| Abu Dhabi Classico | |
| Other Names: | Al Classico |
| City Or Region: | Abu Dhabi |
| Teams Involved: | Al Ain Al Wahda |
| Firstmeeting: | 8 November 1985[1] |
| Most Wins: | Al Ain (52) |
| Top Scorer: | Majid Al Owais (11) |
| Mostrecent: | 20 May 2024 |
| Stadiums: | Hazza bin Zayed (Al Ain) Al Nahyan (Al Wahda) |
| Total: | 110 (official matches) |
The Abu Dhabi Classico or the Al Classico is the rivalry between Al Ain and Al Wahda. The rivalry was first contested around the mid 1980s and has been the biggest derby in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Al Ain is from the city of Al Ain in the Eastern region of the emirate while Al Wahda is from the city of Abu Dhabi in the Central region. Both clubs are among the most successful teams in the UAE with Al Ain having 36 honours while Al Wahda has 16 honours.
The rivalry between the two clubs stems from the fact that the two teams are the most successful clubs in Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Al Ain established themselves as a top club in Abu Dhabi by winning two Abu Dhabi championships in 1974 and 1975 and later a top club in the country when they won the League title in 1977. Al Wahda's success was limited during that time. The rivalry sparked when the two clubs started exchanging titles around 1997 to 2005, Al Wahda won three titles while Al Ain won five, three out of those eight seasons had both clubs finish at the top two. The 2004–05 season was one the most significant time as Al Wahda won the league title while Al Ain won the president's cup with a 3–1 score line at extra time. Even though Al Ain would win five more league titles while Al Wahda only won once, matches between the two continue to spark major controversies and the two clubs rarely sign players and managers that have represented the other club to this day. During a fixture between the two in March 2022, fighting broke out between fans of both clubs after Al Ain won 1–0. Abu Dhabi police had to arrest several football fans during the incident.[2] [3] [4]
Al Ain being from the Eastern region while Al Wahda hails from the city of Abu Dhabi, the two clubs compete to the claim the title of Abu Dhabi's best club. Many argue that this rivalry is the most significant in the country as the two clubs had the longest duel of battling titles from the late 90s to early 2000s, however with teams like Shabab Al Ahli and Al Jazira gaining momentum in recent years, both clubs has shifted their focus away from traditionally competing against each other.[5]
The below list is since the professional era started in 2008–09.[7]
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Goals | Home wins | Home draws | Away wins | Other venue wins | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AIN | WAH | AIN | WAH | AIN | WAH | AIN | WAH | AIN | WAH | AIN | WAH | ||||
| Pro League | 31 | 17 | 8 | 6 | 48 | 26 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 4 | |||
| President's Cup | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||||
| League Cup | 14 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||
| Super Cup | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | ||||||||||
| All competitions | 47 | 23 | 13 | 11 | 67 | 41 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | |
| Exhibition games | 2 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| All matches | 49 | 25 | 13 | 11 | 73 | 43 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 1 | |
| Result | Date | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| Al Wahda 5–1 Al Ain | 1986 | Pro League |
| Al Ain 4–1 Al Wahda | 19 January 1998 | |
| Al Ain 5–3 Al Wahda | 30 October 2002 | |
| Al Wahda 4–1 Al Ain | 14 December 2005 | |
| Al Wahda 4–3 Al Ain | 16 May 2008 | |
| Al Ain 4–2 Al Wahda | 25 April 2009 | |
| Al Ain 4–0 Al Wahda | 10 December 2014 | |
| Al Ain 6–2 Al Wahda | 1 March 2018 | |
| Al Wahda 0–4 Al Ain | 12 March 2021 | |
| Al Wahda 0–3 Al Ain | 10 March 2023 | |
| Al Ain 4–1 Al Wahda | 2 June 1994 | President's Cup |
| Al Wahda 1–4 Al Ain | 2 March 2012 | League Cup |
| Al Ain 3–0 Al Wahda | 9 September 2013 | |
| Al Wahda 5–1 Al Ain | 16 February 2018 | |
| Al Wahda 4–1 Al Ain | 1986 | Federation Cup |
| Al Wahda 4–0 Al Ain | 11 November 1999 | |
| Al Wahda 1–4 Al Ain | 27 February 2006 |
| Goals | Result | Date | width=90 | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Al Ain 5–3 Al Wahda | 30 October 2002 | Pro League | |
| Al Ain 6–2 Al Wahda | 1 March 2018 | |||
