World Soccer's 50 Greatest Derbies

[Sheridan]

50: Gremio vs. Internacional
49: Tenrife vs. Las Palmas
48: Mohun Bagan vs. East Bengal
47: Sarajevo vs. Zeljeznicar
46: ASEC Abidjan vs. Africa Sports
45: Anderlecht vs. Club Brugge
44: FC Copenhagen vs. Brondby
43: Alianza Lima vs. Universitario
42: Arsenal vs. Tottenham
41: Beitar Jerusalem vs. Hapoel Tel Aviv
40: Hajduk Split vs. Dinamo Zagreb
39: Barcelona vs. Emelec
38: Rapid Wien vs. Austria Wien
37: Basle vs. Zurich
36: Raja Casablanca vs. Wydad Casablanca
35: America vs. Deportivo Cali
34: Genoa vs. Sampdoria
33: CSKA Sofia vs. Levski Sofia
32: AIK Stockhold vs. Djurgardens
31: Ferencvaros vs. Ujpest
30: Cerro Porteno vs. Olimpia
29: Rosario Central vs. Newell's Old Boys
28: Liverpool vs. Manchester United
27: Corinthians vs. Santos
26: Slavia Prague vs. Sparta Prague
25: Kaizer Chiefs vs. Orlando Pirates
24: Steaua Bucharest vs. Dinamo Bucharest
23: Spartak Moscow vs. CSKA Moscow
22: Pirouzi vs. Esteghlal
21: Nacional vs. Penarol
20: America vs. Guadalajara
19: Racing Club vs. Independiente
18: Corinthians vs. Sao Paulo
17: Benfica vs. Porto
16: Athletic Bilbao vs. Real Sociedad
15: Milan vs. Internazionale
14: Olympiakos vs. Panathinaikos
13: Flamengo vs. Vasco da Gama
12: Juventus vs. Fiorentina
11: Marseille vs. Paris Saint-Germain
10: Partizan Belgrade vs. Red Star Belgrade
9: Betis vs. Sevilla
8: Al Ahly vs. Zamalek
7: Schalke vs. Borussia Dortmund
6: Lazio vs. Roma
5: Ajax vs. Feyenoord
4: Galatasaray vs. Fenerbahce
3: Celtic vs. Rangers
2: Boca Juniors vs. River Plate
1: Real Madrid vs. Barcelona

[jebus]

Some of those aren't even proper derbies, number one for example

[Mr Maroon]

Who decided this?

[Sheridan]

World Soccer magazine. (Sorry, I didn't realise the title was ambiguous as I never refer to football as soccer.) Specifically, Peterjon Cresswell, Tim Vickery, Mark Gleeson, Sid Lowe, Martin del Palacio Langer and John Holmesdale.

[Mr Maroon]

World Soccer magazine. (Sorry, I didn't realise the title was ambiguous as I never refer to football as soccer.)
Oh I get ya now. ;)

[Dodge]

Some of those aren't even proper derbies, number one for example

Ah that old chestnut. I'm one of those who believe that location doesn't matter but either way is it worth arguing about?

Can't argue with the top 6 games anyway (although the Barca v Real game is bigger in Barcelona than Madrid...)

[jebus]

Ah that old chestnut. I'm one of those who believe that location doesn't matter but either way is it worth arguing about?

Can't argue with the top 6 games anyway (although the Barca v Real game is bigger in Barcelona than Madrid...)

It holds a lot of sway in the discussion though. No way is Real Madrid losing to Barcelona as painful for their fans as Lazio losing to Roma, or Rangers losing to Celtic, well the ones who live in Rome and Glasgow anyway

[Dodge]

It holds a lot of sway in the discussion though. No way is Real Madrid losing to Barcelona as painful for their fans as Lazio losing to Roma, or Rangers losing to Celtic, well the ones who live in Rome and Glasgow anyway
You have no idea about Madrid v Barcelona so...

[monutdfc]

Is number 8 the Egyptian one? Saw it on tv once, it goes in at number 1 for me!

[jebus]

You have no idea about Madrid v Barcelona so...

Barca go to Madrid, Barca lose, Barca fans go home and pine among their own crowd, Barca and Madrid play different teams the next weekend, Madrid lose and Barca win, all is nearly forgotten.

