16. Benfica vs Sporting Lisbon
Lisbon (Portugal)
Dérbi da Segunda Circular
Benfica's main rival is Sporting, in the so-called "dérbi da Segunda Circular". The rivalry is based on the social status of the fanbases and the fact that these are the most successful clubs in Lisbon. Together with Porto, they form the Big Three in Portuguese sports. Benfica representsthe working class while Sporting represents the upper class. Benfica was the only club during the dictatorship years that had free elections for the club presidency.
In Portugal, a majority of the population who likes competitive football, are said to be Benfica sympathisers. Almost every municipality of Portugal has its own Casa do Benfica (House of Benfica), which can also be found in many cities and towns of countries worldwide (Andorra, Angola, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Cape Verde, England, France, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Luxembourg, Macau, South Africa, Switzerland, and United States).
Since the 2004-2005 championship, club membership figures have seen a significant increase (see reasons above). In April 2006 the number of club members surpassed 140,000. In July 2006, Benfica had 143,000 members, 1,000 more than Manchester United. Benfica is since 2006, the club with the most associates (registered paying supporters) in the world, with over 175,000 members.
Like all major Portuguese football clubs, Benfica has several organized groups of supporters (claque, in Portugal), including the Diabos Vermelhos (Red Devils), which is affiliated with the club, and the No Name Boys, which maintains an independent line.
Benfica has also the highest average attendance in Portuguese top league with about 40 thousand supporters in season 2006-07.
Being one of the most popular teams in Portugal, Sporting Clube de Portugal is among the Portuguese clubs with many house clubs (houses that represent the club in a particular region in Portugal or outside the country), Sporting has more than 200 official houses and more than 90,000 club members.
Organised fan groups:
Juventude Leonina - The biggest and oldest supporters group in Portugal founded by the sons of a former Sporting president in 1976, having more than 3,000 members.
Directivo Ultras XXI - Formed by a former leader of Juve Leo regarding an internal problem that is now healed. One of the biggest supporters group in Portugal with almost 2,000 members.
Torcida Verde - Second oldest supporters group of Sporting, formed in 1984, Torcida Verde is very well known because of their demonstrations against alleged corruption in Portuguese football and by supporting the less visible sports of Sporting.
17. Vasco da Gama vs Flamengo
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
The Millions' Derby
Club de Regatas Vasco da Gama, usually known as Vasco da Gama or simply Vasco, (after the famous Portuguese explorer of the same name) is a Brazilian sports club from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, founded on August 21, 1898 (although the football department started on November 5, 1915).
It was founded by Portuguese immigrants, and it is still the team traditionally supported by the Portuguese community of Rio de Janeiro and one of the most popular in Brazil, with more than 10 million supporters.
Vasco's biggest rivals are from the same city: Fluminense, Botafogo and Flamengo, with the latter being its biggest rival.
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo is a Brazilian multisport club located in Rio de Janeiro.
Despite not being the club's official name, Flamengo has become the term used by most to refer not just to the football team, but also the entire sporting association. Other nicknames used by fans include "Fla", "Mengo", and "Mengão" (which means Big Mengo), as well descriptions of the club's official colors, rubro-negro, which translates to "the scarlet-blacks" or "the scarlet and black." Flamengo's football/soccer team --the most popular club in Brazil with an estimated 35 million supporters -- placed 9th in FIFA Clubs of the 20th Century.
The Vulture is the mascot of the club.
Usually, in Brazil, each team has their own torcidas organizadas (like Europeans Ultras). Flamengo,
like any other Brazilian team has groups of organized supporters, most notably Torcida Jovem-Fla, Charanga Rubro-Negra, Flamanguaça and the largest of them, Raça Rubro-Negra, who claims having over 60.000 members.
The so-called "Clássico dos Milhões" (The Millions' Derby), named after the largest fanbases in Rio de Janeiro (and arguably across the country, if one discounts São Paulo state's sheer demographic weight), is considered by some the top Brazilian derby.
It has been played since 1923 as Vasco da Gama rose to first division to clinch on the fly its first title, just to be denied an unbeaten row by Flamengo.
The rivalry between the fans of the clubs can turn extremely violent, with cases such as shooting between fans of either side and the police occurring. Currently the success of the clubs is split pretty evenly, with Flamengo having recently marginally more cup success.
