Greatest Sports Rivalries: European Soccer

So now I move on to my favorite sport to watch in the mornings and afternoons; European Football! The soccer traditions in Europe are still very new to me, since I've grown up here in the states with our professional leagues. However the past 5 years now I have come to really enjoy and understand the format, teams, and the rivalries throughout Europe. There they are known as derbies, most notably in England, or sometimes as classicos in other parts of Europe. With this post I will mostly consider the big 4 leagues of Europe; the English Premier League, the Spanish Liga, the Italian Serie A, and the German Bundesliga.


European Football


1. Barcelona vs Real Madrid ("El Classico")

• Overall Record: Real Madrid leads 95-50-94
• First Match-up Ever Played: Feb 17th, 1929
• Total Meetings: 239
• Total League Titles for Barcelona: 25
• Total League Titles for Real Madrid: 33
• Locale: Barcelona and Madrid, Spain

2. Manchester United vs Liverpool ("The North West Derby")

• Overall Record: Manchester United leads 80-55-65
• First Match-up Ever Played: April 28th, 1894
• Total Meetings: 200
• Total League Titles for Manchester United: 20
• Total League Titles for Liverpool: 18
• Locale: North West of England; Manchester and Liverpool

3. Inter Milan vs AC Milan ("Derby della Madonnina")

• Overall Record: Inter Milan leads 79-67-76
• First Match-up Ever Played: Jan 10th, 1909
• Total Meetings: 22
• Total League Titles for Inter Milan: 18
• Total League Titles for AC Milan: 18
• Locale: Milan, Italy

4. Mancheter United vs Manchester City ("Manchester Derby")

• Overall Record: Manchester United leads 73-52-52
• First Match-up Ever Played: Nov 12th, 1881
• Total Meetings: 177
• Total League Titles for Manchester United: 20 
• Total League Titles for Manchester City: 5
• Locale: Greater Manchester

5 Juventus vs Inter Milan ("Derby d'Italia")

• Overall Record: Juventus leads 108-57-73
• First Match-up Ever Played: Nov 14th, 1909
• Total Meetings: 238
• Total League Titles for Juventus: 34
• Total League Titles for Inter Milan: 18
• Locale: Northwest Italy; Torino and Milan

6. Arsenal vs Tottenham ("The North London Derby")

• Overall Record: Arsenal leads 76-49-57
• First Match-up Ever Played: Dec 4th, 1909
• Total Meetings: 195
• Total League Titles for Arsenal: 13
• Total League Titles for Tottenham: 2 
• Locale: London, England

7. Bayern Munich vs Borussia Dortmund ("Der Klassiker")

• Overall Record: Bayern leads 56-33-50
• First Match-up Ever Played: Oct 16th, 1965
• Total Meetings: 119
• Total League Titles for Bayern Munich: 28
• Total League Titles for Borussia Dortmund: 8
• Locale: Bavaria, Westphalia

8. Liverpool vs Everton ("The Merseyside Derby")

• Overall Record: Liverpool leads 92-73-66
• First Match-up Ever Played: Oct 13th, 1894
• Total Meetings: 231
• Total League Titles for Liverpool: 18 
• Total League Titles for Everton: 9
• Locale: Liverpool, England

9. Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid ("El Derbi Madrileno")

• Overall Record: Real Madrid leads 100-45-50
• First Match-up Ever Played: Dec 2nd, 1906
• Total Meetings: 196
• Total League Titles for Real Madrid: 33
• Total League Titles for Atletico Madrid: 10
• Locale: Madrid, Spain

10. AS Roma vs Lazio ("Derby della Capitale")

• Overall Record: Roma leads 71-64-52
• First Match-up Ever Played: Dec 8th, 1929
• Total Meetings: 187
• Total League Titles for AS Roma: 3 
• Total League Titles for Lazio: 2
• Locale: Rome, Italy

Honorable Mention


Celtic vs Rangers ("The Old Firm Derby")
Sunderland vs Newcastle ("The Tyne Wear Derby")
Olympiacos vs Panathinaikos ("Derby of the Eternal Enemies")
Benefica vs Porto ("O Clasico")
Borussia Dortmund vs Schalke ("Revierderby")
Fenerbache vs Galatasary ("The Intercontinental Derby")