The New Firm is the term used, hailing from the 1980s, to describe the rivalry between Scottish football clubs

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 ...

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 ...

. Both clubs are located on the east coast of Scotland, in the third and fourth most populous cities respectively. Although not traditionally a

derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, with 65 miles separating both teams, the fixture was seen as a North-east of Scotland derby between the two most successful teams in Scotland outside of the Old Firm during the 1980s. Dundee United also have a more traditional rivalry with their close neighbours Dundee.

History

The term originated in the 1980s, when both clubs challenged 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 ...

for domestic trophies. The term was used by '' Evening Times'' and ''

The Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

''. The Old Firm have more often than not been the dominant force in Scottish Football, however throughout the 1980s both Aberdeen and Dundee United were more than a match for them, regularly beating them home and away and winning many of the trophies on offer. Aberdeen were to win the

Scottish Premier Division The Scottish Football League Premier Division was, from 1975 until 1998, the top division of the Scottish Football League and the entire Scottish football league system. It lay above the Scottish Football League First, Second and (from 1994) ...

three times, the

Scottish Cup The Scottish Football Association Challenge Cup,European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...

and the European Super Cup, all within the 1980s. In this same period, Dundee United won the

once and the

Scottish League Cup The Scottish League Cup (also known as the Viaplay Cup for sponsorship reasons) is a football competition open to all Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) clubs. First held in 1946–47, it is the oldest national League Cup in existen ...

twice, as well as reaching the Scottish Cup final four times, the

1987 UEFA Cup Final The 1987 UEFA Cup Final was a football tie played on 6 and 20 May 1987 between IFK Göteborg of Sweden and Dundee United of Scotland. Göteborg won 2–1 on aggregate, their second UEFA Cup triumph, following victory in 1982. It was Dundee Uni ...

, and the semi-final of the

1983–84 European Cup The 1983–84 season of the European Cup football club tournament was won for a fourth time by Liverpool in a penalty shootout in the final against Roma. The game had finished 1–1. Phil Neal had scored for Liverpool and Roberto Pruzzo for Rom ...

. Not only were the Old Firm not dominating the title race, but for three seasons in a row, 1983 through to 1985, the league title went to either Aberdeen or Dundee United, meaning for the first time two other teams were dominating Scottish Football. Both sides' success was limited as they entered the 1990s, with Aberdeen winning both cups in 1989–90, reaching both finals in

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

, as well as almost winning the league in 1991, while Dundee United were Scottish Cup finalists in 1991 and finally winners in 1994. However, in the 1994–95 season both sides fought relegation (with United going down), and although Aberdeen won the Scottish League Cup in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

and Dundee United the Scottish Cup again in 2010, neither side has managed to be a consistent force for Rangers and Celtic to reckon with, and Aberdeen's league success in 1984–85 is the last time a non-Old Firm club won the Scottish league title. Since 2010 however, the sides have seen a divergence in fortunes, as Aberdeen capitalised on Rangers' financial issues to win the Scottish League Cup in

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 ...

and finish runners-up behind Celtic for four years running between 2014–15 and 2017–18 (losing three cup finals to the same club in that period), while Dundee United were relegated from the top flight 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 of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

having lost the 2014 Scottish Cup Final to a local rival, St Johnstone.

Domestic head-to-head

In domestic head-to-head matches, the teams have played each other 246 times, Aberdeen winning 98 compared to United's 79. Aberdeen have won more league and

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 ...

matches between the two. Given their mutual success particularly in the 1980s, it is perhaps surprising that the only major final featuring both clubs is the 1979–80 Scottish League Cup Final, won by Dundee United in a replay 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 ...

after a draw in Glasgow. :''After 8 October 2022:''

League competition

Scottish Premiership Table (2013/14-present – 5 Seasons) :''As of 16 May 2018:'' SPL Table (1998/99-2012/13 – 15 Seasons)

European competition

:''As of 9 August 2012:''

Players at both clubs

Nine players have signed for Dundee United directly from Aberdeen, the last being in 2000. Ten have made the opposite journey from Tannadice to

Pittodrie Pittodrie Stadium, commonly referred to as Pittodrie, is an all-seater stadium in Aberdeen, Scotland. Used primarily for football, it has been the home ground of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) club Aberdeen F.C. since they wer ...

