Worlds Greatest Derbies

[frasermc]

not sure if this has been posted anywhere else but in this months World Soccer they've listed what they believe to be the top 50 derbies in the world.

their contributors were -

Peterjohn Cresswell
Tim Vickery
Mark Gleeson
Sid Lowe
Martin del Palacio Langer
John Holmesdale

here's the full list -

50) Gremio - Internacional
49) Tenerife - Las Palmas
48) Mohun Bagan - East Bengal
47) Sarajevo - Zeljeznicar
46) ASEC Abidjan - Africa Sports
45) Anderlecht - Club Brugge
44) FC Copenhagen - Brondby
43) Allianza Lima - Universitario
42) Arsenal - Tottenham
41) Beitar Jerusalem - Hapoel Tel Aviv

40) Hadjuk Split - Dinamo Zagreb
39) Barcelona - Emelec
38) Rapid Wien - Austria Wien
37) Basle - Zurich
36) Raja Casablanca - Wydad Casablanca
35) America - Deportivo Cali
34) Genoa - Sampdoria
33) CSKA Sofia - Levski Sofia
32) AIK Stockholm - Djurgardens
31) Ferencvaros - Ujpest

30) Cerro Porteno - Olimpia
29) Rosario Central - Newell's Old Boys
28) Liverpool - Manchester United
27) Corinthians - Santos
26) Slavia Prague - Sparta Prague
25) Kaizer Chiefs - Orlando Pirates
24) Steaua Bucharest - Dinamo Bucharest
23) Spartak Moscow - CSKA Moscow
22) Pirouzi - Esteghlal
21) Nacional - Penarol

20) America - Guadalajara
19) Racing Club - Independiente
18) Corinthians - Sao Paulo
17) Benfica - Porto
16) Athletic Bilbao - Real Sociedad
15) Milan - Internazionale
14) Olympiakos - Panathinaikos
13) Flamengo - Vasco Da Gama
12) Juventus - Fiorentina
11) Marseille - Paris Saint-Germain

10) Partizan Belgrade - Red Star Belgrade
9) Betis - Sevilla
8) Al Ahly - Zamalek
7) Schalke - Borussia Dortmund
6) Lazio - Roma
5) Ajax - Feyenoord
4) Galatasaray - Fenerbahce
3) Celtic - Rangers
2) Boca Juniors - River Plate
1) Real Madrid - Barcelona


obviously these are only their opinions but it seems highly unusual to omit the Merseyside derby in favour of Liverpool - Man Utd. i suppose they only wanted to include a team once.

a derby to me should be a game against your nearest and fiercest rival. not born out of the success of both clubs in their country.

i'm going to read up on it a bit more.

thoughts?

[lanman]

How do they define a Derby? There a number of match ups that a lot of people would not consider as such (including their number 1 pick).

[frasermc]

How do they define a Derby? There a number of match ups that a lot of people would not consider as such (including their number 1 pick).

i agree.

it's headlined as The Worlds Greatest Derbies.

below that it says -

"In a special feature we profile football's most important club rivalries. We examine what makes these 50 matches the most anticipated, the most exciting and the most talked about in the world game."

The Worlds Greatest Rivalries would have been a far better heading than derbies.

[comme]

That article was an utter crock of shit, and I say that as a big fan of WS.

Juve-Fiorentina is a bigger "derby" (or rivalry for that matter) than Spurs-Arsenal?

Absolute load of rubbish designed to fill an issue in which there is no football to talk about (Euro review aside). I read the issue in about 15 minutes on the train.

[frasermc]

That article was an utter crock of shit, and I say that as a big fan of WS.

Juve-Fiorentina is a bigger "derby" (or rivalry for that matter) than Spurs-Arsenal?

Absolute load of rubbish designed to fill an issue in which there is no football to talk about (Euro review aside). I read the issue in about 15 minutes on the train.

hmm..

i was late buying it. have been buying WS for 20yrs and haven't read either that or the EURO 08 review yet.

i thought i'd add it on here for views on it. as i was typing the list out it did look like it had a lot of inconsistencies in it.

[Matt Clark]

Liverpool - United is a much bigger game than Liverpool - Everton. It's just that you can only really call it a "derby" if you significantly loosen your definition of the term.

Let's just say that Everton fans will be a lot more upset that the Merseyside derby isn't on the list than Liverpool fans will be. On which note, I wonder how Manchester City fans feel when they see this list? :D

[argentine soccer fan]

It's probably impossible to compare rivalries and not piss everybody off, but I think for the most part they got the Argentine top rivalries right. Boca vs River, I think should be the first, but from a European Magazine I can understand it being placed 2nd. Racing vs Independiente (Avellaneda) and Rosario Central vs Newells (Rosario) also belong. They qualify as both fierce rivalries and traditional neighborhood derbies. Probably they could have added Estudiantes vs Gimnasia (La Plata).

