Is the Big Blue the A-League’s biggest game? Is the reputation undeserved, or are Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory truly the bitterest rivals in the land?
It certainly seemed that way given the intensity of their clash at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night, as the two sides battered each other on a dry and difficult pitch in an absorbing 1-1 draw.
A point apiece was just about the right result, although Victory fans might argue their team enjoyed the better chances, while Yairo Yau’s post-goal celebration suggested he doesn’t much appreciate being forced to come off the bench for the Sky Blues.
From a footballing point of view, the clash still left some questions to be answered.
Can Sydney FC afford to drop points in their final two encounters on the road at Western Sydney and Brisbane Roar?
Is Victory’s defence solid enough to mount a genuine title campaign?
Can either side stop the juggernaut that is Western Sydney Wanderers?
At the start of the season it would have seemed almost unthinkable for Sydney FC to go into the Sydney derby as underdogs, but that’s exactly what will happen at Parramatta Stadium next weekend.
Nevertheless, with such a potent strike force they’ll fancy their chances of springing an upset against the upstarts from across town, and I wouldn’t bet against Western Sydney’s winning streak coming to an end.
But what the Sky Blues may have to factor in is an irate supporter base, after the club released a press statement to admonish The Cove for unfurling an unauthorised ‘tifo’ banner against the Victory.
The banner, which received only an instant’s worth of TV coverage from Fox Sports, used a commonly heard but readily offensive slang term to refer to the Victory.
Some Cove members are now upset the club chose to admonish the supporter group publicly, but in truth it’s difficult to see what other choice club officials had and quite frankly, it’s naïve in the extreme to imagine someone wouldn’t have taken offence in the first place.
The whole incident helps give rise to the notion that the Big Blue – a moniker we seem to be stuck with – is the most heavily anticipated and spiteful of A-League affairs.
If that’s the case though, it’s a shame only 22,000 fans turned out at Allianz Stadium to watch it, even if that does represent a decent attendance figure for the Sky Blues.
It’s a far cry from the consistent full houses some pundits were predicting when Sydney FC signed Alessandro Del Piero at the start of the season and for all his value on the field, it’s questionable whether Del Piero has been quite the expected box office draw card off it.
He certainly knows all about the intensity of matches between the two fierce rivals, given how frequently he’s been fouled in them, but there are a couple of other fixtures which deserve further scrutiny when it comes to rating the A-League’s biggest rivalry.
Fixtures between Victory and their cross-border rivals Adelaide United are certainly not for the faint-hearted, while the F3 derby between Central Coast and Newcastle can often be a niggly affair.
However there’s a sense that matches between clubs from Australia’s two biggest cities just have that little bit more spice, though it remains to be seen whether the Wanderers become Victory’s fiercest rivals over time.
Regardless, last weekend’s Big Blue truly was an exhilarating affair and hopefully it was a precursor of things to come with the finals just around the corner.
Western Sydney may be the story of the A-League season so far, but on a night of high drama in Moore Park, Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory reminded us all that there are plenty of other talking points.
Bela Guttman
Guest
South Melbourne blah blah blah...... it does get so tedious. By the time South Melbourne actually gets to the HAL they'll be hated by everyone.
NUFCMVFC
Roar Guru
I might be going against the grain here but I actually think as it stands the Sydney derby is more authentic given the distinction between what both teams reprsent is clear and both teams have identity, as a neutral I know what it is about. As a neutral I enjoy seeing a suburban ground in Parramatta packed to the rafters, and I enjoyed the evenly balanced Cup style crowd that eventuated at Allianz, a ncie different to the normal SFC games there Frankly I don't feel the Melbourne derby in my bones, it is more of a spectacle you enjoy going to "because it's a derby" and I enjoy being ain a full AAMI park. I don't know what the rivalry is even about, it is merely Melbourne Victory playing a bunch of clowns in their only meaningful game for the whole season where there is an actual meaningful crowd in attendance and nothing changes the fact it is eessentially manufactured because the FFA didn't want to let South Melbourne in either directly or in de facto form via the SOuthern Corss bid That pre-season game versus South Melbourne was another matter however, that had much more feeling than any of the Melbourne versus Heart derbies
Ian
Guest
are you sure you aren't a MV supporter pretending to be a WSW supporter? time to hand in your WSW membership - with devotion to another team like that i'd question your loyalty.
