List of association football rivalries
This list of association football rivalries catalogues football rivalries around the world. This includes rivalries at the club and international level, including local derby and intercontinental competitions. It also lists rivalries between individual players, managers, and one another.
Individual rivalries
Between players
1st party | 2nd party | 3rd party | Timespan | Notes | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lorenzo Buffon | Giorgio Ghezzi | 1959–1965 | Played for rival cross-city clubs (AC Milan and Inter Milan) throughout two different periods and also competed for a starting role with the Italy national football team during the 1950s and 1960s. They also had a relationship with the same woman at different times (Edy Campagnoli) and played for three of the same clubs throughout different spells in a three-way exchange (AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Genoa). | ||
Gianni Rivera | Sandro Mazzola | 1960–1977 | Played for rival cross-city clubs (AC Milan and Inter Milan) and also competed for a starting role with the Italy national football team during the 1960s and 1970s (see 1970 FIFA World Cup). | ||
Roberto Boninsegna | Francesco Morini | 1969–1976 | Both players initially played for rivals clubs (Inter Milan and Juventus), with Morini (a defender) often tasked with marking Boninsegna (a forward) during their encounters. | ||
Peter Shilton | Ray Clemence | 1972–1984 | |||
Giovanni Trapattoni | Johan Cruyff | 1969–1971 | Rivalry both as players and managers, with Trapattoni often tasked with man-marking Cruyff both at club (see 1969 European Cup Final) and international level during their playing career | ||
Franz Beckenbauer | 1974–1983 | Competition for being the best player of the world in their era, Germany–Netherlands football rivalry, clashed in the 1974 FIFA World Cup Final, their teams won 3 UEFA European Cups each, Cruyff won 3 Ballon d'Or and Beckenbauer won 2 | |||
Diego Maradona | Peter Shilton | 1986–2020 | "Hand of God" goal controversy (part of the Argentina–England football rivalry) | ||
Michel Platini | Zico | 1984–1987 | Competition for being the best player in the world and the top scorer of the Italian league | ||
Pelé | 1997–2020 | Since Maradona's retirement until his death, both players claimed being the greatest football player of all time and better than the other. | |||
Lothar Matthäus | 1986–1994 | Maradona in his book Yo soy el Diego that "he is the best rival I've ever had. I guess that's enough to define him". Also joined Serie A in 1988 for Inter against Maradona's Napoli. See also: 1986 FIFA World Cup Final and 1990 FIFA World Cup Final between Argentina and West Germany. | |||
Pietro Vierchowod | 1984–1990 | In a 2008 interview with Argentine magazine El Gráfico, Maradona dubbed Vierchowod his toughest opponent. | |||
Andoni Goikoetxea | 1982–1984 | On 24 September 1983, Goikoetxea achieved notoriety for a foul on Diego Maradona in a league match between Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou, when he tackled the Argentine from behind and broke his ankle. When the two teams met in the 1984 Copa del Rey Final in May, a mass brawl erupted on the pitch, and Goikoetxea kicked Maradona's chest. (See Andoni Goikoetxea#Maradona foul) | |||
Pasquale Bruno | 1987–1991 | Bruno was known for his aggressive challenges on several attacking opponents which resulted in clashes between them; some of his most famous rivals include Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten, Gianluca Vialli, and Roberto Baggio, among others. | |||
Marco van Basten | 1987–1993 | Bruno was known for his aggressive challenges on several attacking opponents which resulted in clashes between them; some of his most famous rivals include Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten, Gianluca Vialli, and Roberto Baggio, among others. | |||
