The Best Ever Club Derby

[SiN]

Some of the most obscure clubs names in European football have devoted supporters who uphold intense and long-lasting rivalries. These matches, known as derbies, often act as epicenters of football hooliganism. Which of these clubs do you think are worthy of this title?

Galatasaray vs Fenerbahce
The Bosphorus sea strait separates the city of Istanbul in an European side and an Asian side. Galatasaray was founded by students of the galatasaray lycee and is on the European side. Fenerbahce is on the Asian side and has a largely working class following. The club used to be the people's club while Galatasaray was supported by the rich and famous. Nowadays Fenerbahce also has the (financial) support of some very rich fans. The teams have been versing each other for 92 years and this derby/rivalry is one of the fiercest in the world.

AS Roma vs Lazio
In 1977, smaller groups of Roma fans assembled in what became known as CUCS (Commando Ultra Curva Sud.) By the 1999/2000 season, CUCS segmented and evolved into Roma Ultras. Lazio's organized supporters, Commandos Monteverde Lazio came about in 1971. By 1987 they united with another group, from which emerged the Irriducibili. Since 1992, the Irriducibili have been the most prominent Lazio supporter group. Generally, Roma Ultras represent the left wing middle class from the center of the city. In contrast, the Irriducibili are rich, right wing suburban residents. Both Lazio and AS Roma share the same home venue, Stadio Olimpico. It serves as a tremendous stage for the inter-city battle.

Manchester City vs Manchester United
City and United have preserved one of the oldest rivalries in European football. Both clubs were founded in the late 19th century. Even although United has been more prevalent, entertaining matches often happen when the two teams meet. The 1993 encounter between City and United at Maine Road is considered one of the greatest EPL games of the 90s. United won the battle 2-3 thanks to two goals by Cantona and a late tiebreaker by Keane.
The Stretford End at Old Trafford is the place for diehard K-Stand United fans.Manchester City also has its zealous fan base.Throughout the 2001/2002 season, 106 City fans were arrests (third largest number in all of England).Apart from their dedication, violence rarely brakes amongst English supporters at the stadium. Most hooligan incidents mostly occur at bars and other gatherings outside of the stadium.

AC Milan vs Internazionale
Both AC Milan and FC Internazionale play their matches at San Siro Stadium. The Curva Sud is home of the Rossoneri and the Curva Nord belongs to the Nerazzurri. Both clubs have had success in the Calcio as well as European competition. Milan enjoys an edge over Inter, especially from recent years.

Partizan vs Red Star
Serbian fans were highly influenced by the Italian Ultras although they incorporate local cultural elements. In Belgrade, present-day Serbia, exists an intense rivalry between Partizan and Red Star. Red Star has been more pronounced internationally as the 1991 European and World club champion. The Grobari (Undertakers) and Delije supporters get into severe conflicts. Many of these happen at the stadium and may feature anything from mob fights in the stands to riots on the actual pitch.

Levski vs CSKA
Bulgaria's capital Sofia houses the country's two top clubs: PFC Levski 1914 and CSKA. Levski, the older of the two, possesses the bigger fan base whereas CSKA has won more championship titles. Whenever the two clubs meet, serious security measures are enforced. During one of their encounters, 1/7th of the nation's military was summoned to restrain potential violence. Authorities have been especially cautious since 2001 when a bomb incident produced fatal results.

FC Celtic vs Rangers
Scotland has a diverse history of football hooliganism emerging from drunken fights in the 60s, skinhead organizations in the 70s and peaking with the "Casual" phenomenon of the mid-80s.Nowadays the local police does a good job with prevention, but incidents still occur. Aberdeen, Celtic and Glasgow Rangers are nearly always associated with these violent outbreaks. The latter two clubs have an especially poignant rivalry (known as the Old Firm rivalry) fueled by religious and sociological differences.FC Celtic and Glasgow Rangers have been the two primary contenders in the Scottish league since the late 1880s!Celtic supporters are referred to as "Tims," a combination from the name of Catholic gangs who called themselves the Tim Malloys and the Calton area of Glasgow. Rangers' fans call themselves Billy boys (from an infamous Protestant razor gang in the late 1920's). The name Billy actually comes from the gang's founder Billy Fullerton.

