120 years of hatred : A historical overview of the Ferencváros-Újpest rivalry 

The Ferencváros–Újpest rivalry turns 120 years old in 2025, marking the first meeting of Budapest’s two footballing giants. Known simply as the Derbi in Hungary, this clash is far more than just a football match. The rivalry between the green and whites and the purple and whites—Hungary’s two most popular clubs—has its roots not only in sport but also in political, social, and religious divisions. Although its appeal has diminished somewhat in the 21st century, the Ferencváros–Újpest encounter was once the pinnacle of Hungarian domestic football, commanding admiration across the continent.

Ferencváros, Budapest’s green giants

Újpest based in Budapest’s 4th district and proudly sporting purple and white since its foundation, predates Ferencváros by 14 years. Yet it was Ferencváros that became the dominant force early on. Founded in 1899 by Christian Swabians living in Hungary, the green and whites drew their identity from Hungarian national values, even adopting colours from the national flag. Swabians had influenced Hungary since the 11th century, leaving their mark on architecture, literature, and sport.

The district of Ferencváros, named after Francis I, the last Holy Roman Emperor, in 1792, grew rapidly in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and became a hub for working-class accommodation. Ferencváros were among the five founding members of the NB I and claimed their first national championship in 1903—a feat they would frequently repeat. Over the next 26 years, they never finished outside the top three, amassing 11 titles by 1930. Újpest, though shining in its early years, could not match Ferencváros’ dominance.

Újpest, from provincial town to purple powerhouse

Újpest was founded in 1835 by Izsák Lőwy, a Hungarian industrialist denied settlement permits in northern Pest because of his Jewish heritage. The town became a haven for ethnic Jews, previously barred from other areas. Rapid industrialisation followed, with leather and cotton factories establishing Újpest as a thriving urban centre.

Újpest FC, founded by Christians and Jewish Hungarians alike, provided an early contrast to the German-rooted Ferencváros. After promotion from the second division in 1904, Újpest earned six bronze medals and two runner-up finishes. Yet they often struggled against Ferencváros, winning only five league encounters between 1905 and 1930. Until the 1930s, the country’s most significant fixture was not the Derbi, but the Örökrangadó, a rivalry between Ferencváros and MTK, who monopolised Hungarian football with 34 titles between them from 1903 to 1930.

Ferencváros-Újpest: The birth of the derbi

In March 1930, the two teams contested the very fixture which inspired its name, which it has been known as ever since: The Derbi. The rivalry was first referred to as such in various newspaper headlines after the aforementioned encounter, underlining the ferocity of the match, which ended 1–1 and was held in front of a sold-out, full-to-the-brim Üllői Road. In 1930, Újpest became the first team other than MTK and Ferencváros to win the league title in 28 years. The purple and whites finished two points above Ferencváros – who were the only side to beat Újpest throughout the season. As Újpest was not yet a district of the capital, but a small town, their win was seen as a provincial club’s triumph over the two “ruling teams” of the capital. This was not taken kindly by the Ferencváros faithful, and UTE’s league victory certainly set the stage for what was to become the fiercest rivalry in the country, coupled with the fact that they won a further four league titles in the decade, sending shockwaves throughout the capital. This is not to say that their cross-town rivals did not have their fair share of glory during the decade, as Ferencváros added another three league trophies to their already stacked cabinet, the first of which came as the green and whites won the league with a 100% win record in 1932.

In the 1940s, the rivalry began emerging as the most important in Hungary, overtaking the Örökrangadó in popularity and significance. This was due to the restrictions placed on MTK because of their Jewish affiliation. As the anti-Jewish laws of the country were being enforced, MTK had no choice but to disband in 1940. FTC and UTE both protested the decision, but to no avail. The two clubs won three league titles each during the 1940s, but it would be the political upheaval of the following decade that shaped the animosity between the two clubs into what it is today.

