The Dundee derby is a
football match between
Dundee and
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
. The clubs are based yards apart in the city of
Dundee, the fourth-largest city in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
History
![Map of Dens Park and Tannadice Park, Dundee, Scotland, October 2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Map_of_Dens_Park_and_Tannadice_Park%2C_Dundee%2C_Scotland%2C_October_2010.jpg)
Dundee is the older of the two, having been founded in 1893, compared to Dundee United which was founded in 1909 as Dundee Hibernian following the demise of
Dundee Harp, a club founded by Irish immigrants in 1879. While United's origins stem from
Irish immigration, the rivalry is not sectarian in the manner of the
Old Firm
The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...
.
Dundee had long been the more successful club, playing more seasons in the top flight than their rivals and winning one League title, one Scottish Cup and three League Cups before United lifted a major trophy. However, from the 1970s under
Jim McLean
James Yuille McLean (2 August 1937 – 26 December 2020) was a Scottish football player, manager and director. He managed Dundee United between 1971 and 1993, becoming the longest-serving and most successful manager in the club's history, winn ...
the tide turned in the city's footballing rivalry. United would go on to be a major force in Scottish football in the 1980s, winning their first three major honours at
Dens Park
Dens Park, officially known as Kilmac Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland, which is the home of club Dundee F.C. and has a capacity of . Tannadice Park, the home of rivals Dundee United, is just 200 yard ...
including a League Cup win against Dundee in
1980; the 1983 league title was also won there. Their rivalry with
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
, who also lifted several trophies during the period, was entitled the
New Firm. In
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
United won their first Scottish Cup, and their second in
2010, in doing so drawing level with Dundee on five major trophies won.
![Dundee football grounds from Dundee Law, November 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Dundee_football_grounds_from_Dundee_Law%2C_November_2014.jpg)
The two grounds are the closest League grounds in Britain and with it a unique rivalry has developed, though one often deemed more amicable than most, similar to the
Merseyside derby
The Merseyside derby is the association football, football matches between Everton F.C., Everton and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool, the two primary clubs in Liverpool, England. Named after the county of Merseyside, in which Liverpool is located, it ...
,
Derby della Madonnina
The Derby della Madonnina, also known as the Derby di Milano (Milan Derby, in English), is a derby football match between the two prominent Milanese clubs, Internazionale and A.C. Milan. It is called ''Derby della Madonnina'' in honour of one ...
in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, and the
Derby della Lanterna of
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
with many families split down the middle in support.
The two clubs even had a combined
hooligan 'firm', known as the Dundee Utility, which was formed to stand up to the larger firms of the Glasgow and Edinburgh clubs.
Statistics
Domestic head-to-head
In domestic head-to-head matches, United are quite far in front; the teams have played each other 172 times, Dundee United winning 81 compared to Dundee's 49. A total of 42 matches have ended in a stalemate.
Dundee United have won more league,
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,[League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...](_blank)
matches.
League competition
Dundee have competed in more seasons of top flight football with 98 in total to United's 61, but United have maintained a better points to game average in the top tier. Both clubs have won the
Scottish league championship
The Scottish League Championship (currently the Tennents League Championship for sponsorship reasons) is the domestic rugby union league system within Scotland. Operated by the Scottish Rugby Union, the championship was founded in 1973 as the fi ...
once, Dundee in
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
and United in
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
. The clubs also sometimes meet in league games outside the top tier, as in
1995–96 and
2019–20.
All-time top flight table (1890/91-present – 126th Season)
:''As of 15 May 2022:''
Scottish Premiership Table (2013/14–present – 10th Season)
:''As of 15 May 2022:''
SPL Table (1998/99-2012/13 – 15 Seasons)
Premier Division Table (1975/76-1997/98 – 23 Seasons)
Division One table (1890/91-1974/75 – 78 Seasons)
Cup competition
Scottish Cup (1873/74-present – 136th Season)
In the
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,[1910
Events
January
* January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...](_blank)
as well as runners-up in
1925
Events January
* January 1
** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria.
* January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...
,
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
,
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
and
2003. Dundee United have competed in 88 tournaments, reaching twice as many cup finals as Dundee. They were cup winners in
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...
and
2010 as well as runners up in
1974,
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
,
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
,
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
,
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
,
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...
(being unable to secure that trophy in six finals under otherwise successful boss
Jim McLean
James Yuille McLean (2 August 1937 – 26 December 2020) was a Scottish football player, manager and director. He managed Dundee United between 1971 and 1993, becoming the longest-serving and most successful manager in the club's history, winn ...
),
2005 and
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
.
