Top Twenty Football Derbies (Part 1)
Derby games always seem to capture the raw passion and the emotions of football and any one that follows these matches would know that they are a lot more than just another normal game.
Here are some reasons as to why these rivalries are set up and make up a derby contest.
Location
The location is without a doubt one of the most vital and common reasons for a rivalry.
With the clubs fighting over fans and the fans fighting over the clubs this makes a very interesting and deep relationship between a fan and his team.
A major example of such a rivalry is Liverpool and Everton.
Controversy
Another major factor to spark a rivalry is a contentious event between the two clubs and this can create a lot of hostility and hatred between teams.
Normally a single incident is not enough to sound such a rivalry between teams, still these incidents add fire to the already set flames between existing rival clubs.
A major example to this is from back in 2000 when Catalonia became one of the most hated players when he moved to Real Madrid or when Jerzy Dudek became a hated figure when he turned Diego Forlan into a cult hero through the ‘Red Devils’ fan base.
Religious
One of the most zealous derbies in the world is created by religious differences.
A major example of this is the derby is the one between Rangers and the Celtics as the Rangers are Protestants and the Celtics are Catholics.
There are numerous other reasons that can spark such derbies and the list goes on and on.
Here is a list of clubs where the rivalry race seems to run high in the stakes in every match.
Hajduk Split vs Dinamo Zagreb
These two clubs are from Croatia and Dinamo Zagreb has won twelve league titles where as Hajduk Split has won only six.
This is an ‘eternal derby’ and is between two of the most popular and biggest Croatian clubs, Hajduk Split and Dinamo Zagreb.
This derby is always full of detestation and hatred, this is actually a sad truth as the people fighting each other over this derby are the same people that were united and fought the Serbian aggression together.
An interesting factor in this specific derby is that Niko Kranjcar is a Croatian midfielder and winger, who currently plays for Tottenham Hotspurs and before that he used to play for Hajduk Split during 2004-06 and before that he played for Dinamo Zagreb
from 2001-04.
These two clubs have played a hundred and eighty-three matches against each other and resulted in forty-six draws, seventy-three wins for Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split have managed to have sixty-four wins.
Celtic Vs Rangers
Next in the list are two clubs from Scotland, ‘The Rangers’ have won fifty-three league titles where as ‘The Celtics’ have won forty-two.
This derby is a very popular one and is known as the ‘Old Firm’ and both the clubs are based in Glasgow, Scotland.
This derby is a religious derby as the Rangers are Protestants and the Celtics are Catholics so the religious factors definitely bring in a lot of heat in the derby.
The two teams have played two hundred and ninety-five matches against each other and from those matches the clubs have had ninety-three draws. The final count brings the Rangers wins to a hundred and fifty-five and the Celtics are up to a hundred and forty.
Galatasaray Vs Fenerbahce
Galatasaray and Fenerbahce are two clubs from Turkey and the two clubs have both won exactly seventeen league titles.
They are two of the most triumphant clubs in Turkey the rivalry between the two clubs attracts a lot of crowds and tensions are running intensely high this year as both the clubs are at an even win in the club title race and both want another one to get
in the lead.
The two teams have played three hundred and sixty-five matches together and out of them there have been a hundred and ten draws. Fenerbahce has managed to have a hundred and thirty-nine wins and Galatasaray has a hundred and sixteen wins under its wing.
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