v
1. Boca Juniors vs River Plate
Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Superclásico
Club Atlético River Plate and Club Atlético Boca Juniors are the two largest football clubs in Argentina, with more than half the country's football fans supporting the clubs. Due to the rivalry between them, the Boca Juniors vs River Plate Superclásico local derby match was listed by the BBC as one of the most famous derbies in the world and also as one of the Fifty sporting things you must do before you die by The Observer newspaper.
Boca Juniors is traditionally regarded as the club of Argentina's working class, in contrast with the supposedly more upper-class base of cross-town archrival Club Atlético River Plate.
Boca Juniors claims to be the club of "half plus one" ("la mitad mas uno") of Argentina's population, but a 2006 survey placed its following at 40% still the largest share. They have the highest number of fans, according to their percentage in their country.
River fans and the press are fond of the nickname Los Millonarios. This name derives from the 1930s after some expensive transfers of players from other clubs, including Carlos Peucelle from Sportivo Buenos Aires in 1931 and Bernabé Ferreyra from Tigre in 1932. Between 1979 and 1981, the River squad was reputed to be amongst the most expensive in the world.
The Boca-River Superclasico rivalry is one of the most thrilling derbies in the world.
23 June 1968
River Plate v Boca Juniors
Seventy four people are killed and more than 150 are injured when spectators mistakenly headed towards a closed exit after a first division match in Buenos Aires.The fans at the front of the melee are crushed to death against the doors by other fans unaware of the closed passageway at the back.
2. Galatasaray vs Fenerbahçe
Istanbul (Turkey)
Istanbul Derby
Fenerbahçe S.K. and Galatasaray S.K. have a long history of rivalry. The tension and the excitement are building and building weeks before match days. Unfortunately, sometimes this causes extremist fans to create violence and harm themselves, their own clubs, as well as opponents and the Police on match days. Fans also attach high importance to UEFA competitions. Torches, smoke, drums, flags and giant posters used to create visual grandeur and apply psychological pressure on visiting teams, which fans call welcoming them to hell.
There is a geographical split because Galatasaray is located in the European side of Istanbul,whereas Fenerbahçe is located on the Asian side. Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray fans react in the same way in another issue meaning that they don't like the other side because they are of Fenerbahçe or Galatasaray.
Since rebuilding the Sükrü Saracoglu Stadium, Fenerbahçe's average attendances have been in the top in Turkey, though in the 2006-07 season Fenerbahçe's attendances fell slightly, to an average league attendance of approximately 39,425 which still is a much higher number of the capacity crowds that their arch-rivals Galatasaray and Besiktas have ever seen. Fenerbahçe's high attendance rates are unrivaled in Turkey and supporters create the most crowded and supportive performances of the Turkish League respectively.
3. Olympiakos vs Panathinaikos
Athens (Greece)
Derby of the Eternal Enemies
Traditionally, Olympiacos' main rival is Panathinaikos, in the so-called derby of the eternal enemies, the most classic rivalry not just in Athens, but in Greek football and sports in general, and one of the most well-known rivalries around the world. Each game between the two most successful and most popular Greek football clubs splits Athens and the whole of Greece in two, as they have been in direct competition continuously throughout their history; however, this derby is much more than just a football derby for their fans, it is a social, cultural and regional rivalry. On the one side Olympiacos is seen as the classic representative of the working class of the port of Piraeus, while Panathinaikos is considered the club of the Athenian higher-class society, although this kind of distinction has been weakened and the two clubs have similar fanbases. Many times some violent incidents between the fans of the two sides have occurred, like the death of Mihalis Filopoulos, a Panathinaikos fan, in a clash of hooligans supporting the two clubs in 2007, for a women's volleyball match and not for a football game though.
4. Celtic FC vs Rangers FC
Glasgow (Scotland)
The Old Firm
One of the biggest and most intense derby in the world, the Old Firm derby between Scottish teams Rangers and Celtic is more than a football match - it pits religion, politics and opposing social attitudes against each other. Both clubs play in Glasgow, Scotland and the match is one of the oldest derbies in the world, dating back to 1888. The Old Firm derby is also one of the most contested matches in the world, with over 370 games having been played. The matches are played at either Ibrox Stadium with 51,000 fans or Celtic Park in front of 60,000. In some cases, the match is played at Hampden Park, if the tie happens to be a Scottish Cup or Scottish League Cup final or semi-final. Both teams have won many titles, but currently Rangers are ahead of Celtic with 51 league titles to 42.
