defining feature of the modern scene and explains why historical group names are still remembered even when they are no longer displayed.
Crotone’s ultras culture is built on the relationship between the city’s ancient past and its modern working-class reality. Greek symbols, red-and-blue flags, away journeys and the memory of deceased supporters all form part of the same identity. From the Distinti of 1978 to the unified Curva Sud of today, the Pitagorici have continued to represent Crotone in their own unmistakable way.