More Than A Game: Around the World in Football Derbies

Article by Sam Wakeford. Edited by Emma Carmichael. Additional Research by Ellie Veryard

A global language, a cultural referent capable of bringing joy to millions of people or even the remedy to all of society’s ills, the beautiful game continues to hold sway as the world’s premier sport. Watched and played by millions and known by all, it shall be argued within the parameters of this article that football is far more than merely a game. Rather, for many it can be more accurately described as an identity, a cultural affiliation to a place or region, a commitment to a set of ideals or perhaps even an opiate with the powers to inspire. No better display of these emotions and principles can be found than the great occasion of derby day in which the festering hatred channelled towards your bitterest rivals, the scum, the skates, the grobari (gravediggers), can finally be released in a one off, winner takes all, duel. For the victor it’s bragging rights, renewed faith and blind optimism for the coming months while for the loser it’s a sorry tale of wounded pride with only the promise of revenge next time to take forward. So what is it then that makes the football derby so significant across the globe?

From the enclosed hostility of Boca’s La Bombonera (‘the Chocolate Box’) to the dizzy heights of the upper tiers of the Camp Nou, the colour, passion and perhaps even violence of adherents are just some of the many images that the great derbies of the footballing world conjure up. Always eagerly anticipated and keenly contested, the global football audience relishes the spectacle and drama that the world’s biggest derbies provide, though perhaps often underestimate how much they can really mean. Mexico’s national derby is one such case in point. Indeed, when America and Chivas lock horns, the contest on the pitch is merely representative of the far bigger real life struggle for the cultural high ground. For example, as the glamorous team of the city adorned with its many expensive imports and bankrolled by the country’s biggest communications company, America happily embrace their role as Mexican football’s financial powerhouse. Boasting greater nationwide support and widely admired for their all Mexican transfer policy, however, it is Chivas hailing from the humble province of Guadalajara, who can lay legitimate claim to being the club of the people. Similarly, the Istanbul derby too can be seen as a clash of cultures when Besiktas, representative of the new, aspiring European Turkey pit, their wits against their arch rivals Fenerbahce, synonymous with the old Anatolia and the nation’s proud Asian cultural heritage in the ‘battle for the Bosphorous’.

Moving into more specific aspects of culture, religion is a further element that permeates many of the world’s football derbies. First taking place in 1888, the Old Firm is perhaps the world’s most highly charged religious rivalry and one in which became firmly enmeshed in the sectarian politics of Ulster over the course of the previous century. Championing the cause of the many Catholic immigrants who flocked to Glasgow in the 19th century, Celtic will forever be known as the team of Republicanism and supporters of an independent Ireland while conversely their bitterest rivals, Rangers, in closely aligning themselves to the national interests of Scotland and the wider British Isles, continue to act as the standard bearers of a united, Protestant Kingdom. In Eastern Europe, religion is also at the forefront of the Krakow derby in Poland with a former Jutzenka defender first coining the phrase ‘holy war’ to describe the Wisla-Cracovia rivalry. Finally, like the Old Firm-Ulster connection, the religious connotations prevalent in the Israeli Maccafi-Hapoel Tel Aviv derby have too become messily entrenched in the Israeli- Palestinian political conflict.

Class conflict is a further facet that underpins many of the world’s football derbies. Arguably seen best in England with its long and rich industrial heritage, football class consciousness can be traced back to the dock yards of the early twentieth century East End when the ‘Lions of the South’, Millwall, first became acquainted with the dockers from the New Thames Ironworks, West Ham. Class hostility played out in the dockyards was also apparent in establishing the current Southampton-Portsmouth rivalry in which opposing supporters refer to one another as either ‘the scum’, derived from the acronym Southampton Corporation Union Men, or ‘the skates’, a derogatory term for sailors made in reference to Portsmouth being the home of Royal Navy. Finally heading up the A1, class hostility between the Mackems and Magpies can be traced back much further still than the two other case studies. A region built around the cornerstones of coal and shipbuilding, Newcastle and Sunderland have long been adversaries since Charles I’s decision to bestow the East of England Coal Trade Rights to Newcastle prior to the outbreak of civil war in 1642. Successfully igniting the torch paper of antagonism, heated rivalry continued throughout the Industrial Revolution as Sunderland established itself as the centre of world shipbuilding while Newcastle continued to dominate the region’s lucrative coal reserves. Happy to associate themselves with the underdog tag, the Mackems are keen to distance themselves from their wealthier, ‘media- grabbing’, neighbours by pointing to their impressive network of regional support firmly rooted within the local community. By contrast, Newcastle lament the bitterness of their little brother and instead pride themselves on their large and famously loyal fan base who travel the length and breadth of the country to vociferously urge their team on.

Finally, history and politics have become entangled in many footballing rivalries. Stemming most notably from Moscow during the Communist era, the army-state rivalry was further duplicated across much of the former Eastern Bloc. For example, in Belgrade, Partizan, as the club of the Yugoslav People’s Army, have long enjoyed close ties with the armed forces while conversely their neighbours, Red Star, founded too in 1945, were commonly associated with state sponsored Ministry of Interior. A similar model too can be seen in Bucharest where Steaua and Dinamo became emblematic of the army and state respectively. Moving into the political sphere, El Clasico provides the best example of football rooting itself within Spain’s political sphere. Traditionally the club of the capital and establishment, Real Madrid were long endorsed by Franco regime and thus at present represent the forces of right wing conservatism. In juxtaposition, FC Barcelona identity themselves as a separate entity altogether and one in which that is fiercely proud of its Catalan heritage and supportive of the left wing forces of liberalism and democracy once brutally crushed by Franco and the establishment. Long perceived as subversive and potentially radical, Barca’s ideals are no more clearly embodied than by former Barca right-back Oleguer Presas. An economics graduate and outspoken left wing sympathiser and Catalan nationalist, Oleguer has made himself both an icon for the Catalan cause though equally a hate figure for Spanish nationalism at large by, for example, making himself the self appointed captain of the Catalan national team, refusing to train with the Spanish national team in Madrid and only conducting post match interviews in the native Catalan dialect.

As shown by its impact upon religion, class, history and politics, the football derby has and continues to become entwined in the many spheres of public life by firmly cementing itself within the national and local consciousness worldwide. With the ability to bring joy, instigate change or even unite divided communities, the power of football as both a force of good and cultural referent should not be underestimated. By examining some of the world’s many football derbies, it has hopefully become clear that football means more and indeed is far more than merely game for many people. Rather to many, in conjunction with any of the above, victory is not enough while losing is simply unthinkable.

*****

Chivas is the only football club in Mexico to play only players of Mexican Heritage.

The Derby between Club America , Mexico City and Chivas is referred to as El Súper Clásico.

Out of 204 games, 73 have resulted in an American victory, 63 a Chivas victory and 63 a draw.

The Derby between Steaua Buchuresti and Dinamo Buchuresti is commonly called The Eternal Derby.

Out of 146 games, Dinamo lead by 53 wins to Steaua’s 48, leaving 45 draws.

Scottish flags are rare among Old Firm supporters, they are more likely to have the Irish tri-colour if Celtic and the Union Flag if Rangers.

Violence between supporters of Millwall F.C. and West Ham has been so bad that after a 2009 League Cup game there were calls for matches to be played behind closed doors, or alternatively never at all.

← Back to Volume 2

← Back to Issue 4