The Derby de la Côte d'Azur is a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

match contested between

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

clubs

AS Monaco Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club, commonly referred to as AS Monaco (), is a professional football club based in Fontvieille, Monaco. Although not in France, they are a member of the French Football Federation (FFF) and currently ...

and

OGC Nice Olympique Gymnaste Club de Nice (), commonly referred to as OGC Nice or simply Nice, is a French professional association football, football club based in Nice. The club was founded in 1904 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of Footb ...

. The name of the derby derives from the fact that Monaco and Nice are the two major clubs in France that are situated on or near the

Côte d'Azur The French Riviera, known in French as the (; , ; ), is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is considered to be the coastal area of the Alpes-Maritimes department, extending fr ...

, known in English as the French Riviera. The derby may also refer to matches involving

AS Cannes Association Sportive de Cannes Football (; commonly referred to as AS Cannes or simply Cannes) is a French association football club based in Cannes. The club was formed in 1902 as a sports club and currently plays in the Championnat National 2 ...

, however since the club's downfall into the amateur divisions, the derby has only been contested by Monaco and Nice.

Background

The rivalry between Monaco and Nice is a geographic one, first of all, the two cities being separated by only 20 kilometres. Furthermore, Nice and Monaco have competed many years together in Division 1, including nine years in-a-row from 2002 to 2011 and both are among the most important football clubs in France (Nice won four championships and three cups, while Monaco won eight championships and five cups). The rivalry is intensified by Monaco being the dominant club in the direct meetings, having more money and being a more frequent presence in the European football. However, the rivalry between these two clubs is not without passion and would sometimes even end up in violent clashes between fans of both teams.

Statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Derby de la Cote d'Azur Football derbies in France AS Cannes AS Monaco FC OGC Nice 1953 establishments in Europe Football in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Recurring sporting events established in 1953