[Archived] Biggest Matches Around The Club Football World

[frosty]

Boca v River is probably the biggest derby, there was an article in the Guardian (I think) which gave you the 10 most important things to see or do before you die....and Boca v River was in it!

[Roar of the Rover]

Barcelona vs Espanyol

[FourLaneBlue]

If we are talking "biggest" as in hatred of both sides there can be only one winner...

Not a derby as such but I'd expect Red Star Belgrade v Dinamo Zagreb beats anything in Britain anymore for hatred. A game in 1990 between them, along with a flying kick on a Serb policeman attacking a Croat player on the pitch by Zagreb's Zvonomir Boban (making him into a national hero) helped kicked off the Croatia-Serbian war the next year. The Belgrade ultras were led by the infamous Serbian warlord Arkan that day.

As bad as things have been in the past in Blighty...it hasn't quite been a major factor in starting a war!

Wikipedia - Dinamo Zagreb - Red Star Belgrade riot

You Tube vid of the riot

[herbergeehh]

Will be hard to top matches like that, with the civil war and all..

The Inter vs Juve rivalry was news to me, but there's a lot of grudge going around in the South of Italy against the big clubs up North, and Juve tends to be the centre of it I believe.. Juventus generally hasn't got a lot of friends in other parts of Italy, be it AS Roma, Inter Milan or the other Turin club Torino.

[Drummer Boy]

Rovers/Burnley must be one of the oldest footie rivalries in the world mustn't it?

And no less intense for it!

[Rovermatt]

I have to say that the biggest derby in football has to be the Old Firm. No other game inspires such vitriol, hatred, begrudgery and downright bad feeling as the meeting of the Glasgow giants. It's 100 years of venomous rivalry based on another 500 years of the same back home in Ireland. That it's influence can spread so powerfully and drastically to a completely different country (Northern Ireland) is a testament to the poison of it. Bloody good to watch though.

Other titanic battles:

2. Boca -v- River (working class -v- artistocracy)

3. Roma -v- Lazio (left -v- right)

4. Ajax -v- Feyenoord (thugs -v- pyschopaths)

5. Fenerbahce -v- Galatasaray (sheep blood -v- goat blood)

6. Partizan -v- Red Star (badass Serbs -v- badass Serbs)

7. Juve -v- Inter (establishment -v- underachievers)

8. Inter -v- Milan (tenant -v- landlord)

9. Sevilla -v- Betis (rich -v- poor)

10. Real -v- Barca (state -v- Catalonia)

[FourLaneBlue]

I have to say that the biggest derby in football has to be the Old Firm. No other game inspires such vitriol, hatred, begrudgery and downright bad feeling as the meeting of the Glasgow giants. It's 100 years of poisonous rivalry based on another 500 years of the same back home in Ireland. That it's influence can spread so powerfully and drastically to a completely different country (Northern Ireland) is a testament to the poison of it. Bloody good to watch though.

Other titanic battles:

2. Boca -v- River

3. Roma -v- Lazio

4. Ajax -v- Feyenoord

5. Real -v- Barca

6. Partizan -v- Red Star

7. Juve -v- Inter

8. Inter -v- Milan

9. Partizan -v- Red Star

10. Fenerbahce -v- Galatasaray

Hmm...your list seems to be confusing as first you mention 'derby' and then you bring up Juve v Inter and Real v Barca which aren't derbies. The original question seems to be "Biggest matches around the club football world" which these days would probably relate to Champs League games rather than derbies. Real Madrid-Bayern Munich for example seems to have taken on a bit of history.

As for the most vitriol...I'd think that the views of foreigners might be more relevant here. For as long as I have been going football I have been told that the Old Firm is the biggest derby in the world but then again it would be being British wouldn't it? It'd be interesting to know what the biggest match around the world is perceived to be.

[lockers]

glentoran v linfield!

the belfast "big 2"

[Rovermatt]

Hmm...your list seems to be confusing as first you mention 'derby' and then you bring up Juve v Inter and Real v Barca which aren't derbies.

Both are widely acknowledged as exceptions to the rule.

