The greatest cult clubs in football

In a sport ever-changing on the pitch, away from the pitch, and politically, it's time to remember some clubs that have always gone against the grain for different reasons, earning a cultish title.

St Pauli is admired across European football for its counter-cultural politics and quirky outlook. The club, promoted to the Bundesliga, focuses on raising money and fighting discrimination.

Over 20,000 fans gather on a matchday to create a raucous atmosphere. The stadium is surrounded by skull-and-crossbones flags, symbolic of their crest.

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In 2001, Real Oviedo's entire existence was threatened when the club, after playing in La Liga for 13 years, experienced a financial crisis. Matters worsened two years later when a businessman facing fraud charges took the club into a deeper hole. In step the players and fans.

Sometimes, good comes in times of crisis, which happened with Oviedo. Former players Michu, Juan Mata, and Santi Cazorla dipped into their pockets and spread an initiative worldwide, with fans investing in the club from as far as Peru. Even with a new owner, the club is still part-owned by the fans, and it is a true club for the people.

Its left-wing culture defines La Liga club Rayo Vallecano. It is recognized for representing the barrio-local culture and its working-class status. Based in Madrid, the club has always been the underdog on and off the pitch.

According to the Guardian, the club in the east of Madrid opposes the modernization of football, which is fundamentally against everything Real Madrid stands for. The club has taken on campaigns against many issues, but its left-wing status and stance on football earn it its cult mantra.

Stoke is an authentic working-class community defined by fighting and going against the grain. The Stoke City football team has always represented the people in the city, and during their time in the Premier League, the club earned their cult status for how they played.

Stoke City played direct and physical football when football was changing to a slicker passing style. They grew the grass on the pitch to stop teams from playing and used Rory Delap to catapult throw-ins into the box. The rivalry with Arsene Wenger and Arsenal will go in history. Could you do it on a cold, wet, rainy night in Stoke?

In a league of stars in the 1990s, Italian club Parma quickly became a cult club in Serie A. They became the underdog, challenging the established Italian teams and successfully doing it with some unsung folk legends.

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Parma never won the Serie A, but in 1999, they won the Coppa Italia, UEFA Cup, and Supercoppa Italia with the likes of Fabio Cannavaro, Hernan Crespo, and Gianluigi Buffon. They gained an army of loyal fans despite financially imploding after their success.

St Etienne was a small team that threatened to dominate the biggest clubs in Europe. It reached the European Cup final in 1976 and won ten league titles. They developed Michel Platini, Laurent Blanc, and Blaise Matuidi in the most stylish football kits.

'Les Verts' was the first French club broadcast on television, helping them create the first cult following in French football, per the New European. Their stunning kits gave fans a flavour of football outside of France when they could only watch the European Cup.

Livorno is the ultimate cult club with the political ideals most popular today. The reputation of their fans is that they are leftie communists, and that's probably because the Italian communist party was founded there in 1921.

You could still find pictures of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro in their small, crumbling stadium. The Serie D team has ten ultra groups who protest and sing about anything against modern football's grain. It is a proper cult club.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments if you believe we have missed anything!

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