Lazio play Roma in their shared stadium, Lazio lose, Lazio fans hear about it non stop until they next play each other regardless of how next week's matches go

[Dodge]

Barca go to Madrid, Barca lose, Barca fans go home and pine among their own crowd, Barca and Madrid play different teams the next weekend, Madrid lose and Barca win, all is nearly forgotten.


It goes way way deeperthan just being annoyed because your mates team won. There's political, social and cultural reasons why this game is the biggest in europe. In the week leading up to whole newspapers in Spain are devoted to it.

Oha nd btw its the only game on the list I've been to.

[centre mid]

A lot of those are grudge matches as opposed to Derbies.

[Rovers fan]

Barca go to Madrid, Barca lose, Barca fans go home and pine among their own crowd, Barca and Madrid play different teams the next weekend, Madrid lose and Barca win, all is nearly forgotten.

Lazio play Roma in their shared stadium, Lazio lose, Lazio fans hear about it non stop until they next play each other regardless of how next week's matches go

How do you know?

[jebus]

It goes way way deeperthan just being annoyed because your mates team won. There's political, social and cultural reasons why this game is the biggest in europe. In the week leading up to whole newspapers in Spain are devoted to it.

The Spanish newspapers are even worse than their English counterparts for shilling their rags. I'm not saying it isn't the biggest game in europe, but it isn't the biggest derby if you get where I'm coming from.


How do you know?

Because I did a survey of every single Madrid and Barcelona fan last year and compared them to a survey I did 10 years of every single Roma and Lazio fan. Turns out Spanish prefer less talking on their radio stations too

[Dodge]

A lot of those are grudge matches as opposed to Derbies.

But its only england (and obviously surronding small countries) that use the term Derby to mean local derby. Elsewhere its just the biggest rivalry

[forza rovers]

28: Liverpool vs. Manchester Unitedsurly that should be Everton?

[Dodge]

surly that should be Everton?
Nah Liverpool v Utd is bigger now. Its another one of those cultural things. Scousers despise Mancs and vice versa.

I'm sure some Liverpool fans will say Everton is their big game,and maybe even amajority of Utd fans will say City is the massive ;) one for them but for overall interest, both are down the list

[TheBoss]

Celtic v Rangers has to be the No. 1, the amount of titles between 2 teams from one city, makes it the biggest for me.

[Wangball]

I've went to 3 Old Firm Derby matches when I lived in Glasgow, 2 in Celtic Park and one in Hampden...nothing better than when you win and crushing when you lose because nearly everywhere you got the first question your asked is Celtic or Rangers...it means so much to everyone

Aberdeen Rangers should of maybe snuck in there too....its possibly more heated than the Old Firm and its purely football no religious aspect involved at all

[Mr Maroon]

Is number 8 the Egyptian one? Saw it on tv once, it goes in at number 1 for me!
Yes, number 8 is "the Egyptian one".

[Dodge]

Aberdeen Rangers should of maybe snuck in there too....its possibly more heated than the Old Firm and its purely football

Of course it is...

[ciaraa]

Aberdeen Rangers should of maybe snuck in there too....its possibly more heated than the Old Firm and its purely football no religious aspect involved at all

No religious aspect at all you say? How wonderful. They sure are an advanced bunch up there.

[HarpoJoyce]

Is it supposed to be rival matches of this season? 'Cos I seen Sampdoria versus Genoa and Juventus versus...Fiorentina. I have to say that any ROME versus Juventus and MILAN versus Juventus should be considered a big game, I don't understand the criteria for the list. Other then listing 50 current big games.

[OwlsFan]

Newcastle vs "Roy Keane's Sunderland" and not forgetting the Sheffield derby. Even if the latter were played in the 3rd division, it would still be a sell out.

[Bluebeard]

Yup, bogus list. No sign of the Sheffield, Manchester, Liverpool or the various London Derbies. No mention of Legia and Polonia Warsaw, nor of even the "Polish Derby" between Legia and Wislaw Krakov. I didn't expect mention of Rovers - Bohs, Linfield and Glens or any other Irish variation. Betis Sevilla only coming in 9th? Steaua Dinamo only 24th? Juve Fiorentina the second biggest Italian Derby?