:''As of 4 July 2022:''
League Cup (1946/47-present – 77th Season)
In the
League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...
, Dundee have been the winners on three occasions, in
1951–52,
1952–53 and
1973–74, they were also runners-up in
1967–68,
1980–81 and
1995–96. Dundee United meanwhile have won it twice, in
1979–80 and
1980–81, and were runners-up in
1981–82,
1984–85,
1997–98,
2007–08, and
2014–15 (losing to either
Rangers or
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
on every occasion).
:''As of 23 September 2021:''
European competition
In European competition,
Dundee United
Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...
have played in more tournaments and in more games, competing in 27 tournaments to
Dundee's 7, and playing in 80 more matches.
Neither side has won a trophy, although United were runners-up in the
1986–87 UEFA Cup
The 1986–87 UEFA Cup was the 16th season of the UEFA Cup, a football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for clubs affiliated to its member associations. The competition was won by IFK Göteborg of Sweden ...
; both sides have reached the semi-finals of the
European Cup once, while Dundee also reached the semi-finals of the
1967–68 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
The tenth Inter-Cities Fairs Cup was played over the 1967–68 season. The competition was won by Leeds United over two legs in the final against Ferencváros. It was the first English victory in the competition, despite sides from the country hav ...
. Conversely, United hold the joint-record for worst result by a Scottish side, suffering a 7–0 defeat to
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
side
AZ Alkmaar
Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and host ...
on 11 August 2022.
:''As of 11 August 2022:''
Trophy cabinet comparison
Both clubs have won 5 major Scottish football trophies.
Team records
The following are records just for the Dundee derby itself:
* The longest unbeaten run in all matches is 13, held by United, this was between December 1979 and September 1983, 11 of these were Wins.
* The longest unbeaten run in home matches is held by Dundee when United failed to beat them for 14 games between November 1925 and August 1962.
* The longest unbeaten run in away matches is held by United with a 12 match run at Dens Park between April 1963 and April 1971 which included 8 victories.
* The longest unbroken winning run in all matches belongs to United with 7 between March 1988 and April 1989.
* The longest unbroken winning run at home belongs to United with 6 between September 1974 and September 1981.
* The longest unbroken winning run away from home belongs to United who scored 8 consecutive victories at Dens Park between December 1980 and November 1984.
* The record home victory in a league match is 5–0 recorded by Dundee at Dens Park in August 1926
* The record away victory in a league match is 5–0 recorded by United at Dens Park in September 1965.
* The highest scoring match was in September 1971 when Dundee won 6–4 at Dens Park.
* Paul Sturrock of United holds the mark for the most derby goals with 14, 2 of these came in United's 3–0 League Cup Final win over Dundee at Dens Park in December 1980.
* Record Attendance:
** 29,106 at Dens Park, 14 May 1983 (Premier Division)
** 21,325 at Tannadice, 3 January 1966 (old Division One)
* Lowest Attendance:
** 9,185 at Tannadice, 12 December 1999 (SPL)
** 7,645 at Dens Park, 29 January 1994 (Premier Division)
Players at both clubs
![Scott Robertson dundee](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Scott_Robertson_dundee.jpg)
16 players have signed for Dundee United directly from Dundee, with 10 making the opposite journey from
Tannadice to
Dens Park
Dens Park, officially known as Kilmac Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Dundee, Scotland, which is the home of club Dundee F.C. and has a capacity of . Tannadice Park, the home of rivals Dundee United, is just 200 yard ...
. Only players who have played at least one first team game for both clubs are currently included.
Dundee to Dundee United
Dundee United to Dundee
Complete list
In addition, other players have played for both clubs without moving directly between them. A list of all players to have played at least one first-team game for both clubs is displayed below.
;
*
Scott Allan
*
Stuart Beedie
*
Kenny Cameron
*
Aaron Conway
*
Craig Curran
*
Jimmy Dickson
*
Paul Dixon
*
Billy Dodds
William Dodds (born 5 February 1969) is a Scottish football coach and former player who is the manager of Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
His playing career started with English club Chelsea and the rest of his career was spent in Scotland with ...
*
Neil Duffy
*
Iain Ferguson
*
Mark Fotheringham
*
Jock Gilmour
*
Alan Gordon
*
James Grady James Grady may refer to:
* James Grady (footballer) (born 1971), Scottish footballer
* James Grady (author) (born 1949), American writer and investigative journalist
{{hndis, Grady, James ...
*
Jim Hamilton
*
John Holt
*
Mark Kerr
*
Billy Kirkwood
*
Jim Lauchlan
*
George Mackay
*
Lee Mair
*
Collie Martin
*
Roy McBain
Roy Adam McBain (born 7 November 1974 in Aberdeen) is a Scottish football player and coach who currently works at Turriff United in the Highland League as a player/assistant manager.