Gianluca Vialli | 1987–1994 | Bruno was known for his aggressive challenges on several attacking opponents which resulted in clashes between them; some of his most famous rivals include Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten, Gianluca Vialli, and Roberto Baggio, among others. | |||
Roberto Baggio | 1987–1994 | Bruno was known for his aggressive challenges on several attacking opponents which resulted in clashes between them; some of his most famous rivals include Diego Maradona, Marco van Basten, Gianluca Vialli, and Roberto Baggio, among others. One of the most infamous disputes between Bruno and Baggio occurred during the final weeks of the 1988–89 Serie A season, on 28 May 1989, when Bruno's club Juventus faced rivals Fiorentina in Turin. Bruno kicked Baggio down when he was away from the ball, and Baggio subsequently retaliated, resulting in both players being sent-off and receiving a two-match suspension. According to Bruno, Baggio later confronted him in the changing rooms due to his actions, whilst Bruno apparently threatened Baggio further and accused him of diving and being a prima donna. Baggio's transfer to Juventus in 1990 also coincided with Bruno's departure from the club to cross–city rivals Torino. | |||
Walter Zenga | Stefano Tacconi | 1983–1992 | Played for rival clubs (Inter Milan and Juventus) and competed for the position of starting goalkeeper with the Italy national football team during the late 1980s and early 1990s | ||
Andy Cole | Teddy Sheringham | 1990–present | |||
Gianluca Pagliuca | Angelo Peruzzi | 1994–2007 | Played for rival clubs (Inter Milan and Juventus) and competed for the position of starting goalkeeper with the Italy national football team during the 1990s | ||
Roy Keane | Patrick Vieira | 1996–2005 | Captains of the two dominating teams of the Premier League during their era. See Arsenal F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry | ||
Alfie Haaland | 1997–2003 | In 1997, Keane injured himself while tackling Haaland, who accused Keane of diving. In 2001, Keane tackled Haaland again, who now played for Manchester City, in the Manchester derby. | |||
Edgar Davids | Diego Simeone | 1997–2003 | |||
Paul Scholes | Frank Lampard | Steven Gerrard | 2000–2014 | Competition for the starting midfield position for England; see also: Liverpool F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry between Gerrard and Scholes, with Lampard's Chelsea also competing against the former clubs for the Premier League title. See also: 2008 UEFA Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea, and 2005 Ballon d'Or, with Lampard and Gerrard finishing second and third respectively behind Ronaldinho. | |
Gianluigi Buffon | Iker Casillas | 2000–2017 | Both considered best goalkeepers of their era, and among the greatest of all time, along with Lev Yashin. See also: Italy–Spain football rivalry | ||
Francesco Toldo | 1998–2004 | Both goalkeepers played for rival clubs (Juventus and Inter Milan) and competed for the league title, the Champions League title, and the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award, as well as a starting spot with the Italy national football team (see 2002 FIFA World Cup), in particular after Toldo's excellent performances at UEFA Euro 2000, after Buffon had been ruled out of the tournament due to a hand injury. | |||
Nélson Dida | 2002–2008 | Both goalkeepers played for rival clubs (Juventus and AC Milan) and competed for the Serie A title as well as the UEFA Champions League (see 2003 UEFA Champions League final), as well as the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year and IFFHS World's Best Goalkeeper Awards. | |||
Júlio Cesar | 2005–2012 | Both goalkeepers played for rival clubs (Juventus and Inter Milan) and competed for the league title and the Serie A Goalkeeper of the Year Award, as well as the unofficial title of best goalkeeper in the world. | |||
Thierry Henry | Ruud van Nistelrooy | 2001–2006 | Arsenal F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry, Premier League Golden Boot rivalry | ||
