The Melbourne Derby is an intra-city
local derby
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
* Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...
in Australia's premier
soccer
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
competition, the
A-League Men
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
. It is contested between the first two
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
teams playing in the competition,
Melbourne City and
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
, and is the A-League Men's first intra-city derby.
History
With the introduction of
Melbourne Heart
Melbourne City Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in the south–eastern Melbourne suburb of Cranbourne East, that plays in the A-League, the top level of Australian soccer, under licence from Australian Profession ...
(who would later be known as Melbourne City) to the
A-League
A-League Men (known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons) is the highest-level professional men's soccer league in Australia and New Zealand. At the top of the Australian league system, it is the country's premier men's competiti ...
at the start of the
2010–11 season, (the Victory having joined the league at inception), the first derby was held on 8 October 2010 at
AAMI Park
The Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, known as AAMI Park for sponsorship reasons, is an outdoor sports stadium on the site of Edwin Flack Field in the Sports and Entertainment Precinct in the Melbourne central business district.
When completed ...
. The match was originally scheduled for 2 October 2010. However, due to the
2010 AFL Grand Final
The 2010 AFL Grand Final was a series of two Australian rules football matches between the Collingwood Football Club and the St Kilda Football Club. They are considered the 114th and 115th grand finals of the Australian Football League (formerly ...
Replay occurring on the same day, the match was postponed.
Melbourne City won the inaugural derby 2–1, with goals from
Alex Terra and
John Aloisi
John Aloisi () (born 5 February 1976) is an Australian former soccer player and current head coach of A-League club Western United. In a professional career that spanned 20 seasons, with league totals of 459 games and 127 goals, he was the first ...
.
Robbie Kruse
Robbie Thomas Kruse ( ; ; born 5 October 1988) is an Australian professional footballer who last played as a forward for Melbourne Victory and the Australia national team. He played his junior football with Albany Creek in the Pine Rivers distr ...
scored for Victory.
Aziz Behich
Aziz Eraltay Behich ( tr, Aziz Eraltay, ; born 16 December 1990) is an Australian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left back and Wide midfielder, left winger for Scottish club Dundee United F.C., Dundee United and th ...
was sent off late in the second half, but Heart were able to hold on and secure the win. Although the game was an official sell out, only 25,897 fans turned up, well short of AAMI Park's official capacity of 30,050. The Victory hosted their first home derby on 22 January at
Docklands Stadium
Docklands Stadium, also currently known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the Docklands area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was ...
, with the match ending in a 2–2 draw. The match was marred by an unacceptable tackle by
Kevin Muscat
Kevin Vincent Muscat (born 7 August 1973) is an Australian former association football player and the current manager of Yokohama F. Marinos. As a player, he represented the Australia national team at international level winning 46 caps and sco ...
on
Adrian Zahra
Adrian Zahra (born 24 September 1990) is an Australian professional footballer who plays for National Premier League club Heidelberg United.
Career Melbourne Knights
Zahra started his career being coached by Billy Vojtek in the youth system of M ...
, which earned the Victory captain his second straight red card and a subsequent eight-match ban, ending not only his season, but his A-League career.
The first scoreless draw in the derby occurred in the third round of 2011–12 season, whilst a record crowd at AAMI Park was in attendance for the second derby of the season. This derby was arguably one of the best in the rivalry's brief existence, with Heart midfielder
Matt Thompson scoring twice in a matter of minutes late in the first half to put Heart in the lead 2–1, before City substitute
Alex Terra scored controversially after appearing to handball preceding his goal in the second half. City would win the match 3–2. The intense rivalry and passion between both sets of supporters occasionally boiled over, as occurred in February 2011 when four Melbourne City supporters were charged with "''conspiracy to falsely imprison a
ictory supporter' ".
In the 2014–15 season, City underwent a takeover by the
City Football Group
City Football Group Limited (CFG) is a holding company that administers association football clubs. The group is owned by three organisations; of which 81% is majority owned by Newton Investment and Development LLC, 18% by the American firm Sil ...
. Melbourne City had their first derby win under the new management that season, winning the pre-Christmas derby 1–0 with
Erik Paartalu
Erik Endel Paartalu (born 3 May 1986) is an Australian professional footballer of Estonian descent who plays as a defensive midfielder. He has played professionally in Scotland, Australia, China, Qatar, South Korea, Thailand and India.
Club ca ...
scoring one of the latest winners in a derby. Victory and City later met in the Finals Series for the first time, in front of a derby record attendance of 50,873 at Etihad Stadium. Melbourne Victory won the Semi Final convincingly with a score of 3–0, with goals from
Besart Berisha
Besart Berisha (born 29 July 1985) is a Kosovan retired professional footballer who played as a striker.