This rivalry is considered one of the best in the world, with amazing atmospheres and loud chanting, it is easy to understand why it is. Millions tune in to the Old Firm derby across the globe.
Rangers are considered a Protestant club with Unionist and loyalist supporters, while Celtic are considered a Catholic club with Republican and Nationalist supporters. It has long had connections with the political conflict in Northern Ireland, with thousands of fans from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland making the trip to Scotland for these matches. There is even violence in Northern Ireland following Old Firm games. Indeed, the rivalry between the two clubs is so great that only five players have ever moved between clubs.
The Old Firm rivalry fuels many assaults and many deaths on Old Firm Derby days; an activist group that monitors sectarian activity in Glasgow has reported that on Old Firm weekends, admissions to hospital emergency rooms increase ninefold over normal levels, and journalist Franklin Foer noted that in the period from 1996 to 2003, eight deaths in Glasgow were directly linked to Old Firm matches, and hundreds and thousands of assaults.
2 January 1971
Celtic v Rangers
The Old Firm derby attracted enormous crowds and this game at Ibrox Stadium was no different.
The match was heading for a goalless draw until Celtic scored with a minute to go, prompting a mass exodus of disappointed Rangers fans.Although Colin Stein scored for Rangers in the last minute for 1-1 draw, many Rangers supporters were still on their way out.But with so many fans leaving at the same time, the downward force pushed many people trying to get out to the stadium onto the ground.
The momentum of the crowd meant that once people started to fall, there was no way of holding the mass of bodies back and 66 people lost their lives, with another 140 suffering injuries.
5. FC Red Star vs Partizan FC
Belgrade (Serbia)
The Eternal Derby
The dual is regarded as one of the greatest football rivalries in the world and the matches between these rivals have been labeled as the eternal derby (Serbian Latin: veciti derbi). These matches are always greatly anticipated and quite spectacular, but in recent years the amount of violence and hooliganism made attendance fall an inevitable consequence. The greatest attendance was about 108,000 spectators.
Partizan's supporters, the Grobari (Gravediggers), were formed in 1970. The nickname itself was given by their biggest rivals (the Delije of Red Star Belgrade) , referring to the club's mostly black colors which were similar to the official uniforms of cemetery undertakers. The other theory is that the name arrives from Partizan's stadium street name - Humska (Graves). Danny Dyer featured the Grobari on the Real Football Factories International show. In the episode he labelled the Grobari as a group willing to do anything for the respect of the club.
Today, Grobari consist of three large groups: Južni Front, Grobari 1970 and Grobari Beograd, with various subgroups from which larger one consists.
The group as a whole traditionally maintains good relations with the Greek PAOK football club supporters Gate 4, as well as with the fans of Russian CSKA Moscow and Bulgarian CSKA Sofia.
Supporters of Red Star are known as Delije. A rough English translation might be "courageous and brave young men" or simply "The Heroes". They are generally concentrated in the North Stand of the Stadion Crvena Zvezda. Though the Red Star Sports Society has clubs in over twenty sports, Delije mostly focus on football (FK Crvena Zvezda) and basketball ( KK Crvena Zvezda). The name Delije first began to be used by hardcore Red Star supporters during late 1980s, with official inauguration taking place on 7 January 1989. Up to that point, the diehard Red Star fans were scattered amongst about eight fan groups that shared the north stand at the Red Star Stadium (known colloquially as Marakana), most prominent of which were Red Devils, Zulu Warriors and Ultras. As a sign of appreciation Red Star Football Club painted the word Delije in block letters across their stadium's north stand - the gathering point of the club's most loyal and passionate fans.
The first international game after the civil war ended was a friendly match vs. Olympiakos (4:1 ft. score) at Marakana. A large flag with "Welcome Orthodox Brothers" was set along the east stand as a welcome gesture to Greek fans and players. Today there is a solid friendship between the two supporting groups, and they have a ultra-union group, Orthodox Brothers. Spartak Moscow fans also joined the group, so seeing fans of all the three clubs at one stand supporting the same team - especially at away European matches.