Ronaldo | 2003–2006 | Competition for being "the best striker of the world". Individual trophies heavily contested between the two were the 2003 FIFA World Player of the Year and the 2004 European Golden Shoe. The rivalry peaked in 2006 with both players facing each other in the UEFA Champions League and the FIFA World Cup. | |||
David Beckham | Aldo Duscher | 2002–2007 | Hard fouls by Duscher in matches between Deportivo de La Coruña and Beckham's teams (Manchester United F.C. and Real Madrid CF) (also part of Argentina–England football rivalry) | ||
Ronaldinho | 2003–2007 | Both arrived to FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF in the 2003 summer market. The two clubs were interested in both players, but could only sign one each. Part of FC Barcelona–Real Madrid CF rivalry. | |||
Jens Lehmann | Oliver Kahn | 2002–2011 | Competition for the starting goalkeeping position for Germany | ||
Zlatan Ibrahimović | Rafael van der Vaart | 2004–2014 | A rivalry that resulted in an injury and a transfer, the two settled their differences in 2014. | ||
Marco Materazzi | 2004–present | Rivalry over Materazzi's aggressive playing style | |||
Romelu Lukaku | 2020–2021, 2022 | Rivalry over supposed "King of Milan" title. Part of the Derby della Madonnina until Lukaku's transfer to Chelsea. | |||
Steven Gerrard | El Hadji Diouf | 2005–2015 | |||
Xavi | Andrea Pirlo | 2006–2015 | Both players competed at club and international level as two of the best midfielders of their generation. See also: Italy–Spain football rivalry | ||
Lionel Messi | Robinho | 2005–2008 | The press touted both players as the rising stars of Barcelona and Real Madrid (formerly part of El Clásico until Robinho was transferred to Manchester City) | ||
Cristiano Ronaldo | 2009–2024 | Messi–Ronaldo rivalry (formerly part of El Clásico from 2009–2018 until Ronaldo's transfer to Juventus) they were fighting for the pride of being best in the world | |||
Luka Modrić | 2006–2023 | Frequently compared in the press due to former club rivalry (part of El Clásico from 2012–2022 until Messi's transfer to Paris Saint-Germain) and similar playing positions. | |||
Joey Barton | Ousmane Dabo | 2006–2007 | Barton assaulted Dabo following a clash during a Manchester City training session in May 2007. Barton was charged by the police and sentenced. | ||
Samuel Eto'o | Ronaldinho | Deco | 2007–2008 | After being accused of lack of professionality, Eto'o denounced a schism in the locker room of Barcelona. The team did not win any silverware until Ronaldinho and Deco left. | |
Romário | Edmundo | 1998–present | |||
Pelé | 2007–2022 | Still active at age 41, Romário claimed to had overtaken Pelé as the all-time top scorer in the history of the game. | |||
Gerard Piqué | Sergio Ramos | 2009–2021 | Both players played for rival clubs – Barcelona and Real Madrid (see El Clásico) – competing directly for titles across all club competitions, and were involved in arguments, in addition to disagreeing about the Catalan independence debate | ||
Mauro Icardi | Maxi López | 2011–present | The current and the former husband of Wanda Nara | ||
Luis Suárez | Patrice Evra | 2011–2015 | Luis Suárez alleged racial abuse incident (part of the Liverpool F.C.–Manchester United F.C. rivalry at large) | ||
Giorgio Chiellini | 2014–2017 | Luis Suárez–Giorgio Chiellini 2014 World Cup incident | |||
Manuel Neuer | Marc-André ter Stegen | 2012–present | Competition for the starting goalkeeping position for Germany, FC Barcelona 2–8 FC Bayern Munich | ||
Neymar | Juan Camilo Zúñiga | 2014–2015 | Neymar–Zúñiga 2014 World Cup incident, Zúñiga kneed Neymar in the Vertebral column, the Brazilian player could not play anymore in the tournament | ||
John Terry | Wayne Bridge | 2009–present | John Terry had allegedly had an affair with the model Vanessa Perroncel shortly after she split from Bridge, who have retired from England national team after this incident | ||