Nope, that, my friends, is a list of the world's biggest accessible footballing league events. perfect for the three-day-eventers who fancy a day out without having to get too involved and can say that they were at one of Europe's premier sporting occasions. Come back next month for a list of the world's fifty biggest footballing pilgrimages, brought to you by Ryanair.:mad:

[Macy]

Going by the bogus definition of a derby, I would've put United v Liverpool higher. But I would agree with the argument that a derby is within a city. It's just not as in your face for weeks if you're in different cities imo.

[shakermaker1982]

I cannot believe they missed out Nottingham Forest - Notts Co. On a more serious note Forest-Derby isn't a bad 'Derby'.

[Torn-Ado]

The largest youth tournament in the world is on over here for the week and for the first time in three years there is Irish interest. Dundalk schoolboys league are playing in the U-18, Mungret Regional in the U-15 and Lourdes Celtic in U-14.

Dundalk finished second in their group which included two Swedish teams and a Lebanese team. They won two acomphrehensively and lost the last one to the group winner. Mungret finished bottom of their group losing 14-0 to the Russians and Lourdes Celtic finsihed second losing only to FC Copenhagen in the U-14.

Good luck to Dundalk and Lourdes celtic who qualify for the next round.

[Torn-Ado]

The largest youth tournament in the world is on over here for the week and for the first time in three years there is Irish interest. Dundalk schoolboys league are playing in the U-18, Mungret Regional in the U-15 and Lourdes Celtic in U-14.

Dundalk finished second in their group which included two Swedish teams and a Lebanese team. They won two acomphrehensively and lost the last one to the group winner. Mungret finished bottom of their group losing 14-0 to the Russians and Lourdes Celtic finsihed second losing only to FC Copenhagen in the U-14.

Good luck to Dundalk and Lourdes celtic who qualify for the next round.

B0ll0x.

This was meant to be a thread by itself. Can a mod make this a thread. :o

[superfrank]

I would've had Juve-Inter higher up then Juve-Fiorentina.

No mention of the FlaFlu derby either.

[Closed Account 2]

39: Barcelona vs. Emelec
38: Rapid Wien vs. Austria Wien
37: Basle vs. Zurich
36: Raja Casablanca vs. Wydad Casablanca
35: America vs. Deportivo Cali
34: Genoa vs. Sampdoria
33: CSKA Sofia vs. Levski Sofia
32: AIK Stockholm vs. Djurgardens
31: Ferencvaros vs. Ujpest
30: Cerro Porteno vs. Olimpia
29: Rosario Central vs. Newell's Old Boys
28: Liverpool vs. Manchester United
27: Corinthians vs. Santos (just about... it would be like Watford being a London derby)
26: Slavia Prague vs. Sparta Prague
25: Kaizer Chiefs vs. Orlando Pirates
24: Steaua Bucharest vs. Dinamo Bucharest
23: Spartak Moscow vs. CSKA Moscow
22: Pirouzi vs. Esteghlal (not 100% sure)
21: Nacional vs. Penarol
20: America vs. Guadalajara
19: Racing Club vs. Independiente
18: Corinthians vs. Sao Paulo
17: Benfica vs. Porto
16: Athletic Bilbao vs. Real Sociedad
15: Milan vs. Internazionale
14: Olympiakos vs. Panathinaikos
13: Flamengo vs. Vasco da Gama
12: Juventus vs. Fiorentina
11: Marseille vs. Paris Saint-Germain
10: Partizan Belgrade vs. Red Star Belgrade
9: Betis vs. Sevilla
8: Al Ahly vs. Zamalek
7: Schalke vs. Borussia Dortmund
6: Lazio vs. Roma
5: Ajax vs. Feyenoord
4: Galatasaray vs. Fenerbahce
3: Celtic vs. Rangers
2: Boca Juniors vs. River Plate
1: Real Madrid vs. Barcelona

That's my take on what ones are proper, I think that if you open it up beyond cities then you may as well include international matches, in which case I think Holland - Germany and Argentina - Brazil would be in and around the top.

I also think whatever way you cut it Madrid v Barca is not the top match, it's close but I would Boca v River has the edge, probably the Rome derby too. I'm assuming that the key factor is how much fans want to win the match and how much passion is on display. Boca River is life for about 85% of Argentines nationwide.