Club career Youth and Hamburger SV
Berisha began his youth career at German side Berliner VB 49 academies at age of 9. He then moved to var ...
,
Kosta Barbarouses
Konstantinos "Kosta" Barbarouses ( el, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Μπαρμπαρούσης; born 19 February 1990) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays in Australia's A-League Men for Wellington Phoenix FC.
Club ca ...
and
Archie Thompson
Archie Gerald Thompson (born 23 October 1978) is an Australian former professional association football, footballer. He also is serving as a club ambassador for Melbourne Victory FC.
Born in New Zealand, Thompson played youth football at the N ...
. The third derby of the 2015–16 season was marred by a series of flares let off both outside AAMI Park before the match and inside the arena during the match by some Melbourne Victory supporters. The poor behaviour from Victory fans also extended to "an alleged assault on TV news personnel outside the stadium, throwing missiles at Melbourne City player
Thomas Sørensen
Thomas Løvendahl Sørensen (born 12 June 1976) is a retired Danish footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Sørensen started his career with his local side Odense BK. After impressing on loan at Vejle Boldklub and Svendborg he was signed by E ...
and a
Victoria Police
Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian States and territories of Australia, state of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the ''Victoria Police Act 2013''.
, Victo ...
officer, and altercations with police after the match".
Football Federation Australia
Football Australia is the governing body of soccer, futsal, and beach soccer within Australia, headquartered in Sydney. Although the first governing body of the sport was founded in 1911, Football Australia in its current form was only esta ...
subsequently issued Melbourne Victory a $50,000 club fine and a suspended three competition points deduction.
On the field, the match was lauded as one of the most "captivating" derbies of the rivalry and featured an incredible passage of play for a goal from City striker
Bruno Fornaroli
Bruno Fornaroli Mezza (; born 7 September 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for Melbourne Victory. Born in Uruguay, he plays for the Australian national team.
Club career
Fornaroli was born in ...
. In Round 2 of the 2016–17 season, City recorded just their second ever derby win at Etihad Stadium, comfortably defeating Victory 4–1. The match featured the A-League Men debut of
Socceroos
The Australia men's national soccer team represents Australia in international men's soccer. Officially nicknamed the Socceroos, the team is controlled by the governing body for soccer in Australia, Football Australia, which is affiliated with ...
all-time leading goal scorer
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga Cahill (; born 6 December 1979) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder but also played as a striker on many occasions. A box-to-box midfielder, Cahill became recognised for "his ag ...
for City, who scored an incredible long-range goal to open City's account. The February 2017 derby was a spiteful and controversial affair. Most notably City goalkeeper
Dean Bouzanis
Dean Anthony Bouzanis (born 2 October 1990) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL Championship side Reading.
He played junior football in Australia before joining English side Liverpool, appearing for the Ac ...
, was suspended and forced to undergo an education course after ethnically slurring Victory striker
Besart Berisha
Besart Berisha (born 29 July 1985) is a Kosovan retired professional footballer who played as a striker.
Club career Youth and Hamburger SV
Berisha began his youth career at German side Berliner VB 49 academies at age of 9. He then moved to var ...
during the late stages of Victory's 2–1 win.
Tim Cahill
Timothy Filiga Cahill (; born 6 December 1979) is an Australian former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder but also played as a striker on many occasions. A box-to-box midfielder, Cahill became recognised for "his ag ...
was also
red carded before even being entering the field of play, and Victory held on to record a stunning come from behind win.
The two rivals have been drawn for an
FFA Cup
The Australia Cup, formerly known as the FFA Cup until the 2021 season, is the national football knockout cup competition in Australia. This annual competition is organised by Football Australia, formerly known as Football Federation Australia ...
derby only once; in
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
at the semi-final stage of the tournament. Melbourne City advanced to the Final, knocking out Victory 2–0 in what was one of the most physically confrontational clashes between the two rivals. The game was not without controversy, with Melbourne City's first goal of the match allowed to stand, despite the fact that Tim Cahill had seemingly interfered with Lawrence Thomas's line of sight whilst in an offside position.
In the nine matches played from the start of the 2017–18 season to the end of the 2019–20 season, the teams shared three wins, three draws and three losses respectively, indicating a period of relative evenness between the rivals. This changed in the first two derbies of the 2020–21 season, when City claimed historic record wins in the fixture's history, defeating Victory firstly by six goals to nil in March 2021 and then by seven goals to nil the following month.