Do they cover some of these rivalries in depth? If so, it should be an interesting read. I'll have to get a hold of a copy of World Soccer.

[frasermc]

Do they cover some of these rivalries in depth? If so, it should be an interesting read. I'll have to get a hold of a copy of World Soccer.

yep.

there is a section on why they chose each one.

if you want, i can PM you the write up on the Argentinian derbies/rivalries or any others you wish.

[argentine soccer fan]

yep.

there is a section on why they chose each one.

if you want, i can PM you the write up on the Argentinian derbies/rivalries or any others you wish.

Thanks, I appreciate it.

Actually I've seen 'World Soccer' before at some of the larger book stores in SoCal, so I should be able to find it. 'FourFourTwo' as well. But I think they usually gets to the US a bit late.

Which magazine covers football worldwide better, 'World Soccer' or 'FourFourTwo'?

[Moishe]

yep.

there is a section on why they chose each one.

if you want, i can PM you the write up on the Argentinian derbies/rivalries or any others you wish.

The write up on the BOCA/river classic would be awesome and very much appreciated.

[JeremyEritrea]

No mention of 1860 Munich versus Bayern Munich, or Torino versus Juventus, or Venezia versus Verona, or Chelsea versus Arsenal???!??!?!

Idiots.

[superfrantheman]

boca-river

best CLASICO in the world!

[soccermusician]

not sure if this has been posted anywhere else but in this months World Soccer they've listed what they believe to be the top 50 derbies in the world.

their contributors were -

Peterjohn Cresswell
Tim Vickery
Mark Gleeson
Sid Lowe
Martin del Palacio Langer
John Holmesdale

here's the full list -

50) Gremio - Internacional
49) Tenerife - Las Palmas
48) Mohun Bagan - East Bengal
47) Sarajevo - Zeljeznicar
46) ASEC Abidjan - Africa Sports
45) Anderlecht - Club Brugge
44) FC Copenhagen - Brondby
43) Allianza Lima - Universitario
42) Arsenal - Tottenham
41) Beitar Jerusalem - Hapoel Tel Aviv

40) Hadjuk Split - Dinamo Zagreb
39) Barcelona - Emelec
38) Rapid Wien - Austria Wien
37) Basle - Zurich
36) Raja Casablanca - Wydad Casablanca
35) America - Deportivo Cali
34) Genoa - Sampdoria
33) CSKA Sofia - Levski Sofia
32) AIK Stockholm - Djurgardens
31) Ferencvaros - Ujpest

30) Cerro Porteno - Olimpia
29) Rosario Central - Newell's Old Boys
28) Liverpool - Manchester United
27) Corinthians - Santos
26) Slavia Prague - Sparta Prague
25) Kaizer Chiefs - Orlando Pirates
24) Steaua Bucharest - Dinamo Bucharest
23) Spartak Moscow - CSKA Moscow
22) Pirouzi - Esteghlal
21) Nacional - Penarol

20) America - Guadalajara
19) Racing Club - Independiente
18) Corinthians - Sao Paulo
17) Benfica - Porto
16) Athletic Bilbao - Real Sociedad
15) Milan - Internazionale
14) Olympiakos - Panathinaikos
13) Flamengo - Vasco Da Gama
12) Juventus - Fiorentina
11) Marseille - Paris Saint-Germain

10) Partizan Belgrade - Red Star Belgrade
9) Betis - Sevilla
8) Al Ahly - Zamalek
7) Schalke - Borussia Dortmund
6) Lazio - Roma
5) Ajax - Feyenoord
4) Galatasaray - Fenerbahce
3) Celtic - Rangers
2) Boca Juniors - River Plate
1) Real Madrid - Barcelona


obviously these are only their opinions but it seems highly unusual to omit the Merseyside derby in favour of Liverpool - Man Utd. i suppose they only wanted to include a team once.

a derby to me should be a game against your nearest and fiercest rival. not born out of the success of both clubs in their country.

i'm going to read up on it a bit more.

thoughts?

I know i may be way ahead of myself but soon Chivas USA vs La galaxy will be on this list! I would probably place it 51...

[Matt Clark]

I know i may be way ahead of myself but soon Chivas USA vs La galaxy will be on this list! I would probably place it 51...
Arf ... yeah. If we're defining "soon" in epochal terms.

Given what's already been discussed here about some of the derbies that are missing (I've just noticed the Tyne/Wear derby is missing, as is Portsmouth - Southampton and Millwall - West Ham), I think the chances of anything from MLS making it anywhere near this list, let alone on to it, are fairly remote for the time being.

[comme]

Thanks, I appreciate it.