Kevin De Bruyne | Thibaut Courtois | 2014–Present | In 2013, De Bruyne's girlfriend at the time cheated on him with Thibaut Courtois, his teammate at the Belgian national team. | ||
Arturo Vidal | Claudio Bravo | 2018–2021 | |||
Kylian Mbappé | Erling Haaland | 2019–present | Seen as the two biggest talents in the world of football, with comparisons already being made with the rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. |
Between players and managers
Player | Manager | Timespan | Notes | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
Louis van Gaal | Guy Thys | 1973–1977 | ||
Marco van Basten | Arrigo Sacchi | 1987–1991 | The relationship between the two reportedly deteriorated during the 1990–91 season, when Van Basten complained about Sacchi's behaviour to AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi; Sacchi consequently requested that Van Basten be sold and did later not renew his contract with the club, eventually leaving in 1991 to become manager of the Italy national football team. | |
Gianluca Vialli | 1992–1996 | It is rumoured that Vialli played a prank on Sacchi, which led to the manager dropping him from the Italy national football team, resulting in the striker being left out of Italy's squads for the 1994 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1996. | ||
Roberto Baggio | 1994–1997 | Baggio believed that the two fell out after he missed the decisive spot kick in Italy's penalty shoot-out defeat to Brazil in the 1994 FIFA World Cup final; there had already been tension between the two, however, when Sacchi substitued Baggio in the first round of the tournament against Norway, following Gianluca Pagliuca's sending off, leading Baggio to describe the manager as "crazy." Tensions between rose them rose further during Italy's qualifying campaign for UEFA Euro 1996, with Baggio asking for the manager's dismissal following a defeat to Croatia, and Baggio was later left out of the squad for the final tournament, with Sacchi citing fitness issues as the reason for his exclusion. Baggio later also experienced limited playing time when Sacchi was appointed as AC Milan's manager during the course of the 1996–97 season. | ||
Robert Prosinečki | Miroslav Ćiro Blažević | 1987–2002 | ||
David Ginola | Gérard Houllier | 1994–2020 | Missed Cross | |
Cuauhtémoc Blanco | Ricardo La Volpe | 1996–2016 | ||
Marcelinho Carioca | Vanderlei Luxemburgo | 1999–present | ||
Rivaldo | Louis van Gaal | 1997–2002 | ||
Roberto Baggio | Marcello Lippi | 1999–2000 | In his 2001 autobiography Una Porta nel Cielo, Baggio accused Lippi of leaving him out of the Inter Milan first-team squad during the 1999–2000 season after Baggio had refused a request from Lippi, who allegedly asked him to report to him which Inter players who had expressed negative opinions about the manager. | |
Christian Panucci | 1999–2006 | The pair argued during their time together at Inter Milan, culminating in Panucci insulting the manager; as a result of the row, Panucci believed that Lippi later left him out of Italy's 2006 FIFA World Cup-winning squad. | ||
Antonio Cassano | 2004–2010 | Lippi left Cassano out of the Italy national football team, including Italy's 2010 FIFA World Cup squad, due to his lack of discipline. | ||
Ronaldo | Héctor Cúper | 2001–2002 | ||
Fabio Capello | 2006–2007 | Capello was critical of Ronaldo's weight and fitness during their time together at Real Madrid and left him out of the first-team squad, culminating in Ronaldo's departure from the club. | ||
Roberto Baggio | 1995–1997 | Capello and Baggio often clashed during their time together at AC Milan, as Capello often substituted Baggio throughout the 1995–96 season, believing that he was not fit enough to play a full match. Upon his return to the club in 1997, he left Baggio out of the squad, resulting in the latter's departure from the club. | ||
Antonio Cassano | 2001–2007 | Capello and Cassano often clashed during their time together at Roma and Real Madrid due to the latter's poor behaviour, diet, and work-rate. | ||