| 7 | Al Wahda 4–3 Al Ain | 16 May 2008 |
| Rank | Player | Club | width=90 | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Majid Al Owais | Al Ain | 11 | |
| 2 |  Sebastián Tagliabúe | Al Wahda | 8 | |
| 3 | Kodjo Laba | Al Ain | 5 | |
| Ismail Matar | Al Wahda | |||
| Mohamed Al-Shehhi | Al Wahda | |||
| Mohammed Salem | Al Wahda | |||
| 7 |  Soufiane Rahimi | Al Ain | 4 | |
 Marcus Berg | Al Ain | |||
 Asamoah Gyan | Al Ain | |||
| Sultan Rashed | Al Ain | |||
| Abdulrahim Jumaa | Al Wahda | |||
| Abdulsalam Jumaa | Al Wahda | |||
| Subait Khater | Al Ain | |||
| 13 |  Caio Lucas | Al Ain | 3 | |
 Balázs Dzsudzsák | Al Wahda | |||
| Ibrahim Diaky | Al Ain | |||
| Haider Alo Ali | Al Wahda | |||
 Slaviša Mitrović | Al Wahda | |||
 Lamin Conteh | Al Wahda | |||
| Gharib Harib | Al Ain | |||
| Mohammad Omar | Al Ain | |||
| Arthur Moses | Al Ain | |||
| Fahed Masoud | Al Wahda | |||
| Salem Johar | Al Ain | |||
| Ahmed Abdullah | Al Ain |
only 2 players have scored a hat-trick in Classico matches.[8] [9]
| No. | Player | For | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salem Johar | Al Ain | 1 | |
| 2 | Ahmed Abdullah | Al Ain | 1 |
| No. | Player | For | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Majid Al Owais | Al Ain | 3 | |
| 1 | Alecsandro | Al Wahda | 1 | |
| 1 | Soufiane Alloudi | Al Ain | 1 | |
| 1 | André Dias | Al Ain | 1 | |
| 1 | Matar Coly | Al Wahda | 1 | |
| 1 | Ali Msarri | Al Ain | 1 | |
| 1 | Mohammad Omar | Al Ain | 1 | |
| 1 | Arthur Moses | Al Ain | 1 | |
| 1 | Mohammed Salem | Al Wahda | 1 | |
| 1 | Saeed Ashour | Al Ain | 1 | |
| 1 | Matar Al Sahbani | Al Ain | 1 |
| width=40% | Al Ain | Al Wahda | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Club name after establishment | Al Ain Sports Club | Al Wahda Sports and Cultural Club | |
| Founding date | 1 August 1968 | 3 June 1984 | |
| Stadium | Hazza bin Zayed | ||
| Capacity | 25,053 | 15,894 | |
| Number of seasons in Pro League (never been relegated)< | --As of 2023–24 season--> | 47 | 37 |
| Most goals scored in a season in La Liga | 74 (2012–13) | 75 (2004–05) | |
| Most points in a season in La Liga | 65 (2021–22) | 65 (1998–99) | |
| Number of the Double wins (Pro League and President's Cup) | 1 | 0 | |
| Number of the Double wins (Pro League and AFC Champions League) | 1 | 0 | |
| Number of the Treble wins (Pro League, President's Cup and AFC Champions League) | 0 | 0 |
|
| Al Ain | Competition | Al Wahda | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic | |||
| style=background:#EBD79B | 14 | 4 | |
| 7 | 2 | ||
| 5 | 6 | ||
| 5 | 4 | ||
| Minor | |||
| 2 | Abu Dhabi Championship (defunct) | — | |
| 1 | Joint League (defunct) | — | |
| 34 | Total | 16 | |
| Regional | |||
| 1 | — | ||
| 1 | Emirati-Moroccan Super Cup | — | |
| 2 | Total | 0 | |
| Asia | |||
| 2 | — | ||
| 2 | Total | 0 | |
| 38 | Grand total | 16 | |
The number of players that have played for both clubs are limited with the exception of a few local veterans. Only four foreign players have played for both clubs so far.
Saeed Al-Kathiri is the only player to score for and against both clubs.
| Player | Al Ain career | Al Wahda career | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Span | League apps | League goals | Span | League apps | League goals | ||
| Mutaz Abdulla | 1998–2009 | 212 | 0 | 2009–2012 | 24 | 0 | |
| Fares Jumaa | 2007–2015 | 77 | 6 | 2020–present | 56 | 3 | |
| Jorge Valdivia | 2008–2010 | 25 | 12 | 2015–2017 | 34 | 8 | |
| Mohammed Al-Dhahri | 2010–2015 | 18 | 0 | 2015–2018 | 28 | 0 | |
| Salem Sultan | 2013 | 0 | 0 | 2013–2019 | 55 | 1 | |
| Rashed Muhayer | 2013–2019 | 31 | 0 | 2020–2022 | 14 | 0 | |
 Lee Myung-joo | 2014–2017 | 70 | 5 | 2020–2022 | 37 | 3 | |
| Cristian Guanca | 2021–2022 | 25 | 8 | 2023–2024 | 9 | 2 | |
| Player | Al Wahda career | Al Ain career | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Span | League apps | League goals | Span | League apps | League goals | ||
| Yasser Matar | 2006–2009 | 5 | 1 | 2016 | 5 | 0 | |
| Saeed Al-Kathiri | 2006–2014 | 70 | 13 | 2015–2017 | 44 | 9 | |
| Yaqoub Al Hosani | 2009–2012 | 35 | 0 | 2012–2013 | 12 | 0 | |
| Balázs Dzsudzsák | 2016–2018 | 43 | 13 | 2020 | 4 | 1 | |
So far, Tite is the only coach to have represented both clubs, briefly managing Al Ain in 2007 and Al Wahda in 2010, his time at both clubs was cut short, getting sacked quickly at Al Ain due to disagreements with the club while at Al Wahda, he would sign for his former club Corinthians.