Career
McBain began his career with Dundee United, making ...
*
Tommy McDermott
*
Kevin McDonald
Kevin Hamilton McDonald (born May 16, 1961) is a Canadian actor, voice actor and comedian. He is a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of stage, television and film productions, most notably th ...
*
Jim McInally
James Edward McInally (born 19 February 1964) is a Scottish football manager and former player. He played for Dundee United for 10 seasons in which he won the 1993–94 Scottish Cup and played in the 1987 UEFA Cup Final. At United he was also ...
*
Stewart McKimmie
*
Andy McLaren
Andy McLaren (born 5 June 1973 in Glasgow) is a former Scottish professional footballer. He began his career in 1989 with Dundee United where he was for 10 years and was part of the team when they won the Scottish Cup in 1994. He had trouble w ...
*
Duncan MacLeod
Duncan MacLeod is a fictional character and the protagonist of '' Highlander: The Series,'' which ran for six seasons from 1992 to 1998. The character also starred in two spin-off films, '' Highlander: Endgame'' and '' Highlander: The Source''. ...
*
Gordon McLeod
*
John McQuillan
*
James Angus Munro
*
Simon Murray
*
Stephen O'Donnell
*
Kinnaird Ouchterlonie
*
Iain Phillip
*
Ian Redford
Ian Petrie Redford (5 April 1960 – 10 January 2014) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a midfielder or forward. He played for Dundee before joining Rangers for a then Scottish record transfer fee. At Rangers he won in three d ...
*
Paul Ritchie
*
Steven Robb
*
Scott Robertson
*
Bobby Robinson
*
Jock Ross
*
Craig Samson
*
Ian Scott
*
Rab Shannon
Robert 'Rab' Shannon (born 20 April 1966 in Bellshill) is a Scottish former footballer who played as a defender.
Playing career
Shannon, who played for a number of Scottish clubs but spent around half his career with Dundee. He also spent a sea ...
*
Harry Smith
*
Kevin Smith
Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film '' Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, ...
*
Alex Stuart
*
Billy Thomson
*
Lewis Toshney
Lewis Toshney (born 26 April 1992) is a Scottish professional footballer and coach, who is currently playing for Downfield. Toshney has previously played for Celtic, Ross County, Cowdenbeath, Raith Rovers, Kilmarnock, Brechin City, Dundee ...
*
Gordon Wallace
*
Lee Wilkie
Lee Wilkie (born 20 April 1980) is a Scottish former footballer, who played as a central defender. Wilkie spent the majority of his career in Dundee, playing for both Dundee and Dundee United. Wilkie started his career with Dundee, making over ...
*
Billy Williamson
; ''Unknown''
*
Tim Dailly
*
Thomas Flood
*
Fred Stoessel
;
*
Beto Naveda
Alberto "Beto" Dante Naveda (born 24 May 1972 in San Juan, Argentina, is an Argentine former footballer who played as a striker. He played professionally in Argentina, Israel, Scotland and the United States.
Career
Naveda started his career ...
;
*
Ryan McGowan
;
*
Bert Dainty
*
Albert Juliussen
;
*
Tommy Coyne
*
David Worrell
David Worrell (born 12 January 1978) is an Irish footballer who played as a right back. Born in Dublin, he played in the Scottish Premier League for Dundee United, and the Football League for Plymouth Argyle and Rotherham United.
Life and c ...
;
*
Danny Griffin
;
*
Osman Sow
Serigne Osman Petter Sow (born 22 April 1990) is a Swedish professional footballer who currently plays for Thai side Sukhothai. He is of Senegalese descent.
Club career
Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Sow started his youth career at FoC Farsta an ...
;
*
Jack Court
;
*
Dragutin Ristić
Dragutin Ristić (born 5 August 1964) is a Croatian former footballer who played as a striker, currently coach of NK Medulin 1921.
Career Player
He spent most of his career playing for lower division clubs in Italy, and also played in Scotlan ...
Goal scorer records
Full game list
Fixtures from 1925 to the present day featuring League games,
Scottish Cup
The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,[League Cup
In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...](_blank)
matches. Friendlies, testimonials and other non-competitive games are not included.
Dundee wins are coloured in blue, United wins in tangerine and draws are grey. Note that United played in white until 1969 but tangerine is used throughout for ease.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dundee Derby
Scotland football derbies
Dundee F.C.
Dundee United F.C.
Football in Dundee
Recurring sporting events established in 1925