Fussball ist unser leben
Roar Guru
@Ian Whitchurch I've lived in Melbourne for the majority of the past 14 years since Storm entered the local sporting scene. I've never heard any mention in Melbourne of a rivalry between Storm and any team in the NRL .. yes, there was a major rivalry between Storm and David Gallop, but that's now fizzled. My research indicates that, in 2013, Storm will host: * Manly on 20 May * Broncos on 5 July * Dragons ... NEVER I'll eagerly watch for the hype for these MASSIVE rivalries in the week/s leading up to those fixtures. Someone should inform the NRL about the MASSIVE rivalry between Dragons & Storm - the Dragons haven't visited Melbourne since Aug-2011 .. 3 years without the MASSIVE rivals visiting Melbourne?? Very odd indeed. PS: Last year neither Dragons nor Manly visited Melbourne. The NRL certainly is keeping these MASSIVE rivalries a secret?
Ian
Guest
anyone reveal this reference on the banner to melbourne victory that was deemed offensive?
Ian
Guest
Fussball - Kellet is right. You're wrong. There is a rivalry between Storm and Manly, Broncos and Dragaon. I would have picked the same 3. league doesn't get much coverage in melbourne. Though State of Origin is the biggest rivalry in australian sport and it does not involve melbourne in any way apart from an occasional game there to get cash.
Realfootball
Guest
So much ado about nothing, kellett.
Ian
Guest
BR unbeaten against MV. BR beat Adelaide twice. not great, not absolute crap.
Bela Guttman
Guest
Perhaps all of those things show passion 'Australian Rules'. Its great that we have so many sports that we can support her, it isn't a competition over which is the 'best'!
Australian Rules
Guest
Well c, again, it depends how you define "passion". I think passion is elderly ladies who haven't missed a game in 50 years. I think it's families that go to the footy together every single weekend in winter. I think it's fans of Bulldogs, Melbourne and Richmond that get 30,000 to every single game despite not having won anything for over 30 years! I *don't* necessarily think it's a bunch of teenagers clapping and singing.
Minister for Information for the Democratic People's Republic of Football
Guest
That's GOLD Towser! I nearly choked on my rhubarb stick. Well played. :-)
Minister for Information for the Democratic People's Republic of Football
Guest
Redb....live a little. There's nothing wrong with a little sin and vice. :P I agree on the drive-by shootings though.
Damiano
Guest
Stevo, don't want to offend you, but the Melbourne Derby is the battle of the haves and the have nots, the poppular and the unpopular. It is not the biggest rivalry. Because the heart, bless them, are a small club they are a Torino, they are an Athletico Madrid, a small club in a big city, taking on the big boys, but playing their derby games in front of many more supporters of the other team. The Heart are not AC Milan facing off against Inter, or Lazio facing Roma, they are not even big enough to be Torino facing Juve.
Cameron
Roar Guru
Yep that's definitely the end of this debate. Must have been frustrating reading all that above?
Cpaaa
Guest
Dear Redb, its been a long day so i will leave my final comment to you ol mate. My comment was " That Football has managed a genuine Sydney V Melbourne Rivalry" No other sport in Australia has managed to come close to this obvious concept. It was not comparing or related to any other rivalry in any other sport. I dont know why reference has been made to other sports for this is not an article about rivalries, but an article asking the question is SFC V MV the A-Leagues biggest rivalry? I would have liked to have seen Harry Kewell line up against ADP this season but it wasnt to be. SFC and MV are the clubs that have deeper pockets than most thus adding another element to this always anticipated club fixture. But i do like your comments RedB on the football tab, always with a hint of ARules thrown in and thats ok , it shows your interest in the world game and how far we have come.
Swampy
Guest
Well Sydney will likely face melbourne in the first round of the finals and Etihad will sell out. End the debate right there. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download it now [http://itunes.apple.com/au/app/the-roar/id327174726?mt=8].
Cameron
Roar Guru
Not condescending at all.
Realfootbal
Guest
Half your luck.
Stevo
Guest
Ouch! It will always draw a crowd. It hasn't failed to draw a crowd from day dot. It's about the few times that our other brethren turn up to get some real 'soccer' action. LOL
Cameron
Roar Guru
I was. :)