The Stadin Derby, or The Helsinki Derby, is the name for a
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
association football
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 ...
fixture played between
HIFK Fotboll
HIFK Fotboll or IFK Helsingfors is an association football section of HIFK, a sports club based in Helsinki, Finland. The men's football team competes in the highest tier of Finnish football, Veikkausliiga. Their home ground is the Bolt Arena.
...
and
HJK Helsinki
Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki, or simply as HJK, is a professional football club based in Helsinki, Finland. The club competes in the Finnish Veikkausliiga. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history ...
. The name of the derby derives from the common slang word nickname for Helsinki (Stadi), widely used by the locals. Both the teams play at the highest level of football in
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
, in
Veikkausliiga
Veikkausliiga (; sv, Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkau ...
. Before 2015, the clubs had not faced each other at the highest level since 1972 when HIFK got relegated from the top league, which was then known as
Mestaruussarja
Mestaruussarja (Championship series) was the top division of Finland, Finnish association football, football from 1930 to 1989. It was replaced by Veikkausliiga in 1990.
In 1930 league format was used for the first time to decide the Finnish cham ...
.
The rivalry extends from 1909 when the two teams faced each other for the first time. HJK used to be associated with the Finnish speaking middle-class population at the time, whereas HIFK was known for being a club of the Swedish speaking middle-class population. The language has been the main reason for the rivalry but to date the importance of it has diminished significantly. Before HIFK got relegated from the top league the fixtures had been played at the
Helsinki Olympic Stadium
The Helsinki Olympic Stadium ( fi, Helsingin Olympiastadion; sv, Helsingfors Olympiastadion), located in the Töölö district about from the centre of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country, nowadays mainly used ...
, but are nowadays played at the Sonera Stadium. Both clubs play their home fixtures at this particular venue.
The two teams clashed for the first time at the top level since 1972 on 23 April 2015. The match was played at a sold out
Sonera Stadium
The Bolt Arena (named Telia 5G -areena until January 2020, named Sonera Stadium until April 2017, and Finnair Stadium until August 2010; also known as ''Töölön jalkapallostadion'', " Töölö football stadium") is a football stadium in Helsinki, ...
and ended in a 1-1 draw.
Supporters
The supporters of both of the teams are known for the rivalry against each other and winning the derby fixtures decides "Stadin herruus" (in English: ''the mastership of Helsinki'') between the clubs. The team which manages to earn more points from Stadin derby fixtures within a single season, are awarded the Stadin herruus-trophy, which was first awarded in the late 1920s. If the points are even, goal difference decides the winner of the trophy. In case the goal differences are same, the winner will be undecided for the season.
The most renowned supporter group of HIFK is known as
Stadin kingit (in English: ''the kings of Helsinki''). The supporters of HJK on the other hand are divided into two separate groups:
Forza HJK and
Sakilaiset. Stadin kingit and Sakilaiset have caused some controversy due to fights and minor
football hooliganism
Football hooliganism, also known as soccer hooliganism, football rioting or soccer rioting, constitutes violence and other destructive behaviours perpetrated by spectators at association football events. Football hooliganism normally involves ...
between some members of the two groups. For example, prior to a
Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
fixture on 27 November 2014, some supporters of HJK and
FC Copenhagen
Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...
had a fight with each other. Copenhagen supporters were allegedly accompanied by Stadin kingit, as Stadin kingit share a friendship between Copenhagen supporters. Hooliganism is a relatively small issue in Finland and attending football matches in Finland is safe.
According to a 2012 survey, HJK was supported by 25% of all Finnish football supporters and 59% of those living in the Uusimaa region. The HIFK football branch was supported by 7% of all supporters and 12% of those living in Uusimaa. Ultimately both clubs are well supported all over the country as 30% of HJK supporters and 49% of HIFK supporters came outside of the Uusimaa region. However, HIFK's most popular sports section is the ice hockey one.
Matches
''Updated 1.2.2020''
HIFK in the league at home
HJK in the league at home
Cup
Other
Honours
Records
Biggest wins (5+ goals)
Goalscorers
Top 10 scorers (Modern era)
Top scorers (Mestaruussarja)
Players for both clubs
This is a list of players who played at least one competitive first team fixture for both clubs either in finnish championship competition or lower division.
Other:
*
Tommy Lindholm played for HIFK in 1969 and 1970 seasons and managed HJK in 1996
*
Hannu Kautiainen played for HJK from 1970 to 1976 and coached HIFK for 10 seasons after his playing career
*
Gösta Löfgren
Karl Gösta Herbert "Lövet" Löfgren (29 August 1923 – 5 September 2006) was a Swedish association football player who won a bronze medal at the 1952 Summer Olympics and a silver medal at the 1958 FIFA World Cup. Between 1951 and 1961, he p ...
was founding member of HJK but left the club before the first finnish championship in 1908 and later joined HIFK
*
Antti Muurinen
Antti Muurinen (born March 4, 1954) is a Finnish football coach.
Muurinen is probably best known as the head coach of the Finnish national team. He led Finland in qualifying campaigns for the 2002 World Cup, Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup, f ...
Head coach for HJK 1997-1999 and 2007-2012 and for HIFK 2016-2017
References
{{Association football club rivalries in Europe
Association football rivalries
1909 establishments in Finland
HIFK Fotboll
Football in Finland