List of sports rivalries

A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants,[1] management, and supporters all to varying degrees.

The intensity of the rivalry can range anywhere from a light hearted banter to serious violence. A rivalry that gets out of control can lead to fighting, hooliganism, rioting and some instances with career-ending and even fatal consequences. In "The football war", along with other factors, it was suggested to have been the tipping point in leading to military conflicts.

Owners have been known to encourage rivalries as they tend to improve game attendance and television ratings for rivalry matches. Clubs can reduce fan aggression surrounding rivalry games by acknowledging rather than downplaying the conflict[2] because the rivalry is an integral part of fan identity.[3]

Games between two rivals that are based in areas of close geographical proximity are often known as a local derby, or simply just a derby (UK: /ˈdɑːrbi/ DAR-bee, US: /ˈdɜːrbi/ DUR-bee); a sporting event between two teams from the same town, city or region. The term is usually connected with association football[4] and the media and supporters will often refer to this fixture as Derby Day.[5]

Fans separated at an Old Firm derby in Glasgow, Scotland.

The term "derby" possibly originated from The Derby, a horse race in England, founded by the 12th Earl of Derby in 1780. The 19th Earl has since claimed the Derby name was originally only given to one other sporting event: Rugby league fixtures between St Helens at one end of the family's Knowsley estate and Wigan at the other.[6]

The other theory as to the name's origin involves Shrovetide football, an early, unofficiated version of both association and rugby football. It was first played in the town of Derby prior to Medieval times. From as early as the 12th century it was known to have been played in Ashbourne. It was a chaotic and exuberant affair that involved the whole town, often resulting in fatalities. The goals were at Nuns Mill in the north and the Gallows Balk in the south of the town, and much of the action took place in the River Derwent or the Markeaton Brook. Nominally the players came from All Saints' and St Peter's parishes, but in practice the game was a free-for-all with as many as 1,000 players. A Frenchman who observed a match in 1829 wrote in horror, 'if Englishmen call this play, it would be impossible to say what they call fighting'. Shrovetide football is still an annual event in the town of Ashbourne.[7]

Since at least as early as 1840 'derby' has been used as a noun in English to denote any kind of sporting contest.[8] Other names for derbies include Clásicos in certain parts of the world and crosstown rivalries in the United States.

Rivalries do not always stem from the sharing of an area. Hostilities can occur for different reasons, such as in the case of El Clásico with tensions between fans with a background of historically cultural and political differences. Frequent meetings in important games between teams can also lead to unpleasantries.

International rivalries

Association football

Athletics

Individual

1st party	2nd party	Discipline(s)	Timespan	Article	Source
Steve Ovett	Sebastian Coe	Middle-distance running	1978-1986		[9]
Usain Bolt	Tyson Gay	Sprinting	2005-2012		[10]
Asafa Powell	Tyson Gay	Sprinting	2006-		[11]
Dayron Robles	Liu Xiang	Hurdling	2007–2011		[12]
Joan Benoit	Grete Waitz	Marathon	—	—	[13]
Usain Bolt	Justin Gatlin	Sprinting	2012-2017		[14][15]
Usain Bolt	Yohan Blake	Sprinting	2012		[16]
Ben Johnson	Carl Lewis	Sprinting	1984–1988		[17]
Veronica Campbell-Brown	Allyson Felix	200 metres & 400 metres	2004–		[18]
Ondina Valla	Claudia Testoni	Sprinting	1932–1940	Testoni–Valla rivalry	[19]
Luigi Facelli	David Burghley		1927–1933		[20]
Kirani James	LaShawn Merritt		2011-		[21]
Paul Tergat	Haile Gebrselassie		1995-2000		[22]
Daley Thompson	Jürgen Hingsen		–		[23]
Ivana Španović	Darya Klishina		2007–		[24]

Team

1st party	2nd party	Discipline(s)	Timespan	Article	Source
Finland	Sweden	Multi-discipline	1925–	Finland-Sweden athletics international
Jamaica	United States	Sprinting	—		[25][26][27]
Kenya	Ethiopia	Long-distance running	1968–		[22][28]

Australian rules football

Badminton

1st party	2nd party	Timespan	Article	Source
Lee Chong Wei	Lin Dan	2004–	Lee–Lin rivalry

Bandy

In Swedish bandy, derby games are often played on Saint Stephen's Day.[29]

Baseball

Dominican Republic

Dominican Professional Baseball League

Santo Domingo rivals: Leones del Escogido vs. Tigres del Licey[30][31]

Japan

Nippon Professional Baseball

Tokyo Giants vs. Hanshin Tigers[32]