Barcelona vs Real Madrid
Known as Superclassico or El Derby Espanol, the Barca versus Real match attracts immense attention across Spain as well as Europe. Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia, a morally and ethnically independent region with its own distinct dialect. Spanish dictator Franco repressed the regions' autonomous predisposition until his death in 1975. Fans and ultras take this derby with consideration extending far beyond the football pitch.

Olympiakos vs Panathinaikos
The battle of Athens between Olympiakos and Panathina is the biggest rivalry in Greece.Hooliganism is very common featuring anything from breaking seats, fighting, fireworks to street rioting.Olympiakos is known for their fanatical fans which live mostly in the lowest/poorest parts of the city.Panathinaikos supporters are from the higher/richer part of Athens.Since the past few years, Panathinaikos has been more successful in European competition.

Boca vs River Plate
The biggest derby in Argentina is the Boca versus River Plate match.It evokes great interest and passion across the entire country.Both clubs were founded in the poor district of Buenos Aires called La Boca. In the 1930s, River Plate relocated to an area called Nunez and is nowadays preferred by the upper classes.On the other hand, Boca Juniors has a larger fan base that is mostly made up of working class people. They call themselves Xeneizes, meaning Genoese (Boca's earliest supporters were Genovese immigrants).

SK Rapid Vienna vs FK Austria Magna Vienna
The derby of Vienna is between SK Rapid and FK Austria. The match often transitions onto Austria's national ground, Ernst-Happel stadium. The fans from both sides always come prepared for grand, choreographed exhibitions. In some occasions, riots break out. Austrian police takes special security measures whenever the two rivals meet. In a recent encounter between Rapid and Austria, the latter club was fined 30.000€ because of lack of security. SK Rapid on the other hand had to pay 10.000€ in compensation to their fans throwing fireworks on the pitch and delaying kick-off for half an hour!

[Snake]

barca vs real madrid of course,............i hope nobody has a doubt about it

[Snake]

where is the german derby?

[SiN]

German Derby? Between who? There is not much of a rivalry there....

[Snake]

there's alot of rivalry between bayern and bremen

[SiN]

Hmm i suppose so!

Lets see what everyone else thinks

[Andygers]

I will say rangers vs them.....

[PAO_HELLAS]

Originally Posted by Sinan

Olympiakos vs Panathinaikos
The battle of Athens between Olympiakos and Panathina is the biggest rivalry in Greece.Hooliganism is very common featuring anything from breaking seats, fighting, fireworks to street rioting.Olympiakos is known for their fanatical fans which live mostly in the lowest/poorest parts of the city.Panathinaikos supporters are from the higher/richer part of Athens.Since the past few years, Panathinaikos has been more successful in European competition.

That's nonsense. Many decades ago the supporters of Panathinaikos and Olympiakos used to represent different classes of Athens. Today both clubs have supporters of all classes and political ideologies. There isn't political backround in the Panathinaikos vs Olympiakos derby.

The rioting part is true though. The day there is Panathinaikos vs Olympiakos derby, areas of Athens often become a battlefield since the morning. I am also adding that in Greece the derby is called "The battle of the eternal enemies".

[Chileno]

Easy: Boca vs River

[Fry36]

I think that part about the "working class" is bs about the FB-GS derby. No matter how rich or poor a person is in Turkey (mostly in Istanbul), no matter what religion or race they belong to, regardless of their job, age, sex, location (yes), you can never guess which of the 3 Istanbul teams they support. In a family the dad could be a Besiktas fan, the mom could be a Fener fan, the sons and daughters could be Galatasaray fans, and the uncle could very well be a Trabzon fan, with some Bursaspor and Kayserispor cousins here and there. Our derbies are never going to be religion or social status related, and I think we should be proud of that. There is still violence, but at the end of the day siblings won't be hating each other's guts in everyday life.

[Andygers]

^ Good post Fry!!! That applies to the old firm derby as well because I couldn't tell a Rangers fan from a Celtic fan if they didn't make it obvious.

[autobus]

France classico, as intense as a Milan-Inter, but it's ligue 1, so no one give a shit
Paris-Marseille

to Mareille fans (translation : Paris fuuk you)

[CambriaFan]

1) Old Firm
2) Boca - River Plate
3) Barca - Real

[Luka Modric]

Dinamo Zagreb - Hajduk Split

[boris4c]

^

Last time I checked, there was 12,000 fans at the Croatian derby. Funny how you claim it's the best derby in the world? It wasn't even the biggest derby in Yugoslavia, which is a fact we cannot deny, can we?