18. PAOK vs Aris
Thessaloniki (Greece)
PAOK Thessaloniki, the Panthessalonikios Athlitikos Omilos Konstantinoupoliton ( the Pan(all)-Thessalonikian Athletic Organisation of Constantinopolitans), is a sports club in Thessaloniki, Greece. PAOK Thessaloniki cultivates many sports, including football, basketball, volleyball, handball, water polo, swimming, wrestling and weightlifting. PAOK was founded at 1926 and its colors are black and white. Because of its crest, it is also known as the "Two Headed Eagle of the North", in contrast with the other Greek club of Constantinopolitan origin, AEK Athens, the "Two Headed Eagle of the South".
Aris Thessaloniki Football Club is a Greek football club that premiered on the 25th of March 1914 in Thessaloniki. The colors of the team are yellow and black, reminiscent of Byzantium, where Thessaloniki has always been the second most important city of the Empire. Aris has earned 3 league titles and 1 cup. The club is named after Ares, the god of war, whose image is portrayed on the club logo (as depicted in the Ludovisi Ares).
Aris has a relatively big fanbase for Greek standards and it is the fifth most supported club in Greece. The fanbase is spread across all the economic classes in the city and the greater region of Macedonia (Greece). The biggest rivalry is against the arch-rival PAOK. Other traditional rivals include the Athenian clubs Olympiacos Piraeus, Panathinaikos and AEK Athens.
Aris's supporters are organised in many fan clubs, the most important of them being Super 3 and Ierolohites.
The rivalry between those two Thessalonikian clubs can be traced back to a rivalry between local Greeks and Greek refugees from Asia Minor, Pontus and Istanbul who settled in the region of Macedonia after the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey in 1923. The antagonism between those social groups was expressed in many ways, one of them being football after the establishment of PAOK in 1926.
It should be noted that during the '80s and '90s it was very rare for any rival team's supporters to visit Toumba stadium, the home ground of PAOK, while PAOK fans were always following their side, creating a myth around their name and enjoying the respect of all fans.
19. Colo-Colo vs Universidad de Chile
Santiago (Chile)
Clásico
Corporación Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo is a Chilean football club. It has won a record number of national titles and is the only Chilean team to have won the Copa Libertadores de América (1991). Colo-Colo is known as the "Albos" (snow whites), "Cacique", "El Indio" (the indian) and "Eterno Campeón" (eternal champion). The traditional uniform consists of a white shirt, black shorts, and white socks.
The diehard fans, "Hinchada" or "Barra", are known as the Garra Blanca (white claw). They are the biggest organized group of football fans in Chile. Garra Blanca is known to follow the team and support it in every city and stadium where Colo-Colo plays and they make it feel like Colo Colo is local at any stadium in Chile except Calama. Also the "Garra Blanca" is the oldest "barra brava" of the country, it was founded in 1985.
Club de Fútbol Profesional de la Universidad de Chile is a football club from Chile. They are known by their nickname "La U". The club has made a name for itself, not only through its victories (it is one of two teams in Chile with 12 national cups), but also from the enthusiasm of its fans, an enthusiasm carried ever since the team's professional debut, when the daily news posted that "the fans of Universidad de Chile were all the game chanting and supporting their team, from the bus that brought them to the stadium until the end of the game". That enthusiasm has never failed and when the team were relegated to the second division the fans were still there for every game. The fans usually refer to their love for the team with the phrase "More than a passion, a feeling".
The biggest supporters group (firm) of the club is "Los de Abajo", a barra brava (ultras, but South American style), it was the official group until the club was transformed into a public stock company. They have one of the largest fanside in Chile.
Universidad de Chile vs Colo-Colo is the biggest sports rivalry in Chile, averaging more than 55,000 people per game. The most important period of the "Clásico" was during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. He was named honorary president of Colo-Colo, and it was in this period that the club won several of its championships. Universidad de Chile had more support from the political left wing. They have always been in conflict with Colo-Colo, and even today their fans see the Estadio Monumental as the "Stadium of Pinochet".
20. Galatasaray vs Besiktas
Istanbul (Turkey)
Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (English: Galatasaray Sports Club), is a Turkish sports club based in Istanbul, famous for its football section. Galatasaray is the most successful club in the history of Turkish football, having won more trophies than any other Turkish club. Galatasaray is also the first Turkish football club.
Besiktas Jimnastik Kulübü (commonly Besiktas), (English: Besiktas Gymnastics Club) is a professional
sports club based in Besiktas district in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded in 1903, and registered 13 January 1910, it is the firstregistered sports club in Turkey.