Latest news with #footballrivalry
The Independent
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Independent
Albania and Serbia face each other in a World Cup qualifier that's about more than just football
When Albania and Serbia face off in a 2026 World Cup qualifier on Saturday, the match in Tirana carries more weight than just the score. This clash is one of the most politically charged and emotionally intense rivalries in European football, rooted in deep historical and ethnic tensions, especially relating to the Kosovo conflict and broader Balkan history. With national identities deeply entwined, organisers are working to ensure the echoes of past confrontations are kept at bay. The last time the two teams met on Albanian soil was in 2015, when Serbia won 2-0, despite Serbian fans being banned from the match. Both nations are in the same European qualifying group alongside England, Latvia, and Andorra. The 2014 Belgrade brawl fresh in memories A 2014 game between the teams in Belgrade was abandoned when a drone carrying an Albanian flag sparked a full-scale brawl. Albania was awarded a 3-0 victory after a ruling said the match couldn't be continued due to the hostile environment at the stadium. That clinched Albania's qualification to the 2016 European Championship — a first for the team. That match had already been considered high risk. Kosovo, which has a majority Albanian population, declared independence from Serbia in 2008 — a move Serbia does not recognize. Football, often a mirror of nationalism and politics, reflected this deep divide. As Tirana braces for the latest showdown, memories of that night — and the nationalistic fervor it unleashed — hover just beneath the surface. Serbia's tense ties with Kosovo Serbia and Albania remain at odds over the status of now-independent Kosovo, and fan rivalry is still intense. North Macedonia or southern Serbia. For players, this is a contest overshadowed by history, politics, and national pride — a reminder that sometimes sport is anything but just a game. Albania defender Elseid Hysaj, who was part of the 2014 match, said the chaos "should not be repeated." 'We should be calm and be conscious that we are football players," he said. 'We are here to please the fans and give our best for the victory.' Organisers remind fans it's a game Armand Duka, president of the Albanian Football Federation, called on Albanians to see the match as a sports event 'where the team gets support and positive energy from the fans to achieve the goal.' 'We want to give the message: let's live it as a sport festivity,' Duka told The Associated Press. There will be a heavy police presence, road closures, and searches of fans entering the stadium. Serbian fans are barred, which "will contribute to a quieter environment,' Duka said. The sides have taken steps to forge a better relationship. Albania and Serbia will co-host the men's Under-21 European Championship in 2027 in a project that aims to overcome political tensions. 'Players do not bear the burden of history or of the political tensions,' Duka said. 'They compete on the pitch to win, to give the best for the jersey they represent and, above all, to build the bridge of respect through the game.' Nationalists and soccer fans at odds Although political tensions have somewhat subsided in recent years, nationalists and soccer fans on both sides are deeply at odds. Both Albania and Serbia have faced sanctions from European soccer's governing body because of politically-charged incidents involving fans. Serbia's populist President Aleksandar Vucic, however, recently added fuel by telling Serbia coach Dragan Stojkovic at a big rally of his supporters that Serbia must win. 'Go there and beat them,' he said, addressing Stojkovic who was in the crowd. Stojkovic and some players have tried to ease tensions, saying it is just another match. 'Everyone says that the first game is very important," Stojkovic said of Serbia's opener in Group K. 'We are very focused on starting the way we want to and we will prepare to play the best we can in that sense, with all due respect to Albania.'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
🎥 Why Cagliari fans aren't in the mood to do Napoli any favours ✍
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here. It's not just football. It never has been, when memory, pride, and scars that time has not erased are at stake. Napoli-Cagliari, tonight, is worth a championship for the blues and history. But for the red and blues and their fans, it's something bigger: it's the chance to close a circle that had its peak of anger and pain on June 15, 1997. On that day, at the San Paolo, a relegation playoff was played between Cagliari and Piacenza. A decisive match, but marked by a poisoned climate: many Neapolitan fans, present in the stands, decided to support Piacenza. A gesture that the Sardinians experienced as a betrayal. Cagliari lost and was relegated to Serie B. The memory of that match, and especially of that fierce hostility, has turned into resentment. And that resentment is still there, ready to explode. But the seed of rivalry had already been planted a few years earlier. In 1992, Daniel Fonseca left Cagliari to wear the Napoli jersey. A wound never accepted by the red and blue fans, which finally flared up when the Uruguayan, returning as an opponent to Sant'Elia, scored a brace and celebrated with an umbrella gesture towards the Sardinian curve. An affront that was imprinted in the collective memory as an act of defiance and disrespect. These were not the only episodes that strained relations. Even Claudio Ranieri's move to the Napoli bench, after being a long-time symbol of Cagliari, was experienced as an affront by many Sardinian fans. A sum of wounds, gestures, and choices never digested, which over the years has fueled a never-sleeping hostility. To rekindle the fire, then, it took recent episodes. In 2024, first on a ferry heading towards Sardinia, then in the away sector of the Cagliari stadium, a banner appeared with the words "A caccia di pecore" (Hunting sheep). A heavy offense, which reopened old wounds and inflamed a never-sleeping sentiment. And today, that pending account returns to the table, with a challenge that promises sparks inside and outside the field. History repeats itself, but with the roles reversed. Napoli is one step away from the championship, Cagliari is already safe. But for the red and blue fans, this is not just any match. It's the match. No calculations, no pressure: just pride, memory, and a fierce desire for revenge. "Honor the jersey", is the appeal that bounces on social media. "Spoil their party". Twenty-eight years have passed, but some rivalries do not consume themselves. They sediment. For Davide Nicola, called to deal with numerous absences, it will be a very tough test. But precisely the absence of pressure could play in favor of his team: free minds, extra motivations. The tension will be all on Napoli's shoulders, who cannot afford false steps. And this is what makes Cagliari so dangerous: nothing to lose, everything to prove. The rivalry between these two teams has never been a classic. It's a low-intensity war that has lasted for years, made of episodes, phrases, and twisted glances. But this time, it's all declared: Napoli runs for glory, Cagliari for dignity. On the field, there will be two intertwined stories, two open wounds, two opposing but equally powerful motivations. Because not all matches make history, but some avenge it.