As Hungary found itself on the losing side of World War II, the country was placed under Soviet influence, which would last for four decades. As practically everything became state-owned, football was no exception. Ferencváros, among other things having numerous ties to the Hungarian far-right, had an ethnic Hungarian politician and Nazi collaborator, Jaross Andor, as their president for a brief period in 1944. This, and the club’s core values of nationalism, made them a target in the eyes of the government, which stripped Ferencváros of their green and white colours and forcibly changed their name to Budapesti Kinizsi in 1951. Újpest, on the other hand, received favourable treatment from the government, both as a club and a city. In 1950, Újpest became a district of Budapest, meaning the rivalry was now a cross-town affair. The 4th district’s club was allowed to keep their original colours; they were, however, forced to change their name to Újpesti Dózsa and became the team of the Ministry of Interior. Ferencváros were regarded as the team of the opposition, while Újpest were one of the teams for whom the communist regime felt a deep affinity. This political division forever put a stain on the already souring relationship between the two clubs. Although Ferencváros reinstated their original crest and colours after the events of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, the team experienced a 13-year league-title drought, one of the longest in club history, ending in 1963. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the relationship between players of Újpest and Ferencváros was amicable; it was not uncommon for players to engage in a tea party with one another off the back of Derbi clashes. This is not to say that the meetings on the pitch were anything but fierce, as both decades were full of memorable encounters:

• A couple of months later, the purple side exacted revenge, defeating FTC 4–2 in June 1964. The match was attended by 85,000 people, making it the highest-attended Derbi ever.
• In 1966, Ferencváros won both Derbies of the season, finding the back of the net five times in both matches (5–2 & 5–3).
• In 1970, Újpest won their second consecutive championship after defeating their arch-rivals in a rare two-legged final for the title.
• In 1976, Újpest recorded their highest-scoring victory over FTC to that point, thrashing the green and whites 8–3. László Fazekas, a prolific striker for Újpest and the Hungarian national team, hit the back of the net an astonishing five times.
• In 1979, Ferencváros somewhat lessened the pain of the haunting memory of their humiliating defeat three years earlier by thrashing Újpest 7–1.

Throughout the 1980s, both teams suffered a regression of form and achieved their worst finishes up to that point. In 1984, Ferencváros fought relegation throughout much of the season, staying up largely thanks to a 1–0 victory over Újpest with five games to go. The following season, the club finished 13th, achieving an even lower league position than the season prior. Újpest, on the other hand, finished 13th in 1986, marking their lowest finish in the club’s history.

After the fall of communism: the rivalry continued

After the fall of communism in Hungary, the country was “bombarded” with an array of western influences, which people had not been familiar with before due to the Iron Curtain. Football hooliganism was no exception. The subculture, which has its roots in Western Europe, slowly started rearing its head in Hungarian football in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Decades of pent-up aggression built up during the communist era surfaced. One of the best places to release this suppressed stress was at a football ground. This would gravely alter the atmosphere of the Derbi in the ensuing decades and further deepen the animosity between the two clubs.

Újpest were the first of the two to have an official supporters’ group, inspired by their away trip to Firenze for a 1992 UEFA Cup qualifier. Their name, Ultra Viola Bulldogs, was inspired by a banner of the Chelsea Headhunter hooligan group, which, surprisingly, features a bulldog. Ferencváros, among many other Hungarian clubs, followed suit and in 1994 founded the Green Monsters, a group which would later become well-known across Europe. Throughout the 1990s, football violence was widespread in the country. It should come as no surprise that trouble followed these two groups wherever they went, but the level of violence on Derbi day surpassed that of any other sporting event in the country. Some pre-game clashes between the “Monsters” and the “Bulldogs” have stayed vivid in people’s memories – for all the wrong reasons:

• In 1996, fans threw pieces of concrete at each other during the Derbi, and the following year, literal fire was set on some seats of the away stand of the Megyeri Úti Stadium, followed by fans breaking the cordons separating the pitch and the spectators. The police were only narrowly able to prevent a pitch invasion, thanks to the excessive use of teargas.
• Before the May 1998 encounter of Újpest and Ferencváros, the green and white fanatics hurled a rain of rocks at the arriving Újpest fans. After the game, fans of both teams threw beer cans and rocks at the police. Eleven fans were detained afterwards.