What is the most iconic rivalry in history? What is the closest rivalry in football? Also, What is the biggest rivalry in Europe? This content will help you know about the most famous rivalries in football. Football games are often exciting. But the games turn into the most heated, tense, and thrilling ones when two arch-rivals take on each other. Those games often create clashes not only among the players but also among the managers, staff, and even fans. There are plenty of major rivalries and here we will discuss the most famous ones.
What is Football’s Biggest Rivalry?
“The world stops when the El Clasico begins”. Perhaps this quote should be enough to describe the significance of this clash. It’s the rivalry between 2 Spanish giants Real Madrid and FC Barcelona. The inaugural meeting between the two sides took place on May 13, 1902. The 2 rivals never give way an inch when they fight against each other. In fact, the side from the Spanish capital and the Catalan capital fight for their lives when they come head to head on a football pitch. El Clasico has millions of viewers worldwide and even the irregular soccer fans do watch this clash on regular occasions.
El Clasico is undoubtedly the biggest rivalry in football according to most pundits, experts, and fans. The rivalry had a special complexion throughout its history. But fans of the recent generation are perhaps the luckiest ones as they have witnessed the most exciting era of fight between the 2 sides. The clash got extra importance due to the existence of the 2 GOATs: Messi and Ronaldo. Their individual rivalry took this team clashes to another level and the spectators were fortunate enough to enjoy some most thrilling contests. In simple words, El Clasico isn’t only the biggest rivalry in Europe but also the most iconic rivalry in history. It’s also the most watched rivalry in soccer.
Most Famous Rivalries in Football
Take a look at the other most famous rivalries in world football.
Super Clasico De Las Americas
This is the rivalry between 2 South American sides Argentina and Brazil. Interestingly, it’s the only rivalry in this list that features 2 national sides instead of the soccer clubs. The alluded rivalry is also one of the oldest rivalries in world football. The antipathy which has an enriched history, started with an international friendly game between the 2 sides which took place on 20th September, 1914. Since then the 2 neighboring nations have taken on each other more than a hundred times.
Argentina and Brazil, are one of the very few most successful football nations in the world. Both countries have reputations for producing world-class footballers throughout history. Super Clasico De Las Americas featured many great footballers including the likes of Pele, Maradona, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Messi, Batistuta, and more. So, the Argentine-Brazil Super Clasico is the 1st among the most famous rivalries in international football history.
North-West Derby
The most famous rivalry in English football is between Manchester United and Liverpool FC. The clash is known as the North-West Derby. The two sides are represented by 2 cities that are no more than 35 miles away. The 2 cities have always been in competition with each other and it is not confined to football. You will be surprised to know, the cities have been in industrial and economic competition with each other as well. The two antagonists took on each other for the very first time on April 28, 1894. In these 127 years, they played each other more than 200 times and have won no less than 137 trophies together so far.
Milan Derby
Most of the fans call it the: Derby della Madonnina. It features 2 sides from the very same city of Milan and both sides use San Siro as their home ground. The clash between the 2 opponents started on January 10, 1909, and still going on. Both the teams are one of the best sides in Italy and have so much success and trophies in their cabinets. The Black and Blues had the reputation of attracting the bourgeoisie while Red and Blacks did attract the working class.
The Manchester Derby
The rivalry which started on November 12, 1881, and has a pretty old history, got its true color in recent years. The two Manchester-based sides, Man Utd and Man City often considered each other as their rivals or more accurately the “City Rivals”. However, the Red Devils often overshadowed the Citizens with their sheer class, success, and fanbase. City could never match United’s glory until the City Football Group took charge. In the last decade, things started changing. United’s glory fell apart after Fergie’s retirement while Citizens started displaying their colorful performances.
The 2 rivals have presented so many thrilling encounters to the soccer lovers. United fans would always love to remember that Michael Owen goal or Robin Van Persie free-kick. Meanwhile, the Sky Blue fans will tell their counterparts to remember that 6-1 shame. However, that Aguero moment against Queens Park Rangers gave another level of complexion to this rivalry.
Derby d’Italia
Another intense rivalry in Italian football featuring 2 league giants Juventus and Inter Milan. The antipathy which started with its inaugural meeting on November 14, 1909, has produced so many controversial events throughout history. Doesn’t matter whatever the result of the game is, this rivalry never had a shortage of entertainment. Inter fans claim about their overturned victory during the 1960-61 season while Juve fans feel terrible pain whenever they remember the 2006 incidents, when their match-fixing scandal resulted in Inter’s Scudetto glory.
The Intercontinental Derby
The Intercontinental Derby is the football match between 2 Turkish heavyweights Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray. As Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray are two of the major Turkish teams from the Asian and the European parts of Istanbul respectively, this derby is called “Intercontinental”. It’s the biggest soccer match in Turkey and is a highly intense one. However, this derby doesn’t get enough hype or media coverage because the Turkish Super Lig is comparatively less popular worldwide and doesn’t attract millions of fans like the EPL, La Liga, or Serie A do. However, this rivalry is still one of the most famous ones in football.
Der Klassiker
Der Klassiker is the biggest rivalry in German football. It is the rivalry between 2 Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. The 2 clubs came face to face for the very first time on October 16, 1965. However, the rivalry grew during the 1990s when Dortmund snatched the German top-flight title on back-to-back occasions from Bayern. Although Dortmund is way behind Bayern’s level, they still fight with their hearts out during the game against the Allianz Arena-based side. So far the biggest clash between these 2 sides was perhaps the UEFA Champions League final of the 2012-13 campaign where Bayern secured a 2-1 win to secure their 5th European title.
Madrid Derby
The soccer game between 2 clubs from the Spanish capital Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, is known as the Madrid Derby. Los Blancos might be the more successful of the two sides, but Los Rojiblancos is also a side with an enriched history. The 2 sides have gifted so many memorable games to soccer lovers. Real Madrid dominates the stats with a healthy number of wins while Atletico has done a pretty good job in recent years to minimize the huge gap between the 2 sides.
The North London Derby
It’s the game between the two North London-based sides Arsenal and Tottenham. Undoubtedly this fixture is one of the most exciting fixtures of the Premier League season. The clubs are located at each other’s sites and often produce thrilling results, plenty of attendance, and bantering between fans.
Special Mentions:
See some other most famous rivalries in football which just rank outside the top 10.
- The Superclásico (Boca Juniors and River Plate)
- O Clássico (S.L. Benfica and FC Porto)
- The Merseyside Derby (Everton and Liverpool)
- Derby della Capitale or The Rome Derby (AS Roma and SS Lazio)
- Paulista Derby (Corinthians and Palmeiras)
- Le Classique (Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Merseille)
- The Old Firm Derby (Celtic FC and Rangers FC)
- Derby of the Eternal Enemies (Olympiacos F.C. and Panathinaikos F.C.)
- De Topper (Ajax and PSV)
- Derby del Sole (Napoli and AS Roma)
- El Súper Clásico (Club América and Club Deportivo Guadalajara)
- Eternal Derby or Romanian Derby (Dinamo București and Steaua București)