Alessandro Del Piero | 2005–2006 | The pair often clashed during their time together at Juventus as Del Piero was increasingly used as a substitute during Capello's stint as the club's manager. | ||
Roy Keane | Mick McCarthy | 2002–2007 | Saipan incident | |
Juan Román Riquelme | Louis van Gaal | 2002–2003 | ||
Diego Maradona | 2008–2020 | |||
Aleksandr Mostovoi | Georgi Yartsev | 2004 | Mostovoi's criticism of Yartsev | |
Robert Pires | Raymond Domenech | 2004–2010 | Domenech allegedly did not call up players with the zodiac sign of scorpio | |
Ivica Dragutinović | Luiz Felipe Scolari | 2007–present | ||
Zlatan Ibrahimović | Pep Guardiola | 2009–present | Ibrahimović controversies | |
Luca Toni | Louis van Gaal | 2009–2017 | ||
Mark van Bommel | ||||
Mounir El Hamdaoui | Frank de Boer | 2010–2011 | ||
Iker Casillas | José Mourinho | 2010–2013 | Their relationship declined when Mourinho dropped Casillas as the Real Madrid's starting goalkeeper for Diego López during the 2012–13 season, following the former's hand injury; as a result they no longer spoke to one another. Mourinho was also critical of Casillas's limitations with the ball at his feet, and accused him of being a snitch, which resulted in divisions among the club's fans, players, and staff. Casillas belived that Mourinho disapporoved of him going to speak with Carles Puyol, the captain of the club's rivals, Barcelona, in order to ease tensions between the players in the Spanish national team. Real Madrid later accused Mourinho of showing a lack of respect towards Casillas, and the manager left the club at the end of the season. | |
Mario Balotelli | 2008–2010 | The two frequntly clashed during their time at Inter Milan. Balotelli revealed that Mourinho once kicked him off the team bus on the way to the airport for a match in Catania over an argument between the two of them. | ||
Marcello Lippi | 2008–2010 | Despite calls from pundits and fans for Balotelli's inclusion in Italy's 2010 FIFA World Cup squad, the manager at the time, Lippi, did not call him up, believing that he was not yet ready to play for Italy and that he needed to mature. | ||
Roberto Mancini | 2007–2013 | The two frequently clashed, in particular during their time at Manchester City; one incident in training in January 2013, concerning a bad tackle, led to the two of them to be involved in a physical altercation. Later that month, Balotelli left for AC Milan on loan. | ||
Brendan Rodgers | 2014–present | Balotelli fell out of form at Liverpool and the two often clashed; Balotelli later called Rodgers the "worst" coach of his career in terms of their personal relationship. | ||
Alex de Souza | Aykut Kocaman | 2010–2013 | ||
Artur Boruc | Franciszek Smuda | 2010–present | ||
Adem Ljajić | Delio Rossi | 2012–present | ||
Adrian Mutu | Victor Pițurcă | 2013–present | Mutu international career | |
Landon Donovan | Jürgen Klinsmann | 2014–present | Donovan international career | |
Arda Turan | Fatih Terim | 2016–2019 | ||
Hakim Ziyech | Hervé Renard | 2017 | ||
Felipe Melo | Cuca | 2017–present | ||
Karim Benzema | Didier Deschamps | 2017–2021 | ||
Paul Pogba | José Mourinho | 2018–present | ||
Diego Alves | Dorival Júnior | 2018–2022 | ||
Hakim Ziyech | Vahid Halilhodžić | 2022–present | ||
Jadon Sancho | Erik ten Hag | 2022–present | ||
Cristiano Ronaldo | ||||
André Onana | Rigobert Song | 2022–2023 | ||
Giovanni Reyna | Gregg Berhalter | 2022–2023 | Reyna World Cup incident |
Between managers
International
This list uses the geographic confederation classifications issues by International Association Football Federation (FIFA): CAF (Africa), AFC (Asia and Australia), UEFA (Europe), CONCACAF (North & Central America and the Caribbean), OFC (Oceania) and CONMEBOL (South America).
Intercontinental
South Africa and Pakistan have faced each other in total of 19 football matches. South Africa have won 19 whereas Pakistan have won 0.
