Worlds Greatest Derbies

Discussion in 'The Beautiful Game' started by frasermc, Jul 15, 2008.

  1. frasermc

    frasermc Take your flunky and dangle

    Celtic
    Scotland
    Jul 28, 2006
    Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
    Club:
    Celtic FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Scotland
    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?
     
  2. lanman

    lanman BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 30, 2002
    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).
     
  3. frasermc

    frasermc Take your flunky and dangle

    Celtic
    Scotland
    Jul 28, 2006
    Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
    Club:
    Celtic FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Scotland
    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.
     
  4. comme

    comme Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 21, 2003
    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.
     
  5. frasermc

    frasermc Take your flunky and dangle

    Celtic
    Scotland
    Jul 28, 2006
    Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
    Club:
    Celtic FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Scotland
    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.
     
  6. Matt Clark

    Matt Clark Member

    Dec 19, 1999
    Liverpool
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    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
     
  7. argentine soccer fan

    Staff Member

    Jan 18, 2001
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Club:
    CA Boca Juniors
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    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.
     
  8. frasermc

    frasermc Take your flunky and dangle

    Celtic
    Scotland
    Jul 28, 2006
    Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
    Club:
    Celtic FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Scotland
    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.
     
  9. argentine soccer fan

    Staff Member

    Jan 18, 2001
    San Francisco Bay Area
    Club:
    CA Boca Juniors
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    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'?
     
  10. Moishe

    Moishe Moderator
    Staff Member

    Boca Juniors
    Argentina
    Mar 6, 2005
    Here there and everywhere.
    Club:
    CA Boca Juniors
    Nat'l Team:
    Argentina
    The write up on the BOCA/river classic would be awesome and very much appreciated.
     
  11. JeremyEritrea

    JeremyEritrea Member+

    Jun 29, 2006
    Takoma Park, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    No mention of 1860 Munich versus Bayern Munich, or Torino versus Juventus, or Venezia versus Verona, or Chelsea versus Arsenal???!??!?!

    Idiots.
     
  12. superfrantheman

    superfrantheman Red Card

    Nov 11, 2006
    Olvidados de Dios
    Club:
    Sporting Cristal Lima
    Nat'l Team:
    Peru
    boca-river

    best CLASICO in the world!
     
  13. soccermusician

    Oct 20, 2004
    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...
     
  14. Matt Clark

    Matt Clark Member

    Dec 19, 1999
    Liverpool
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    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.
     
  15. comme

    comme Moderator
    Staff Member

    Feb 21, 2003
    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.
     
  16. Excape Goat

    Excape Goat Member+

    Mar 18, 1999
    Club:
    Real Madrid
    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.
     
  17. frasermc

    frasermc Take your flunky and dangle

    Celtic
    Scotland
    Jul 28, 2006
    Newcastle-Upon-Tyne
    Club:
    Celtic FC
    Nat'l Team:
    Scotland
    nope.

    they have the Rome derby at no.6
     
  18. Boloni86

    Boloni86 Member+

    Jun 7, 2000
    Baltimore
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    Gibraltar
    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?
     
  19. zasal911

    zasal911 Member

    Sep 1, 2000
    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!;)
     
  20. superfrantheman

    superfrantheman Red Card

    Nov 11, 2006
    Olvidados de Dios
    Club:
    Sporting Cristal Lima
    Nat'l Team:
    Peru
    Pirouzi - Esteghlal?
    Al Ahly - Zamalek?
    Kaizer Chiefs - Orlando Pirates
    Mohun Bagan - East Bengal?
     
  21. soccermusician

    Oct 20, 2004
    i don't think you read well, it said these are just opinions, and dude, i think more than 50% would agree Real madrid and barcelona is the biggest derby in the world, i agree with boca - river, and now i a not mexican but i honestly thing Chivas - America is probably the 3rd biggest, it's huge not just in mexico but in the USA as well...
     
  22. Matt Clark

    Matt Clark Member

    Dec 19, 1999
    Liverpool
    Club:
    Liverpool FC
    It's all silly anyway because no one is defining what "huge" means. Is it the amount of attention it garners regionally? Nationally? Globally? Is it the significance to the league it occurs in? Is it the bitterness of rivalry between fans? Is it the nature of the respective clubs (a big derby is always bigger if it involves big clubs).

    For global viewership, it's routinely claimed that United - Liverpool is the most watched game on the planet. But does that make it the "hugest" derby? Real Madrid - Barcelona probably attracts similar figures, but it's not a derby unless you view it through the prism of rivalry and significance.

    Celtic - Rangers is a massively passionate, intense derby, but its broader significance is miserable. They play each other four times a year in the league alone and at the end of the season one of them wins the league. Whoopdeedoo. If a derby's "hugeness" is determined by its broader significance, then Celtic - Rangers isn't in the top 50, let alone second on the list.

    Likewise, Boca - River is a massive game, a close local rivarly, a passionate affair and it is of significant interest beyond the borders of Argentina. But it's not more massive than any other game, not a closer local rivalry than any other, not any more passionate than the Glasgow derby and certainly not as universally watched as games like United - Liverpool and Real - Barca. So again ... what's the ultimate benchmark?

    It's a meaningless list, in other words. A bit of fun for the readership and it's clearly good for some debate (as this thread proves), but still ultimately meaningless.
     
  23. RichardL

    RichardL BigSoccer Supporter

    May 2, 2001
    Berkshire
    Club:
    Reading FC
    Nat'l Team:
    England
    I'd suspect also that there's been a conscious effort to avoid being anglo-centric in their choices. It would take quite a leap of imagination to place the Vienna derby ahead of the traditional North London one, for example. I've been to a Vienna derby and there was about 8000 there and it was pay-on-the-day, and very civilised and docile.

    So it's just a list of derbies (or just games between two rivals in many cases) with probably very little thought put into it beyond the first four or five.
     
  24. tino11

    tino11 New Member

    Dec 15, 2004
    Karlsruhe - Germany
    Junk.

    Newcastle vs. Sunderland
    Hibs vs. Hearts
    Bayern Munich vs. 1860 Munich
    Stuttgart vs. Karlsruhe

    Give me a break :rolleyes:
     
  25. O Fenômeno

    O Fenômeno New Member

    Apr 21, 2007
    New Jersey
    Corinthians/Sao Paulo.. 18??
    Gre-Nal.. 50

    :confused:

    European magazine so I udnerstand I guess...
     

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