CNA
20-05-2025
- Sport
- CNA
The rivals next door, football stadiums almost within reach
Parc des Princes (PSG) - Stade Jean-Bouin (Paris FC) - 20 metres It might be impossible to find a closer top-flight derby than the one set to unfold in Paris next season as Paris St Germain and newly-promoted Paris FC prepare to meet in Ligue 1. With Paris FC moving into the rugby stadium just a stone's throw from PSG's home, a new rivalry in the heart of the French capital is set to take root. One street is all that separates the two stadiums, with French authorities concerned about the logistics and security challenges posed by the derbies and high-profile matches. Tens of thousands of fans flood the area every week, raising fears over crowd control and safety. However, Paris is not the only city facing challenges with stadiums that are so close to each other. Here's a list of other football grounds that are extremely close in proximity. Parken stadium (FK Copenhagen) - Osterbro stadium (B 93) - 70 metres The Danish national arena is also home to the country's powerhouse club FC Copenhagen. The centrally located stadium has hosted European Championship and Champions League matches. Just across a small parking lot lies the 4,000-seater Osterbro Stadium, where First Division club Boldklubben af 1893 — commonly known as B93 — host fixtures, along with several athletics clubs. Malmo Stadium - Eleda Stadion (Malmo FF)- 100 metres Zlatan Ibrahimovic's boyhood club Malmo FF is one of Sweden's football giants, backed by a fiercely loyal fanbase. In 2009 they left behind the historic Malmo Stadium - a ground that once echoed to the roars of fans at the 1958 World Cup and 1992 European Championship. Malmo's new home, the sleek and modern Eleda Stadium, rose just a stone's throw away, with lower-division rivals IFK Malmo having played often at the old Malmo venue. However, the famous old ground's days may be numbered, with a brand-new track & field stadium set to rise in the same location by 2028. Dens Park (Dundee FC) - Tannadice Park (Dundee United FC) - 125 metres Derby matches between the two main clubs in Scotland's fourth-largest city are almost always a logistical nightmare -especially when Dundee and Dundee United clash multiple times a season in the Scottish Premiership. But the real pressure might fall on the residents of the street that separates their two stadiums - Dens Park and Tannadice Park - which each hold over 10,000 fans and sit almost within shouting distance. Estadio Presidente Peron (Racing Club) - Estadio Libertadores de America (Atletico Independiente) - 210 metres In Argentina, local derbies are often fierce, but the clash between Racing Club and Independiente in the Primera Division, known as the Avellaneda derby, stands out. In the Buenos Aires suburb of Avellaneda, the two stadiums, Presidente Peron Stadium and Estadio Libertadores de America, are just over 200 metres apart and together hold nearly 100,000 fans. Nottingham Forest (City Ground) - Notts County (Meadow Lane) 250 metres The City of Nottingham is divided by the River Trent, which also separates two of its main football clubs. Premier League club Nottingham Forest's City Ground sits on the south bank, while fourth-tier neighbours Notts County play at Meadow Lane, just 250 metres away across the river. However, the gap in divisions makes a city derby a rare event. Their last meeting was a friendly in 2023, which Forest won 1-0. In fact, they have only faced each other five times over the past 15 years in friendlies. Pasienky Stadion (Inter Bratislava) - Tehelne Pole (Slovan Bratislava) 360 metres Slovakia's behemoth club Slovan Bratislava moved into the modern Tehelne Pole stadium in 2019, alongside the national team. The new ground sits across the street from Stadion Pasienky, where Slovan had played while the upgrade was underway. Today, it is former top club Inter Bratislava who call the 84-year-old Stadion Pasienky home. League champions in 2000 and 2001, they now compete in the Slovak third tier, within earshot of Slovan's Champions League nights. Partizan Stadium (FK Partizan) - Rajko Mitic Stadium (Red Star Belgrade) 500 metres The Serbian Eternal Derby between capital clubs FK Partizan and Red Star Belgrade has been called one of European football's most bitter rivalries. Tensions are only heightened by the fact that their stadiums are half a kilometre apart, separated only by a few residential blocks and a highway. Henryk Reyman Stadium (Wisla Krakow) - Jozef Pilsudski Stadium (Cracovia) 700 metres The two football teams of the Polish city Krakow have been battling in a derby for over 100 years in what has been dubbed "the Holy War." However, the rivalry between Wisla Krakow and Cracovia did not stop them building stadiums uncomfortably close together, with only a large street and a park separating them. Anfield (Liverpool) - Goodison Park (Everton) 800 metres A defining part of English football is nearing its end as Everton prepare to leave behind their close quarters with Liverpool and move to a new stadium further from Anfield. For generations, the short walk through Stanley Park - linking Goodison and Anfield - has been a cherished ritual for fans on both sides of the Merseyside divide, a symbol of a rivalry lived out within touching distance.
