A week after the the goals, the amazing crowd scenes, the noise, and the controversy of the latest instalment of the all-Sydney clash, the focus shifts to Melbourne for the southern state’s derby.
As usual whenever a big sporting event happens in either Sydney or Melbourne, fans in each city claim their version of the game is better.
Be it AFL versus NRL, the MCG versus ANZ Stadium, or which Test match means more, Melbourne versus Sydney will always be among the greatest sporting rivalries in Australia.
The rivalry extends to each city’s A-League derby.
Sydney FC took the points in a game that had almost everything this past Saturday, in front of a sold-out crowd.
It’s a hard act to follow, and the Melbourne derby may be the only fixture capable of matching it in terms of passion and rivalry.
Social media this week has full of barbs sent between the major sporting cities. Sydneysiders point to the fact that last year’s derbies failed to live up to expectations, while Melburnians have made it very clear that the expected crowd number at Etihad will eclipse the Allianz Stadium crowd.
There is no doubt the Melbourne derby is as passion filled and as heartfelt as the Sydney derby, but is it as big an occasion?
The short answer is no.
The Western Sydney Wanderers have been the A-League’s great success story. A team that no one gave a shot of qualifying for the finals went all the way to the big dance in their first season, capturing the Championship before succumbing to the might of the Central Coast.
Melbourne City, formerly known as the Heart, have not obtained the success, or captured the fanfare of the Wanderers.
The Melbourne Victory are arguably the biggest club in the A-League. Their history is full of success and their membership numbers are larger than many far-more established NRL sides.
They have rivalries with almost everyone. Their rivalry with Adelaide United was the original ‘derby’ in the short history of the A-League. Their games against Sydney FC have become legendary, including the most heated grand final in memory.
Fans of the A-League hoped that Melbourne Heart’s takeover and change in name to Melbourne City would see their fans to turn up en masse. Unfortunately a crowd of only 15,171 turned up to see superstar David Villa once again save the points for the newly named club against the Newcastle Jets.
That said, considering the crowd numbers recorded late last year, this is a huge improvement and should be celebrated.
Unfortunately there are two factors working against the fixture. First is of course the news that David Villa has returned to the States and will miss the game. The second is that the game will be played at the same time as the first leg of the Wanderers’ Asian Champions League final.
Despite these factors, the game could be the most hotly contested in history. Both squads have improved on last season, and incredibly the current derby stats show four wins to each side, with four draws. City have one goal more than the Victory in the fixtures.
The Victory will be absolutely smarting on the back of a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of the team they consider to be ‘little brother’ in last year’s final derby. City will be looking to secure their first win of the season after two one-all draws.
This game has all the ingredients to be an absolute classic.
Melbourne City, through rebranding and clever recruitment, have set themselves up as genuine contenders this season, which makes this upcoming fixture all the more enticing.
47,000 or so fans will be there at Etihad on Saturday night to see two teams that are yet to lose a game this season battle it out for bragging rights, and more importantly, three competition points.
Although in the past the Melbourne Derby may not have lived up to the hype of its Sydney counterpart, this Saturday’s game may be the first step in solidifying it as the derby in the future.
LewDub
Guest
Well said. Maybe Melbourne can run with the 'cashed up blow ins' v the real Melbourne team.
SFC
Guest
What does this even mean? A sample size of about 6 people? Also I was in the half time Zorb competition with my brother and we are not from Western Sydney.
benzema23
Guest
funny because we only have 1k members less than you...write us off at your own peril. In membership numbers Melbourne is no 1.
ciudadmarron
Guest
Eddy that's because you are taking "east Sydney" to mean purely east of the CBD. The areas you list as being where a lot of the support comes from - they are all on the eastern side of Sydney. More than this - as you guys so skilfully articulated with your tifo - SFC is a state of mind. And that state of mind is bling, holier-than-thou, glitz and glamour, opera houses, harbour bridges, etc etc - the postcard Sydney, the Sydney that the glitterati in general think is the "real" Sydney. Like it or lump it, that is an Eastern Sydney state of mind. I truly feel sorry for the fans from the western suburbs who as a reward for their loyalty now get to sing westie s*um chants and engage in elitist snobbery.
Justin Mahon
Roar Rookie
I agree.
Justin Mahon
Roar Rookie
Indeed, like Manchester, only Melbourne Victory are located in the City of Melbourne.
