Újpest – Ferencváros derby tomorrow – A legendary pairing

The Daily Mail made a hierarchy in 2009 about the biggest rivalries in football history. The historic Ferencváros – Újpest derby finished in the 21st place, which shows that it is known internationally. The rivalry goes way back in time. It started in the beginning of the last century.

In the beginning, it started out as a city-country opposition because Újpest didn’t belong to the capital until 1950. The greens of the capital city hated the purples of the country and vice versa. Újpest became a real opponent in the 1920s; until then MTK was the biggest rival of FTC. They became champions in turns. One of the most memorable matches was in 1933 when Fradi won by 11-1 in the final of the Hungarian Cup. This was the biggest goal difference, still Újpest won the Cup three days later.

Big changes came in the communist era and the rivalry became even more sharp-edged. Fradi was under the control of ÉDOSZ and Újpest was under the authority of the Ministry of Home Affairs. The names of the teams were also changed temporarily. After the change of regime, a new way of expressing the liking of the fandom came alive: violence. There were some serious after matches since then but the fans claim that this is under control.

All together they have met 268 times on field. Out of this, Ferencvárosi TC won 127 matches with a total of 549 goals and Újpesti FC won 76 matches with 391 goals. The remaining 65 matches ended in a draw.

Their next meeting is due this Saturday in the Szusza Ferenc Stadium. Fradi is in lead in the Championship with 7 out of 7 matches won. The last time they won with perfect record was in 1932, but it’s too early to talk about perfect records in the 8th round. “What does it feel like looking forward to the match with 7 wins? Well, it’s better that going in with 7 losses…We hear this everywhere which can be satisfactory but we have to watch out. We have to work for each and every point. However offensive Újpest will play, we’ll have to concentrate on ourselves” said Thomas Doll, the coach of FTC, at their press conference.