Country 1 | Country 2 | Article | World Cup games (as of 2022) |
Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
Argentina | England | Argentina–England | 5 (2018) | |
Germany | Argentina–Germany | 7 (2022) | ||
Mexico | Argentina–Mexico | 4 (2022) | ||
Netherlands | Argentina–Netherlands | 6 (2022) | ||
Nigeria | Argentina–Nigeria | 5 (2018) | ||
Australia | England | Australia–England | – | |
New Zealand | Australia–New Zealand | – | ||
Uruguay | Australia—Uruguay | – | ||
Brazil | England | Brazil–England | 4 (2002) | |
France | Brazil–France | 4 (2018) | ||
Germany | Brazil–Germany | 2 (2022) | ||
Italy | Brazil–Italy | 5 (2022) | ||
France | Algeria | Algeria–France | – | |
Kazakhstan | Tajikistan | Kazakhstan-Tajikistan | ||
Turkmenistan | Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan | |||
Kyrgyzstan | Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan | |||
Uzbekistan | Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan | |||
Morocco | Spain | Morocco-Spain | 2 (2022) | |
Mexico | Mexico-Spain | 1 (1962) | ||
Saudi Arabia | Algeria | Saudi Arabia-Algeria | ||
Egypt | Saudi Arabia-Egypt | 1 (2018) | ||
Morocco | Saudi Arabia-Morocco | 1 (1994) | ||
Tunisia | Saudi Arabia-Tunisia | 1 (2006) | ||
United States | Ghana | United States–Ghana | 3 (2014) | |
Iran | United States–Iran | 2 (2022) |
Asia and Australia (AFC)
Africa (CAF)
Country 1 | Country 2 | Article | World Cup games (as of 2022) |
Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
Algeria | Egypt | Algeria–Egypt | – | |
Mali | Algeria vs. Mali | |||
Nigeria | Algeria–Nigeria | – | ||
Senegal | Algeria vs. Senegal | |||
Tunisia | Algeria–Tunisia | – | ||
Morocco | Algeria–Morocco | – | ||
Benin | Nigeria | Benin-Nigeria | ||
Burkina Faso | Ivory Coast | Burkina Faso–Ivory Coast | – | |
Cameroon | Egypt | Cameroon–Egypt | – | |
Nigeria | Cameroon–Nigeria | – | ||
DR Congo | Ghana | DR Congo–Ghana | – | |
Rwanda | DR Congo–Rwanda | – | ||
Egypt | Ghana | Egypt vs. Ghana | ||
Morocco | Egypt vs. Morocco | |||
Senegal | Egypt vs. Senegal | |||
Tunisia | Egypt–Tunisia | |||
Equatorial Guinea | Gabon | Equatorial Guinea–Gabon | – | |
Tunisia | Equatorial Guinea–Tunisia | – | ||
Ghana | Ivory Coast | Ghana vs. Ivory Coast | – | |
Nigeria | Ghana–Nigeria | – | ||
Libya | Algeria | Libya vs Algeria | ||
Egypt | Libya vs Egypt | |||
Morocco | Libya vs Morocco | |||
Tunisia | Libya vs Tunisia | |||
Morocco | Morocco vs. Tunisia | – | ||
Ivory Coast | Senegal | Ivory Coast vs. Senegal | – | |
South Africa | Zambia | South Africa–Zambia | – |
Europe (UEFA)
North & Central America and the Caribbean (CONCACAF)
Country 1 | Country 2 | Article | World Cup games (as of 2022) |
Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aruba | Bonaire | Aruba vs. Bonaire | – | |
Costa Rica | Honduras | Clásico centroamericano | – | |
Mexico | Costa Rica vs. Mexico | – | ||
United States | Costa Rica vs. United States | – | ||
Canada | Mexico | Canada vs. Mexico | – | |
United States | Canada–United States | – | ||
Honduras | Canada vs. Honduras | – | ||
Curaçao | Suriname | Curaçao vs. Suriname | – | |
Honduras | Mexico | Honduras vs. Mexico | – | |
El Salvador | Honduras | El Salvador–Honduras | – | |
Haiti | Jamaica | Haiti vs. Jamaica | – | |
Jamaica | Trinidad and Tobago | Jamaica vs. Trinidad and Tobago | – | |
Mexico | United States | Mexico–United States | 1 |
South America (CONMEBOL)
Country 1 | Country 2 | Article | World Cup games (as of 2022) |
Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
Argentina | Brazil | Argentina–Brazil | 4 | |
Chile | Argentina vs. Chile | 1 | ||
Peru | Argentina vs. Peru | 1 | ||
Uruguay | Argentina–Uruguay | 2 | ||
Brazil | Brazil–Uruguay | 2 | ||
Chile | Peru | Chile–Peru | – | |
Colombia | Venezuela | Colombia vs. Venezuela | – | |
Ecuador | Peru | Ecuador–Peru | – |
Oceania (OFC)
Country 1 | Country 2 | Article | World Cup games (as of 2022) |
Source |
---|---|---|---|---|
Fiji | New Zealand | Fiji–New Zealand | – | |
Samoa | Tonga | Samoa vs. Tonga | – | |
Solomon Islands | Vanuatu | Solomon Islands vs. Vanuatu | – |