[Rovermatt]

glentoran v linfield!

the belfast "big 2"

Chavs -v- pond life

[Shabani]

i heard that CSKA Moscow v Spartak Moscow is a pretty passionate fixture, pretty hardcore fans

[Rovermatt]

i heard that CSKA Moscow v Spartak Moscow is a pretty passionate fixture, pretty hardcore fans

Cold though. A bit of rioting probably warms them up.

[FourLaneBlue]

Both are widely acknowledged as exceptions to the rule.

Not at all exceptions as they are still not 'derbies' (I've never heard Juve-Inter described as such although Real-Barca has been built up as a clash of regions) and it's not as if there is some higher authority deciding on such issues - I've . I'd suggest the "biggest match" would be the one with the biggest global appeal. Hence the Old Firm may be big amongst the Irish and Scottish diaspora but can hardly rival El Classico and also the vitriol between the sets of fans is thankfully not as bad as it once was. Compare that to the riots at Argentinian games...

Then again we seem to be getting mixed up between biggest games V pairings with most hatred between them. In England presumably Liverpool v Man U would be the biggest game as they, historically, are the two largest clubs but I doubt the hatred can come close to matching some of the matches in Eastern Europe or South America. It is largely a thing of the past in the UK thankfully as nobody really wants to go back to how it was in the seventies/eighties.

[James No. 7]

In aussie rules footy, west coast v freo gets a bit hairy, same as essendon v collingwood, then again anyone vs collingwood is a big grudge match

It's a shame that Melbourne versus Collingwood takes the back burner to Collingwood versus Carlton and Essendon these days, because it is a big traditional rivalry going way back. I'm a Melbourne member and Collingwood I'm happy if the Collingwood match is the only one we win for the season. Carlton/Collingwood is the big one involving Collingwood in terms of grudges, though.

In football, Barcelona versus Real Madrid is the big one in my eyes. I would say that as a student of European and Spanish history, though! Livorno versus Lazio is another big one in Italy that hasn't been mentioned, and especially in recent times with Lucarelli and Di Canio (who left in 2006, however) taking the forefront in not just representing the clubs in battle, but ideology as well.

[cletus]

Teams like Bolton and Chelsea don't really have rivalries because nobody cares enough to bother about them.

Chelsea v Fulham? Thought that was the west London derby?

[Rovermatt]

Not at all exceptions as they are still not 'derbies' (I've never heard Juve-Inter described as such although Real-Barca has been built up as a clash of regions) and it's not as if there is some higher authority deciding on such issues - I've . I'd suggest the "biggest match" would be the one with the biggest global appeal. Hence the Old Firm may be big amongst the Irish and Scottish diaspora but can hardly rival El Classico and also the vitriol between the sets of fans is thankfully not as bad as it once was. Compare that to the riots at Argentinian games...

Then again we seem to be getting mixed up between biggest games V pairings with most hatred between them. In England presumably Liverpool v Man U would be the biggest game as they, historically, are the two largest clubs but I doubt the hatred can come close to matching some of the matches in Eastern Europe or South America. It is largely a thing of the past in the UK thankfully as nobody really wants to go back to how it was in the seventies/eighties.

Of course the thread doesn't ask about derbies specifically. However derby games in particular generally stir up emotions more readily than other clashes.

[FourLaneBlue]

Of course the thread doesn't ask about derbies specifically. However derby games in particular generally stir up emotions more readily than other clashes.

Yes but derby games usually aren't the biggest matches outside their host city. The Manchester or Merseyside derby, for example, fall below Liverpool-Man U or even Man U- Arsenal these days.

Likewise in Spain the Catalan derby is more often than not a mismatch and Real-Atletico is far more important to the red and white fans than it is to the Real fans.

In France...PSG v Marseille seems to stir up the most emotions.

There are some exceptions but in most big leagues the biggest matches are between the biggest clubs and usually (but not always) there is only one dominant team in each city.

[ABBEY]

theres only 3 ...

rovers v scumley

broncos v chokeland faders

neighbours v home and away

[pleasure]

report on the latest Corinthians against Palmeiras clash.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/foo...icle1475349.ece