Manchester City Fans’ Poznan Celebration Explained

Manchester City fans have been celebrating in style since the Abu Dhabi United group bought the club back in 2018, transforming them into one of the finest teams on the planet with numerous trophies won on the blue side of Manchester. A common sight after Manchester City score a goal is for fans to turn their backs on the pitch and jump up and down in unison, a celebration which has its own name – the Poznan. The tradition started in October 2010, when Manchester City played Polish side Lech Poznan in a Europa League group stage game at the Etihad. During the game, the 6,000 travelling Poznan supporters performed an unusual celebration in the away end, turning their backs on the pitch, spreading their arms and linking with the supporter next to them, creating a wave of blue chains whilst bouncing up and down on the spot. Such was their admiration for the celebration, City fans copied the gesture in a light-hearted jest after all three of Emmanuel Adebayor’s goals in the 3-1 win. Ever since that day, City fans have adopted the celebration as their own and dubbed it the ‘Poznan’ in homage to their Polish counterparts, and it is wheeled out after particularly big goals and defining moments. The Poznan has even been mocked by opposition fans in recent years, with supporters doing the Poznan when their team scores against the Mancunians. A number of clubs around the world have also adopted the celebration, including Celtic, Eintracht Frankfurt, Ajax, FC Copenhagen and Western Sydney Wanderers. In Poland, and throughout much of Europe, the celebration is instead known as the ‘Grecque’, originally having its roots as a protest against club management whilst still supporting the team.