Leonardo
Roar Guru
If we get a derby grand final it would fill ANZ or MCG.
CEBEP1989
Guest
Victory is the people's club. The only club at present where regular fans will have ownership in.
ciudadmarron
Guest
This is definitely my experience. Those that had any association with Sydney FC had lost interest (or been pushed out) for at least a few seasons. And they're a very small minority. I think maybe I've met one or two who changed straight up when Wanderers was announced - one of these, that was always going to be the case. It's a funny accusation, especially as crowds went up by a lot for Sydney FC in the wanderers first season - yes the del piero factor but they certainly didn't lose 10,000 or so fans did they. It's interesting and I think it explains some of the different mentalities... there's a thesis floating about somewhere that was done on fan engagement and Sydney FC, written in the first few seasons of the a-league. The vast majority of Sydney FC fans according to it were aligned with the club because they wanted to support football. It wasn't the club that attracted them, more the new a-leauge and the fact that it was there. I think if you surveyed wanderers fans you'd find a very high proportion of fans attracted to the club because it represents the west. But the turncoats thing is something I don't think any SFC fan takes seriously - except those in the Cove who know a few ex-cove members. Interesting in itself that one. But for most SFC fans, whether or not they are prepared to admit it - and more and more are - this is becoming about east vs west. All the stereotypes are coming out about westies (and of course vice versa).
ciudadmarron
Guest
Yes, the last 10. We all know the old line there about certain times for singing... To their credit the cove were very loud in their FFA cup match though. That noise was really echoing around the stadium.
Knightblues
Guest
Sydney derby has much more passion and meaning to it, Melbourne derby is good too, but for spectacle and occasion Sydney wins this time
bemused
Guest
This article was written purely for the comments war below...
George Haida
Roar Rookie
In your opinion, but to a fan who doesn't care, it means nothing
p budd
Guest
Eddy, it is possible that journalist only use the East/West angle to stir the pot and help to create a larger rivalry and antipathy than may already exist. In the Manchester derby you often read about the fact that there is only one team in Manchester as technically Man U are not.......it all help ignite the passion. There are plenty of SFC fans from the west as you say, there again plenty of Man Utd fans from London and liverpool fans all around Australia! Geographical profiling is somewhat flawed but we do need points of difference and that is where the bandwagon gets up speed!
rmc
Guest
Funny ... in the last Sydney derby, the SFC fans picked from stands to play in the half time game show apparently all came from Western Sydney. It was rather cute, and I didn't feel any irony at all. Anyway, I think the Melbourne derby looks like a Manchester derby... no socioeconomic/historical divide etc. While the Sydney derby feels like the Milan and Madrid derbies... real/perceived rivalries of the establishment vs the challenger
Daniel Nichols
Roar Guru
Would be massive, but the FFA would never miss out on a chance to cash in. Which is probably fair
Daniel Nichols
Roar Guru
thanks mate :-) As previously mentioned, I went off an earlier report than had Villa leaving before this weekend's game. Yes, the El Clasico is better than the Lakeside derby. This was written to encourage discussion, which is what it has done. There's no right or wrong answer, it's all opinion
Batou
Guest
You're spot on Eddy and a lot of the areas which are SFC strong holds are very working class and SFC fans are typically not private school upper class types (who generally follow the Rugby rather than football) but you wouldn't know that if you believed what you hear in the media. Even Simon Hill is guilty of calling it East vs West which is clearly isn't. It's just a really easy line for lazy journos and commentators to use. Having said that, I don't mind too much. Most FC fans seem to like to laugh about the stereotypes (which I won't include because it would no doubt get my post moderated).
James
Guest
You can't build a rivalry in melbourne based on geographic lines like in Sydney...it's a very centralised city. What melbourne needed was the Adelaide crows v port Adelaide dynamic, victory v south melbourne, old v new, ..instead we got heart and now we have the third wheel of the man city brand.
Batou
Guest
So wide of the mark with everything you said regarding SFC and the Sydney derby. You've clearly been conned by the 'RRB invented active support' myth. They are great, as are the Cove and the derby is great because it has all the key ingredients. Most critically though it has two teams and groups of supporters who are fairly equal and generally feel fairly strongly about each other, unlike the Melbourne derby which seems too one sided off the field to be truly great at this stage, although it is still a great event.