Famous derbies in World Football

Throughout the footballing world, there are numerous rivalries that stand out depending on location, success, religious differences, and politics which boil over both on the pitch and in the stands. These rivalries have led to amazing atmospheres, fantastic matches and league deciders occurring along with lots of controversy! The 5 derbies that I will be highlighting are The Old Firm (Celtic vs Rangers), The Superclasico (Boca Juniors vs River Plate), and El Clasico (FC Barcelona vs Real Madrid).

The Old firm derby began with the creation of Celtic FC in 1888 which saw Rangers having a direct rival created in the city of Glasgow as they were formed first in 1872. The derby is mainly based on religion as Celtic are the predominately Catholic team while Rangers are predominately the Protestant team. The two teams are also the most successful in Scottish Football history with Rangers winning 54 titles and Celtic winning 49 titles and have been the usual teams to battle it out for the league in most seasons. The Old Firm has been played a total of 420 times with Rangers winning 162 times, Celtic winning 159 times, and 99 games ending in draws. Famous players include Henrik Larsson, Paul Gascgoine, Roy Keane, and Brian Laudrup.

The Superclasico is the derby between River Plate and Boca Juniors which is fiercely contested in the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires and is considered to be the best derby in the world due to it’s amazing atmosphere. The two teams are the most successful in Argentinian Football with River Plate winning the league 36 times and Boca Juniors winning the league 33 times. The two sides have met a total of 248 times with Boca winning 88, River winning 83, and 78 matches ending in a draw. Famously in 2018, the two sides met in the Copa Libertadores final, which saw the second leg of the final being forcefully moved to Madrid due to fan violence causing the game to be postponed numerous times. The final was won by River Plate 5-3 on aggregate. Famous players to have played in The Superclasico are Diego Maradona, Gabriel Batistuta, Alfredo Di Stefano, and Juan Roman Riquelme.

El Clasico is the most recognized derby in world football as it is fought between the two arguably biggest clubs in world football which are Barcelona and Real Madrid. The two sides are the most successful in Spanish football along with being considered as European giants with both sides between each other having won 18 champions Leagues, with Real Madrid winning a record 13. The derby is more based on politics rather than location due to Real Madrid being the team of the Capital in Spain while Barcelona are the team from Catalonia, a region of Spain that wants to be independent. The rivalry is also mainly based on how successful each team is which has allowed both teams to gain a massive worldwide following. Players such as Lionel Messi who plays for Barcelona, and Cristiano Ronaldo who played for Real Madrid, further intensified the rivalry as they are considered the two best players of the current generation with both players winning the last 11 ballon d’ors, Messi winning 6 and Ronaldo winning 5. The two teams have met 276 times with Barcelona winning 115 times, Real Madrid winning 99 times, and 62 of the games ending in draws.