7 Bitter City Derbies To Put Manchester In The Shade

Dan Fitch looks at the bitterest city football rivalries from around the globe.

This weekend sees Manchester United take on Manchester City at Old Trafford. These days the clubs are true rivals on the pitch, as well as off it. As heated and competitive as the game promises to be, it's far from being the most intense of football rivalries.

Here are seven bitter city derbies that puts Manchester in the shade.

7. Flamengo and Fluminense - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

Known simply as Fla-Flu, the greatest rivalry in Brazil was responsible for the world record attendance for a club match, when 194,603 fans squeezed into the Maracanã Stadium in 1963.

The rivalry was born in 1911, when nine players from Fluminense broke away to create their own side at Flamengo, which up until this point had mainly been dedicated to rowing. Despite having lost most of their team, it was Fluminese who won the first encounter between the sides, beating Flamengo 3-2.

6. Olympiakos and Panathinaikos - Athens, Greece

The derby match between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos is known as the 'Derby of the eternal enemies' and therefore deserves a place on this list for the name alone. The rivalry was originally built on class differences, with Panathinaikos the team of the more affluent of Athens and Olympiakos supported by the working classes.

Football is not the only sport to which this bitter rivalry extends, with the two sides also being enemies in sports such as basketball, volleyball and water polo. In 2007 a a women's volleyball game was the unlikely setting between a pre-arranged clash between the two groups of fans, which saw Panathinaikos supporter stabbed to death.

5. Al Ahly and Zamalek - Cairo, Egypt

The Cairo Derby between Al Ahly and Zamalek is the biggest rivalry in African football and is also broadcast across the Arab nations.

The two sides are not just the most successful in Egypt, but also the whole of Africa. Such is the rivalry between the pair, that the Egyptian football authorities have found it necessary to bring in a referee from Europe, so that no one can be accused of bias, with the former Premier League official Uriah Rennie having taken charge of the contest in 2003.

4. Lazio and Roma - Rome, Italy

The Derby della Capitale is considered to be the fiercest in Italy. The history of the fixture has often been marred by hooliganism, with a Lazio fan becoming the first fatality in Italy due to football violence in 1979, when he was hit in the eye by a flare fired by a Roma fan at the opposite end of the stadium.

More recently in 2004, the game was postponed after Roma ultras spread a false rumour amongst the crowd that the police had killed a child in the build up to the game. The rivalry began when three teams, Roman, Alba-Audace and Fortitudo, merged to become Roma. Lazio were the only major team from Rome to resist the merger.

3. Fenerbahce and Galatasaray - Istanbul, Turkey

The city of Istanbul is divided by the Bosphorus sea strait, with Fenerbache located on the Asian side of the city and Galatasaray on the European side of Istanbul. Galatasaray were founded by wealthy students and the club has been regarded as the team of choice for Turkey's privileged, while Fenerbahce are known as the working class team.

With violence between both sets of supporters already rife, it's best not to whip them up into a frenzy, but that's exactly what Graeme Souness did when his Galatasaray side won the 1996 Turkish Cup on Fenerbahce's home ground. Having earlier been labelled a 'cripple' by a Fenerbahce director, the victorious Souness grabbed a huge Galatasaray flag, ran onto the pitch and planted it in the centre circle. As a consequence, Souness is still hated by Fenerhace's fans and is thought of as a legend by Galatasray's.

2. Celtic and Rangers - Glasgow, ScotlandCeltic and Rangers are known as the 'Old Firm' and the two most successful sides in Scottish football meet in a number of intense games each season, as the SPL sees each team playing each other four times.

The rivalry is built not just on football, but also the sectarianism that exists in Glasgow, with Celtic's support coming largely from the Irish Roman Catholic community and Rangers tending to be from Protestant backgrounds. Northern Ireland politics looms large over the fixture, with the Union Flag and Ulster banner prevalent at Ibrox and the Irish tricolour on display at Celtic Park.

1. Boca Juniors and River Plate - Buenos Aires, Argentina

More than half of all football fans in Argentina support either Boca Juniors or Rover Plate, making this a local derby that divides an entire nation. Known as the Superclasico, the rivalry began when both teams played in the Boca district of Buenos Aires and then intensified when River Plate moved to the more affluent Nunez in the thirties.

As a consequence of that move, Boca are regarded as the team of Argentina's working class, while River Plate are regarded as having a middle-class support. In 2004, The Observer named Superclasico as the number one event to attend, on their list of the top 50 sporting things to do. The startling array of fireworks, flags and rolls of coloured paper bring the stands alive, amidst a truly charged atmosphere.

Published: 11 Feb 2011