Mexico

Mexican Baseball League

Diablos Rojos del México (Mexico City Red Devils) vs. Tigres de Quintana Roo (Tigers) on a game named "Civil War Derby" ("Guerra Civil" in Spanish).[33]
Saraperos de Saltillo (Saltillo Sarapemaker's) vs. Vaqueros Laguna (Torreon Lagoon Cowboys) on a game named "Coahuila's Metropolitan Derby" ("Clásico metropolitano de Coahuila" in Spanish).[34]
Pericos de Puebla (Puebla Parrots) vs. Rojos del Águila de Veracruz (Veracruz Red Eagles) on a game named "Center rivalry" ("Rivalidad del centro" in Spanish).[35]
Diablos Rojos del México (Mexico City Red Devils) vs. Péricos de Puebla (Puebla Parrots) on a game named "Anahuac Derby" ("Clásico de Ánahuac" in Spanish).[36]

Mexican Pacific League

Naranjeros de Hermosillo (Hermosillo Orange Growers) vs. Tomateros de Culiacán (Culiacan Tomato Growers) on a game named "Derby of the Pacific Coast" ("Clásico del pacifico" in Spanish).[37]
Charros de Jalisco (Jalisco Charros) vs. Venados de Mazatlán (Mazatlan Deers) on a game named "Rivalry of the west" ("Rivalidad de Occidente" in Spanish).[38]

United States

Major League Baseball

Minor League Baseball

Mercer Cup: Bluefield Blue Jays vs. Princeton Rays[39][40][41][42][43]

Venezuela

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League

Basketball

Australia

The Derby of Distance: Perth Wildcats vs New Zealand Breakers[44][45]
- Although this rivalry is actually an international rivalry, it plays out within the Australia-based National Basketball League. The Breakers have been an NBL member from the league's formation.

Croatia

Zagreb Derby: Cibona vs Cedevita[46]
Croatian Derby: Cibona vs Split[47]
Classic derby: Cibona vs. Zadar[48]

France

Le Classique: Pau-Orthez vs Limoges[49]
Greater Paris Derby: Nanterre vs Metropolitans 92[50][51]
Alsace-Lorraine Derby: Nancy vs Strasbourg[52][53]

Italy

Bologna Derby: Fortitudo Bologna vs Virtus Bologna[55][56]
Lombardy Derby: Olimpia Milano vs Varese vs Cantù[57][58][59]
Veneto Derby: Treviso vs Reyer Venezia[60]
Rome Derby: Virtus Roma vs Stella Azzurra Roma[61]
Piedmont Derby: Auxilium Torino vs Biella vs Junior Casale[62]
Via Emilia Derby: Reggiana vs Fortitudo Bologna or Virtus Bologna[63]

Lebanon

Derby Beirut: Al Riyadi vs Sagesse[64][65]

Lithuania

Rytas vs Žalgiris[66]

North Macedonia

Skopje basketball derby: Rabotnički vs. MZT Skopje[67]

Philippines

Crispa–Toyota rivalry: Crispa Redmanizers vs Toyota Tamaraws
Ginebra-Magnolia rivalry:
Ginebra–Shell rivalry
Purefoods–Swift rivalry

Poland

Russia

Moscow derby: Khimki vs CSKA Moscow[68]
Moscow region derby: Khimki Moscow vs. Triumph Lyubertsy[69]
Volga derby: BC Nizhny Novgorod vs. BC Krasny Oktyabr[70]

Slovenia

Slovenian Classic: Krka vs Olimpija

Serbia

Eternal Derby: Partizan vs. Crvena zvezda
Derby of Serbia: Vojvodina vs. Partizan or Crvena zvezda

Spain

El Clásico: Barcelona vs. Real Madrid
Basque derby: Baskonia vs. Bilbao,[71] can also include GBC
Canary Islands derby: Canarias vs Gran Canaria
Madrid derby: Real Madrid vs Estudiantes
Catalan derby: Joventut vs Barcelona
Andalusian derby: Málaga vs Real Betis
Galician derby: Obradoiro vs Breogán, can also include Ourense or Coruña

United Kingdom

United States and Canada

National Basketball Association

Individuals

1st party	2nd party	Timespan	Article	Source
Bill Russell	Wilt Chamberlain	1959–1969	—	[72]
Larry Bird	Magic Johnson	1979–1991	—	[72]
LeBron James	Stephen Curry	2015–2018	Cavaliers–Warriors rivalry	[73]

Turkey

Istanbul Derby: Galatasaray vs Fenerbahçe, can also include Darüşşafaka, Anadolu Efes, Istanbul BB and Beşiktaş
Ankara Derby: Türk Telekom vs TED Ankara Kolejliler

Bobsleigh

1st party	2nd party	Timespan	Article	Source
Switzerland	East Germany	1976—1990	—	[74]
Kaillie Humphries	Elana Meyers	2013—	—	[75][76]

Bodybuilding

1st party	2nd party	Timespan	Article	Source
Arnold Schwarzenegger	Sergio Oliva		—	[77]