[Thunderblaster]

I thought that Westport United and Castlebar Celtic derby game might have qualified???:rolleyes:

[Thunderblaster]

Brazil v Argentina
France v Spain
England v Scotland
Germany v Netherlands
Sweden v Denmark
Greece v Turkey
USA v Iran
Bosnia v Serbia
Nigeria v Cameroon
Australia v New Zealand
Guatemala v Honduras
Russia v Ukraine
Armenia v Azerbaijan
China v Japan
North Korea v South Korea
India v Pakistan
Israel v Egypt
Morocco v Tunisia
Romania v Bulgaria
Chile v Italy
Jamaica v Trinidad and Tobago
Ethiopia v Eritrea
Switzerland v Austria
Rep. Ireland v N. Ireland
Czech Rep v Slovakia
Lithuania v Latvia
Rep. Congo V DRC
Zambia v Zimbabwe
Rwanda v Burundi
Mali v Burkina Faso
Malaysia v Singapore
Colombia v Peru
Canada v USA
USA v Mexico
Germany v Austria
Belgium v Netherlands
Nigeria v South Africa
Spain v Portugal
Poland v Germany
Germany v England
Mexico v Argentina
Liberia v Sierra Leone
Ghana v Nigeria
Serbia v Croatia
Spain v Italy
Italy v France
Kenya v Tanzania
Argentina v Uruguay
El Salvador v Honduras

[SligoBrewer]

Brazil v Argentina
France v Spain
England v Scotland
Germany v Netherlands
Sweden v Denmark
Greece v Turkey
USA v Iran
Bosnia v Serbia
Nigeria v Cameroon
Australia v New Zealand
Guatemala v Honduras
Russia v Ukraine
Armenia v Azerbaijan
China v Japan
North Korea v South Korea
India v Pakistan
Israel v Egypt
Morocco v Tunisia
Romania v Bulgaria
Chile v Italy
Jamaica v Trinidad and Tobago
Ethiopia v Eritrea
Switzerland v Austria
Rep. Ireland v N. Ireland
Czech Rep v Slovakia
Lithuania v Latvia
Rep. Congo V DRC
Zambia v Zimbabwe
Rwanda v Burundi
Mali v Burkina Faso
Malaysia v Singapore
Colombia v Peru
Canada v USA
USA v Mexico
Germany v Austria
Belgium v Netherlands
Nigeria v South Africa
Spain v Portugal
Poland v Germany
Germany v England
Mexico v Argentina
Liberia v Sierra Leone
Ghana v Nigeria
Serbia v Croatia
Spain v Italy
Italy v France
Kenya v Tanzania
Argentina v Uruguay
El Salvador v Honduras

You also forgot Kazakshtan vs *******s Uzbekistan. **** you, you mother ****ers!

[Thunderblaster]

You also forgot Kazakshtan vs *******s Uzbekistan. **** you, you mother ****ers!

Borat would love that one!!:D

[Newryrep]

Of course it is...

I thought Aberdeen Rangers was more - career ending/leg breaking tackle Durrant/Simpson ?????? incident from a few years ago than religious

[Newryrep]

Guardian article on Cairo Derby

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2008/07/18/the_worlds_most_violent_derby.html

[placid casual]

no mention of Salernitana-Napoli.
it was said that whenever they next played, "the dead would outnumber the living" in the stadium:eek:

[eirebhoy]

"You can take all the derby matches in the world, put them all together and they still wouldn't equal 1 millionth of the Old Firm. Theres nothing like it."

Paulo Di Canio

[paudie]

I would've had Juve-Inter higher up then Juve-Fiorentina.

No mention of the FlaFlu derby either.

In the article about Flamengo v Vasco they said FlaFlu was more significant in the early days but now Vasco are far more popular than Fluminense so Fla V Vasco is a bigger game.

[paudie]

"You can take all the derby matches in the world, put them all together and they still wouldn't equal 1 millionth of the Old Firm. Theres nothing like it."

Paulo Di Canio

Didn't Paul Lambert say that Rangers v Celtic was no more than intense than the Dortmund v Schalke Ruhr derby.

Obviously that was a players view but interesting nonetheless.

[Junior]

I thought Aberdeen Rangers was more - career ending/leg breaking tackle Durrant/Simpson ?????? incident from a few years ago than religious

Thats certainly one of the key reasons why the rivalry has become fierce. There is no religious element to it as far as I am aware.