Jamie Maclaren
Jamie Maclaren (born 29 July 1993) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a striker for A-League club Melbourne City. He has also previously played for Darmstadt 98, Perth Glory, Brisbane Roar and Hibernian. Maclaren initial ...
became the first player to score more than three goals in a derby in the latter game and the second player in league history to score five goals in a match, after
Archie Thompson
Archie Gerald Thompson (born 23 October 1978) is an Australian former professional association football, footballer. He also is serving as a club ambassador for Melbourne Victory FC.
Born in New Zealand, Thompson played youth football at the N ...
scored five goals in the
2007 A-League Grand Final. The results, which coincided with a torrid run of form for the Victory that left them in last place on the ladder, resulted in the sacking of head coach
Grant Brebner
Grant Ian Brebner (born 6 December 1977) is a Scottish football coach and former player who was the head coach at Australian side Melbourne Victory. Born in Edinburgh, Brebner joined Manchester United as a 16-year-old in 1994. While at Manchest ...
on 17 April 2021.
On 12 December 2022, just a few days before the derby, the
Australian Professional Leagues
The Australian Professional Leagues, commonly abbreviated to the APL, and sometimes referred to as the A-Leagues, are the governing body for the A-League Men, A-League Women, A-League Youth and E-League. Since their formation, they have been most ...
announced an agreement with
Destination NSW
Destination NSW is a New South Wales state government executive agency established in 2011 to support growth of tourism and events in New South Wales, Australia. The agency falls within the Enterprise, Investment and Trade cluster of New South ...
that would see the 2023, 2024, and 2025 A-League Men Grand Finals hosted in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
, as opposed to the traditional format of being hosted by the finalist that finished higher during the regular season. This announcement was met with widespread oppsition from fans, former players and active support groups, with Original Style Melbourne and Melbourne City Terrace, the active supporter groups of Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City respectively, agreeing to stage a walkout in the 20th minute of the
Melbourne Derby on 17 December 2022 in order to protest against the APL's decision.
The match was marred with poor crowd behaviour, with multiple flares ignited and thrown onto the pitch by supporters of both teams. In the 20th minute of the match, Melbourne City goalkeeper
Tom Glover threw back a flare sent from the crowd, sparking a pitch invasion which saw both Glover and referee Alex King assaulted by pitch invaders, and causing the match to be abandoned. In response Football Australia has contemplated forcing Melbourne Victory to play the remainder of the 2022-23 season without fans.
Matches
2010–2020
2021–present
Statistics
Top goalscorers
![Jamie Maclaren World Cup 2018](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Jamie_Maclaren_World_Cup_2018.jpg)
* Players in bold are still active for their club.
Records
*Most wins: ''Both teams'' (14)
*Biggest win:
Melbourne City 7–0
Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Melbourne, Victoria. Competing in the country's premier men's competition, the A-League Men, under licence from Australian Professional Leagues (APL), Victory e ...
(17 April 2021)
*Most consecutive wins: 3, Melbourne Victory (7 February 2015 – 17 October 2015), Melbourne City (7 February 2020 – 17 April 2021)
*Most consecutive matches undefeated: 6, Melbourne City (7 February 2020 – 19 March 2022)
*Most consecutive games without a draw: 8, (21 December 2013 – 19 December 2015, 15 October 2016 – 20 October 2018)
*Most consecutive draws: 3, (22 December 2018 – 21 December 2019, 6 June 2021 – 19 March 2022)
*Highest goalscorer: 10,
Jamie Maclaren
Jamie Maclaren (born 29 July 1993) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a striker for A-League club Melbourne City. He has also previously played for Darmstadt 98, Perth Glory, Brisbane Roar and Hibernian. Maclaren initial ...
*Highest goalscorer in one match: 5,
Jamie Maclaren
Jamie Maclaren (born 29 July 1993) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a striker for A-League club Melbourne City. He has also previously played for Darmstadt 98, Perth Glory, Brisbane Roar and Hibernian. Maclaren initial ...
(17 April 2021)
*Player with most consecutive matches scored: 4,
Besart Berisha
Besart Berisha (born 29 July 1985) is a Kosovan retired professional footballer who played as a striker.
Club career Youth and Hamburger SV
Berisha began his youth career at German side Berliner VB 49 academies at age of 9. He then moved to var ...
(7 February 2015 – 19 December 2015)
*Highest attendance: 50,873 (8 May 2015)
*Lowest attendance (excluding behind closed doors): 11,467 (6 March 2021)
Honours
Players who played for both clubs
![Mate Dugandžić](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5f/Mate_Dugand%C5%BEi%C4%87.jpg)
:''Correct as of 5 May 2022''
See also
*
Sydney Derby
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melbourne Derby
Australian soccer rivalries
Melbourne Victory FC
Melbourne City FC
Sports competitions in Melbourne
pl:Mecze derbowe w A-League