Actually I've seen 'World Soccer' before at some of the larger book stores in SoCal, so I should be able to find it. 'FourFourTwo' as well. But I think they usually gets to the US a bit late.

Which magazine covers football worldwide better, 'World Soccer' or 'FourFourTwo'?

World Soccer has better coverage of the global game. It has interviews with major stars, a worldwide results service (which normally includes all the line-ups as well) and it has a bit in each issue about pretty much every league in the world. Britain is given no more coverage than say Italy, Spain or any other league.

FourFourTwo does look at the world game, but primarily it has a British focus. So for instance this month's feature is about British players abroad. It also has a focus on lower league football to some extent.

[Excape Goat]

That article was an utter crock of shit, and I say that as a big fan of WS.

Juve-Fiorentina is a bigger "derby" (or rivalry for that matter) than Spurs-Arsenal?

Absolute load of rubbish designed to fill an issue in which there is no football to talk about (Euro review aside). I read the issue in about 15 minutes on the train.

They listed the Juventus - Fiorentina derby as number 1 in Italy.


And at # 16, they got Athletic Bilbao-Real Sociedad. It seemed to be a rival in making.... a team named "Real" vs a team that stood for Basque independence. But this is the most friendly derby in the world. The fans actually sat togather and sang. You don't even see that in a regular match between any team in the world. They are as an anti-derby as it could have been.

[frasermc]

They listed the Juventus - Fiorentina derby as number 1 in Italy.

nope.

they have the Rome derby at no.6

[Boloni86]

not sure if this has been posted anywhere else but in this months World Soccer they've listed what they believe to be the top 50 derbies in the world.

their contributors were -

Peterjohn Cresswell
Tim Vickery
Mark Gleeson
Sid Lowe
Martin del Palacio Langer
John Holmesdale

here's the full list -

50) Gremio - Internacional
49) Tenerife - Las Palmas
48) Mohun Bagan - East Bengal
47) Sarajevo - Zeljeznicar
46) ASEC Abidjan - Africa Sports
45) Anderlecht - Club Brugge
44) FC Copenhagen - Brondby
43) Allianza Lima - Universitario
42) Arsenal - Tottenham
41) Beitar Jerusalem - Hapoel Tel Aviv

40) Hadjuk Split - Dinamo Zagreb
39) Barcelona - Emelec
38) Rapid Wien - Austria Wien
37) Basle - Zurich
36) Raja Casablanca - Wydad Casablanca
35) America - Deportivo Cali
34) Genoa - Sampdoria
33) CSKA Sofia - Levski Sofia
32) AIK Stockholm - Djurgardens
31) Ferencvaros - Ujpest

30) Cerro Porteno - Olimpia
29) Rosario Central - Newell's Old Boys
28) Liverpool - Manchester United
27) Corinthians - Santos
26) Slavia Prague - Sparta Prague
25) Kaizer Chiefs - Orlando Pirates
24) Steaua Bucharest - Dinamo Bucharest
23) Spartak Moscow - CSKA Moscow
22) Pirouzi - Esteghlal
21) Nacional - Penarol

20) America - Guadalajara
19) Racing Club - Independiente
18) Corinthians - Sao Paulo
17) Benfica - Porto
16) Athletic Bilbao - Real Sociedad
15) Milan - Internazionale
14) Olympiakos - Panathinaikos
13) Flamengo - Vasco Da Gama
12) Juventus - Fiorentina
11) Marseille - Paris Saint-Germain

10) Partizan Belgrade - Red Star Belgrade
9) Betis - Sevilla
8) Al Ahly - Zamalek
7) Schalke - Borussia Dortmund
6) Lazio - Roma
5) Ajax - Feyenoord
4) Galatasaray - Fenerbahce
3) Celtic - Rangers
2) Boca Juniors - River Plate
1) Real Madrid - Barcelona


obviously these are only their opinions but it seems highly unusual to omit the Merseyside derby in favour of Liverpool - Man Utd. i suppose they only wanted to include a team once.

a derby to me should be a game against your nearest and fiercest rival. not born out of the success of both clubs in their country.

i'm going to read up on it a bit more.

thoughts?

This list is retarded. Boca - River is 1st and Celtic - Rangers is 2nd. Also Racing - Independiente, Chivas - Club America, America - Deportivo Cali and Dinamo Zagreb - Hajduk all got placed waaaay too low on the list. How about Lyon - St. Etienne? How about Benfica - Sporting? How about Besiktas - Fenerbahce?

[zasal911]

For me the best derby is River-Boca followed by Galatasaray Fenerbace.

And how come Colo Colo - Universidad de Chile isn't on the list...I mean our league is the 9 best in the world right!;)

[superfrantheman]

Pirouzi - Esteghlal?
Al Ahly - Zamalek?
Kaizer Chiefs - Orlando Pirates
Mohun Bagan - East Bengal?