10 greatest football derbies of all time

Some the greatest rivalries in football are also local derbies

#5 The Intercontinental Derby - Fenerbahce vs Galatasaray

Istanbul is the capital city of Turkey and there are several clubs from the city playing in the Turkish Super Lig. Three of them, Beskitas, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, are also the biggest and most successful teams in the country.

However, the rivalry between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray is the biggest rivalry in the city and the country. The rivalry earned the name intercontinental derby because Galatasaray is in Europe and Fenerbahce a few miles away is in Asia.

The rivalry grew manifold in 1996 because of then Galatasaray manager Graeme Souness. The two teams met in the final of the cup competition which Galatasaray won at the home of Fenerbahce. After the match, Souness picked up a Galatasaray flag and erected it in kickoff spot.

The flag incident was the first in a long line of subsequent headline incidents in matches between the teams. The pyros, tifos and noisy stadium make it a fantastic spectacle. However, there are often fights on and off the pitch when the two teams meet.

On head to head, Fener has 103 wins while Galatasaray only has 81 wins. However, the latter has won more Super Lig titles and Turkish Cups. They’ve faced each other in the final of the Turkish Cup in five seasons including in the first ever cup final and Galatasaray has won all five of them.

Edited by Sundaresh Kumar