The Birth of Rivalries: Football's Fiercest Clashes Explained

There are many things that make football the world's greatest sport. The players, the stadiums, the kits and of course - the rivalries. Many of the game's fiercest clashes owe their origins to local division but other rivalries have far more complex histories leading to heated and tempestuous ties certain to wet the appetite of spectators. In this piece, we are going to look closer at four of these rivalries and understand how their intricacies have led to unmissable action for supporters around the world.

4. Liverpool vs Chelsea

A fairly modern rivalry - Liverpool vs Chelsea is the antithesis of a local derby. Indeed, its animosity lies within the differences between the two local areas within which the teams currently play. Liverpool has always seen itself as the people's club with its roots firmly established within a working class demographic, with Chelsea - its seemingly polar opposite. There are of course many other clashes similar to this and indeed such generalisations are arguably unfair but the last 20 years have frequently thrust these two clubs together in some of football's greatest games.

The rivalry was born in 2003. Jesper Gronkjaer's final day winner against the Reds at Stamford Bridge would provide Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich with the foundation to buy Chelsea from its previous owner Ken Bates. A wealth of big money signings and the capture of Europe's most sought-after coach, Jose Mourinho gave Chelsea the label, "". For many, the London club's newly found wealth and with it, success, would symbolise everything wrong with modern football.

On the other hand, Liverpool could boast a history of success dating back the club's first league title in 1901. This earned history vs bought history would provide the basis for a genuine hatred between both sets of supporters. On the pitch, the clashes would be enflamed further by the rigid styles of both Mourinho and Liverpool's Rafa Benitez as both sides met in multiple finals and semi-finals. It would be the famous Champions League encounters in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009 that truly gave this rivalry its peak. From ghost goals to 4-4 thrillers there was seldom a dull game between them.

Today, there is a relative contrast in fortunes as Liverpool's growth under Jurgen Klopp has left them as one of the nation's top sides with Chelsea still reeling from multiple failed managers and a seemingly never ending revolving door of players too. However, clashes in major finals are still a common site. Liverpool however can boast the more recent bragging rights, defeating Chelsea in the 2019 Super Cup Final, 2022 FA Cup Final and both the 2022 and 2024 Carabao Cup Finals at Wembley.

3. Arsenal vs Stoke City

Perhaps a strange one to many reading this blog, but Arsenal vs Stoke City certainly had its venom in the late 2000s and 2010s. Of course, the two cities of Stoke and London as significantly far away from each other but this rivalry has its origins two sources- style of play and an injury. 

Under the management of Arsene Wenger, Arsenal had become synonymous with attractive football and winning football matches playing the game at its purest. By the end of the 2000s however, success had dried up for the Gunners as rigid tactical developments centered on pragmatic play had dominated the end of the decade. Stoke, promoted to the Premier League in 2008, had relied on a resolute and gritty approach under the stewardship of Tony Pulis. The long-throws of Rory Delap and combative approach to set-plays had seen the side find the best football odds to stay up and be described as the antithesis of Arsenal.

Such a clash in ideologies would lead to heated battles between the sides and during a Premier League match in 2010, Arsenal's young Welsh midfielder, Aaron Ramsey suffered what can only be described as an horrific leg-break, following a full-blooded tackle from Potters' captain, Ryan Shawcross. The injury saw Ramsey miss the next 9 months of competitive action and Shawcross leave the pitch in tears. 

The injury did little to quell the animosity between the sides as Ramsey was repeatedly booed by Stoke supporters on subsequent visits to the Britannia Stadium (yeah, we have no idea either). Ramsey would have the last laugh, however, as his goal to win the 2014 FA Cup Final ended Arsenal's nine year drought and Stoke were relegated to the Championship in 2018.

2. Feyenoord vs Ajax

Although both sides are among the Netherlands' most successful, this clash's origins come from the wider rivalry between the cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Such tension between the two areas in centered on class struggles from the culture of Amsterdam to the working-class grit of Rotterdam. 

There is little doubt that Ajax are the more internationally renowned club, owing much of their fame to their impressive four European Cup victories including three consecutively (1971-73). However, much to Ajax's ire and Feyenoord's delight, it is the Rotterdam club that can always point to the fact that they were the first Dutch team to win the continent's most illustrious trophy in 1970. A 2-1 victory over Jock Stein's Celtic led to the club from De Kuip earning the national bragging rights.

Likewise, the 1980s would also see the animosity between the sides grow following two notable transfers. Firstly, Wim Jansen's move from Feyenoord to Ajax caused a wealth of unrest from supporters and then perhaps the most infamous of all - Johan Cruyff's move from Ajax to Feyenoord. Cruyff had been such a talismanic figure at Ajax that even some Feyenoord supporters were not keen on his arrival, unveiling a banner reading, 'Feyenoord Forever, Cruyff Never'. All was forgotten however when the legendary player helped the club win the Eredivisie in 1983.

1. Barcelona vs Real Madrid

Comfortably the most famous of all rivalries is Barcelona vs Real Madrid, known to the world as El Clasico. There is no doubt that success for both sides and competing trophy cabinets have played a part in the creation of the game's most famous clash, but its origins are far more complex than many believe. 

To understand just how this rivalry was born between Spain's biggest cities, we need to travel back to the 1930s. Spain, at this time, was embroiled in political upheaval and increasingly radical ideologies from both the left and right. By 1936 the nation was embroiled in a devastating civil war which left Spain in ruins following three years of brutal conflict. Emerging victorious was the far-right regime under General Franco. Franco would introduce repressive measures to stifle the identity of Catalonian citizens with FC Barcelona becoming one of the country's most heavily scrutinised institutions. Madrid on the other hand would prosper under the Generalissimo with its leadership's fascist sympathies playing into the dictator's hands. Whoever said football isn't political?!

Of course, such tensions would inevitably spill over onto the pitch and matches between the two sides has often been heated. With the added fuel of controversial transfers like Di Stefano in the 1950s and Luis Figo in 2000, there is seldom a season where this fixture doesn't make the headlines. In more recent years, the individual rivalries of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo came to dominate the tie with both teams enjoying ever-growing fanbases larger than any other side in world football. There is certainly more we could write about El Clasico, but that will have to wait for another time!

©The Football History Boys, 2023