Derby Week: Corsican rivals Bastia and Ajaccio do battle for Island bragging rights
Corsica lies 180 kilometres from the shores of the French Cote d'Azur and just 80 kilometres from Tuscany in Italy. Italy is thus closer to it not only geographically but also culturally. Although the official language is French, Italian or Corsican is very often heard among the 350,000 Corsicans.
Relations with mainland France are strained for many reasons. This is reflected in politics and other aspects of Corsican society, of which football is an important part. The best Corsican clubs always want to take on the big ones from France, with SC Bastia and AC Ajaccio the strongest representatives of the island.
Bastia, in particular, as a club, together with its fans, shows strong elements of Corsican nationalism. They are sometimes even separatist in their views and support the island's independence. They also reinforce Corsican identity by using the local language. The team and its supporters are known as Turchini (Corsican for Blue).
A distinctive local symbol is the black Moorish head, which can be found all over the island and in many different ways. It is a symbol that is more than a thousand years old and most likely refers to the victory over the raids of the Moorish, Muslim kings.
The Moorish head is depicted on the official flag and emblem of Corsica (it is also the main emblem for neighbouring Sardinia), and SC Bastia uses it in its logo. The symbolism and attitude of AC Ajaccio is also based on local tradition. It is no exaggeration to say that everything that is Corsican has a black, Moorish head on it.
The local clubs and their fans feel a rivalry with virtually all mainland rivals. The most fierce rivalry from their point of view is with Nice and with Monaco. In particular, the matches between Bastia (which lies in the north of the island closer to the French mainland) and Nice and Monaco respectively are often referred to as the Derby de la Mediterranée.
The big rival in the eyes of the Corsicans is, of course, Paris Saint-Germain because of the political tensions between the capital and the island. However, it should be noted that these rivalries between Corsican teams and those from the mainland are somewhat one-sided. Only the island representatives are the ones to arouse strong passions.
The big clubs from France have their main rivals within their own ranks, competing mainly with each other. However, travelling to Corsica for matches is never a relaxing trip from which they can easily take three points. The matches that are guaranteed to bring emotions on both sides, however, are the mutual battles between Bastia and Ajaccio for the title of the best team on the island.
North versus South
The territory of Corsica is divided into two administrative units. In the north lies the department of Haute-Corse. Its centre is Bastia, the island's main port and the city with the greatest development of business and trade. The southern part is administered by the department of Corse-du-Sud. Ajaccio is the capital of the whole of Corsica and the largest city on the island in terms of population.
The two regions and their administrative cities are huge rivals and their inhabitants often see themselves as the better and more "Corsican". One of the best opportunities for Bastia and Ajaccio to compete is football.
Although the Corsican derby is now 'only' played at the level of the second highest competition, this does not detract from its importance. Not so long ago, it was part of the top-flight calendar. Bastia and Ajaccio met in Ligue 1 between 2012-2014, and before that for four seasons between 2003-2007.
The island rivals also clashed in the top competition in the 1970s. Corsican football's greatest success comes from this era, with Bastia reaching the UEFA Cup final in 1978 (where they fell short to PSV Eindhoven) and winning the French Cup in 1981.
Historically, Bastia have also had better results in the derby, winning 21 meetings, while Ajaccio have won 12 times. However, it was Ajaccio who won the last derby in the autumn (2-0).
The 41st edition of the Corsican derby will kick off on Monday 5 February at 20:45 CET. Both teams are lower in the table than they would like to be, and they could desperately use the points from this game.
Other derbies this week
Saturday, February 3rd
England - Premier League
M23 derby
The derby between Brighton and Crystal Palace from South London is nicknamed after eitherthe M23 motorway or also Gatwick Airport, which is located halfway between the two cities. Brighton lies on the coast 75 miles south of the English capital. The contest very often ends in a 1-1 draw.
Netherlands - Eredivisie
Ajax Amsterdam - PSV Eindhoven
De Topper
In Dutch football, the biggest rivalry is the match between Ajax and Feyenoord (the so-called De Klassieker). Close behind, however, is the clash between the two historically most successful teams. After Ajax (36 titles), the other is PSV Eindhoven (24). PSV are also leading the Eredivisie table in the current season, unbeaten after 19 matches.
Brazil - Campeonato Mineiro
Classico Mineiro
Atletico Mineiro and Cruzeiro are clubs from Belo Horizonte, the capital of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Their derby is referred to by the adjective mineiro, the so-called inhabitant name for something that comes from Minas Gerais. Classico Mineiro has been played more than 500 times.
Sunday, February 4th
England - Championship
Tees-Wear derby
For Sunderland, along with Newcastle (their rivalry was covered by Derby Week earlier), the derby is also a game against Middlesbrough, the third biggest club from the north of England. Sunderland's first match with Middlesbrough this season was a dominant triumph for the visitors from the River Tees ("Boro" won 4-0).
Croatia - HNL
Derby della Učka
Derby Week wrote about the derby between the clubs from Croatian Istria - HNK Rijeka and Istra 1961 - at the beginning of the season. In their summer clash, Rijeka gave their rivals a 6-0 humbling. The second derby in October ended 1-1 and now the third match of the season is on the agenda.
Brazil - Supercopa do Brasil (Super Cup)
Choque-Rei
Palmeiras and Sao Paulo are two of Brazil's biggest and most successful clubs. Both are based in Sao Paulo. Their duel is called the "Clash of Kings". They will now compete for the Brazilian Super Cup. Their record is currently incredibly even - both teams have won 116 times, while 112 games have ended in a draw.
Greece - Super League
Panathinaikos - Olympiakos Piraeus
Derby of the eternal enemies
Greece's two biggest clubs (Olympiakos have won 47 titles, Panathinaikos has 20), and thus the two biggest rivals from Athens, face off for the fourth time this season. Recently, Panathinaikos eliminated Olympiakos on penalties after a double-header in the domestic cup quarter-finals and also won the first league derby.
France - Ligue 1
Olympique Lyon - Olympique Marseille
Choc des Olympiques
In October 2023, the "Clash of the Olympiques" was postponed due to an attack on the Lyon team bus by Marseille supporters. Marseille won 3-0 in the December return leg, so Lyon has plenty of motivation to gain revenge on their rivals from the south of France.
Italy - Serie A
Derby d'Italia
Although the match between Inter and Juventus is not a city or regional derby and both clubs have their main city rivals, their contest is referred to as the Derby d'Italia. It is one of the biggest matches in the country, not least because the two cities - Milan and Turin - are major economic and political competitors.
Spain - La Liga
El derbi Madrileno
The Madrid derby will take place for the third time since the beginning of 2024! Both previous editions have been very interesting. The semi-final of the Spanish Super Cup in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia ended with Real winning 5-3 after extra time. In the Copa del Rey, Atletico avenged their defeat winning 4-2 (also after extra time). Now the time sides will meet in the league in a blockbuster clash.
Brazil - Campeonato Carioca
Classico dos Milhoes
The derby between Vasco da Gama and Flamengo, the two big teams from Rio de Janeiro, is called the Clasico Millions, where the "millions" represent the huge fan bases that both clubs gained back in the 1920s. In fact, at that time they dominated football in the Rio de Janeiro area.
Tuesday, February 6th
Hungary - OTP Bank Liga
Orokrangado
Orokrangado (Eternal Derby in Hungarian) is a clash between two of the best teams, not only in the capital city of Budapest, but also in the whole of Hungary. Ferencvaros have won a total of 34 titles, while MTK has 23 championships. The first derby of the season was clearly won by Ferencvaros 6-1.