, with five since August 2005.

Aberdeen to Dundee United

Dundee United to Aberdeen

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. ; Scottish *

Jim Bett James Bett (born 25 November 1959) is a Scottish former professional association footballer who played in central or left midfield. He played with Aberdeen for nine seasons and had shorter spells at other clubs in Belgium, Iceland and Scotland. ...

Craig Brewster Craig James Brown Brewster (born 13 December 1966) is a Scottish former professional footballer, turned coach. He made his name in a long playing career as a striker for numerous clubs in Scotland, particularly Forfar Athletic, Raith Rovers, ...

* Jamie Buchan *

Stevie Crawford Stephen Crawford (born 9 January 1974) is a Scottish professional football coach and former player. Crawford started his career with Raith Rovers, with whom he won the 1994 Scottish League Cup final and played in the UEFA Cup. This earned him ...

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 ...

Davie Dodds David Dodds (born 23 September 1958) is a Scottish former footballer who played for Dundee United, Aberdeen and Rangers in the 1980s. With United, he was a Scottish League champion in 1983 and was in their winning 1980 Scottish League Cup ...

* Stuart Duff * Fraser Fyvie * John Gardiner *

David Goodwillie David Goodwillie (born 28 March 1989) is a Scottish professional football player. Goodwillie came through the Dundee United youth system and he won the SPFA and SFWA Young Player of the Year awards for the 2010–11 season. His performance ...

* Jim Hamilton * Jim Henry * Mark Kerr * Lee Mair * Stewart McKimmie * Gary Mackay-Steven * Ray McKinnon * Jamie McQuilken * Joe Miller *

Lee Miller Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, Lady Penrose (April 23, 1907 – July 21, 1977), was an American photographer and photojournalist. She was a fashion model in New York City in the 1920s before going to Paris, where she became a fashion and fine art ...

* Charlie Mulgrew * Frank Munro * Mark Perry *

Barry Robson Barry Gordon George Robson (born 7 November 1978) is a Scottish football coach and former player who currently works for Aberdeen in the Scottish Premiership. Robson played as a midfielder for several clubs in Scotland, England and Canada and r ...

Cammy Smith Cameron Smith (born 24 August 1995) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a forward for Partick Thistle in the Scottish Championship. He began his career with Aberdeen, and initially played for Dundee United on loan in 2016 before joining St ...

* Derek Stillie * Lewis Thom * Billy Williamson *

Robbie Winters Robert Winters (born 4 November 1974) is a former Scottish footballer who played as a striker. He made one appearance for the Scotland national team in 1999. Winters started his career in Scotland and played for Dundee United between 1992 a ...

* Stephen Wright * Lawrence Shankland *

Peter Pawlett Peter Ian Pawlett (born 3 February 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish Premiership club Dundee United. He spent much of his early career at Aberdeen and has also played for St Johnstone and Milton Keynes Do ...

; Finnish * Mixu Paatelainen ; Republic of Ireland *

Willo Flood William Robert Flood (born 10 April 1985) is an Irish former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He earned 15 caps for his country at under-20 and under-21 levels. He represented eight clubs in England and Scotland including Ma ...

; Northern Irish * Danny Griffin * Michael O'Neill

Player records

:''A list of players to have scored in derby matches between the two from 27 August 1994 up to 20 November 2021 is below:''

For both clubs

Aberdeen goalscorers

Dundee United goalscorers

Partial game list

Fixtures from 27 August 1994 to the present day featuring League games,

matches. Aberdeen wins are coloured in red, United wins in tangerine and draws are grey.

References

External links

Soccerbase list of New Firm meetings

BBC's 'A Sporting Nation' New Firm article
{{United Kingdom Football Derbies Scotland football derbies Aberdeen F.C. Dundee United F.C. Recurring sporting events established in 1925