Which Are The Biggest Derbies in Football?
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Which Are The Biggest Derbies in Football?

Which Are The Biggest Derbies in Football?

No sport cultivates enmity quite like football. It isn’t just geography or goals that divide people—it is identity, politics and religion.

The matches on this list superexceed your local fixtures. The teams here have a deep hatred for each other.

From Belgrade to Buenos Aires, these rivalries have defined the last 100 years of football.

So sit back, grab your cuppa, and get stuck into Football Park’s ranked 15 biggest derbies in football.

15. Superclasico de Portugal - Benfica vs Porto

Lisbon vs Porto is Portugal's perpetual power struggle. The two sides are Portugal's most successful clubs, with two Champions League titles each. Benfica narrowly beat them out on league titles—38 to 30—and hold the bragging rights in the country.

Whilst not a particularly well-watched game across the world, when this match happens in Portugal, the citizens dare not even blink.

14. Superclasico de Chile - Colo-Colo vs Universidad de Chile

Chile’s defining derby day. In South America, it is River Plate vs Boca Juniors that steals the show, but in Santiago, this match is life or death.

Colo-Colo is vastly the more successful club, but like a lot of the teams on this list, that changes nothing in the way Universidad de Chile faces off against them. They will fight tooth and nail to get one over on their rivals.

13. Le Classique - PSG vs Marseille

A clash between two sides that represent the biggest cities in their countries will always be a cause for rivalry.

The polished capital vs the rebellious South, the money of Qatar vs the money of the people.

Le Classique is a fixture you cannot miss. With flares blinding fans in the stands whilst the chanting makes you go half-deaf, the French derby is one of the best games in football.

12. El Derbi Madrileno - Real Madrid vs. Atlético Madrid

The Madrid derby will always be seen in one way. The king and ruler of the city going up against the lowly peasant.

Now, of course, Atletico Madrid are nowhere near peasant status in football, but compared to their big brother Real Madrid, they have a comparatively glaring lack of success.

But that does not stop them from playing their hearts out every single time. In their most recent meeting, Atletico handed Real their first loss of the season.

11. Revierderby - Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke

With the first meeting between these two sides being 100 years ago, over the past two years, it has been sad to see that they have not played each other.

Whilst Dortmund have the bragging rights now, Schalke have done better over the whole time period. They have won more games against their Ruhr rivals and defeated them 10-0 back in 1940.

When this game comes back, everybody will be watching.

10. North-West Derby - Manchester United vs Liverpool

The most important match in the English calendar is between the nations two most successful clubs.

Located just 56 km apart, the two cities of Manchester and Liverpool hold a hatred against each other. Due to the industrial revolution in the 1800s, the two cities have been in a race to see who can record more economic growth.

And that, of course, has transpired into football.

Manchester United hold the bragging rights in matches won between the two sides—83 to 72—but Liverpool slightly pip their rivals, having earned one more trophy—69 to 68

9. Istanbul Derby - Fenerbahce vs Galatasaray

Is there any other derby in the world that divides continents? I do not think so.

For the past 116 years, these sides have been facing off against each other whilst their fans fight in the crowds. Played over 400 times, Fenerbahçe has the slight advantage with 19 more wins.

They are far and away the two most successful Turkish clubs, with the two sides holding 158 trophies between them.

8. Derby della Madonnina - Inter Milan vs AC Milan

If you asked a non-football fan about two teams sharing a stadium, they might think that the two have a good relationship with each other. They could not be more wrong.

Once in the same club, the two parted ways in 1908 over a dispute about playing foreign players. Inter Milan wanted to, but AC did not.

And since then, a feud has been boiling.

The two sides have faced off just under 250 times and are two of the most successful clubs in Italy.

7. Derby della Capitale - Roma vs Lazio

Whilst they may not have the success of the teams just mentioned, Roma vs Lazio is typically recognised as the more intense derby.

Based in the city of Rome, Lazio fans have typically resided in the northern half of the city, whilst Roma have taken the southern part.

Both sets of fans see winning this match as bragging rights over the city. The match is also used politically in some cases, with Lazio ultras often contraversially displaying swastikas and fascist symbols on their banners.

6. Uruguayan Clasico - Nacional vs Penarol

With the first encounter of these two clubs happening in 1900, it is one of the oldest derbies to ever take place outside of the United Kingdom.

This match may lack the marketing tactics of its European counterparts, but in Montevideo, this match is sacred.

Between the two sides, they have won 101 of the league titles, leaving just 20 to be won by other clubs from the country.

5. Derby of the Eternal Enemies - Olympiacos vs Panathinaikos

When your derby is dubbed the ‘Eternal Enemies’ or ‘Mother of all Battles’, there is no way you don't make it onto this list.

The fiercest battle in Greece does not just spread to football. In basketball, the teams often play against each other, and the atmosphere is just as electric.

Olympiacos holds the bragging rights between the two teams, with the side having won more derby games and being the vastly more successful club.

4. Eternal Derby - Red Star Belgrade vs Partizan Belgrade

Just pipping the Eternal Enemies to 4th spot is the Eternal Derby. Based in Belgrade, Serbia, this match has no love lost for the other side.

Just like the derby of eternal enemies, the eternal derby has its hatred flowing in every sport, but especially in football and basketball.

Red Star hold the bragging rights, with the club winning the most derby matches and being vastly more successful. They even won a Champions League title back in 1991.

3. El Classico - Real Madrid vs Barcelona

Do you really need me to explain the El Clássico derby to you? Whilst it may seem that since Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo departed their clubs, the fixture has lost some of its bite in recent seasons, historically this match has been one of the fiercest in Europe.

One of the reasons for the hatred between the two clubs is that Barcelona resides in Catalonia, which has had a historical rivalry with the region of Madrid.

The people of Catalonia have long wanted to be independent, but with Madrid being the more powerful area, it has never been allowed to happen. That hatred between the two regions spills out onto the pitch and makes for an amazing watch.

2. Old Firm Derby - Celtic vs Rangers

Just like the El Clasico, this match seems to have lost its edge over the past few years. But the fans of each club still hold hatred in their hearts.

Like a lot of the rivalries in this list, the Old Firm goes deeper than football - it is inextricably tied into religion and politics.

Nowhere in the United Kingdom have the issues over the past hundreds of years been greater than in this match.

Catholics vs Protestants.

Irish nationalism vs British unionism.

It is a match that is a must-see at the stadium.

1. Superclásico - Boca Juniours vs River Plate

No fixture on Earth vibrates quite like this one. No fixture has this juice, this flow that makes it stand out from every other rivalry on earth.

Yes, they may not be the best of sides; yes, they may not have the best of players, but that does not stop it from being one of the fiercest rivalries on planet Earth.

A common misconception with this match is that they stole the name El Classico and used it for this. The term was actually invented in Argentina.

In 2004, the Observer newspaper in the United Kingdom ranked the Superclásico top of ‘50 sporting things you must do before you die’, stating that, "Derby day in Buenos Aires makes the Old Firm game look like a primary school kick-about."

In 2018, the two sides met for the first time in the Copa Libertadores final. The second leg of the match had to be played in Spain due to safety concerns. River Plate ended up winning 5-3 on aggregate in one of the most important matches in history.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist

Joe Ryan

Features Journalist

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