Adelaide Derby Explained

Adelaide Derby
City Or Region:Adelaide, South Australia
Teams Involved:Adelaide City
West Adelaide
Firstmeeting:Juventus 5–1 Hellas
(14 September 1963)
Total:132
Most Wins:Adelaide City (66)
Alltimerecord:Adelaide City (66)
West Adelaide (45)
Drawn (21)
Mostrecent:West Adelaide 0–1 Adelaide City
(13 May 2023)
Stadiums:Adelaide City Park
Kilburn Sportsplex
League:National Premier Leagues South Australia
Largestvictory:Adelaide City 6–0 West Adelaide
(11 June 2012, 12 August 2017)
Currentstreak:Adelaide City (2 games)
Currentunbeatenstreak:Adelaide City (3 games)
Longeststreak:Adelaide City (6 games)
(31 July 1971–2 September 1972)
(25 April 1979–24 May 1981)
(5 March 2016–24 June 2018)
Longestunbeatenstreak:Adelaide City (9 games)
(31 March 1996–16 May 1998)
West Adelaide (9 games)
(30 April 1966–10 May 1969)

The Adelaide Derby is an intra-city local derby between South Australia's two most historically successful soccer clubs: Adelaide City and West Adelaide. The two sides were the first from the state to compete at the national level when they became founding members of the National Soccer League in 1977. For more than 20 years, it was Adelaide's only intra-city derby. The rivalry was born before the national league developed and when they competed in the state's first division. Adelaide City, then known as Adelaide Juventus was a club backed by Adelaide's Italian community, while West Adelaide Hellas drew its support from the city's Greek population. Since the demise of the NSL, the two clubs have returned to South Australian competition and continue their rivalry in the National Premier Leagues.

History

State dominance: A rivalry is born

Adelaide City was founded as Juventus in 1946 by a group of Italian migrants, some of whom had previously been members of a club called Savoia. In 1953, the club won its first South Australian first-division title and its first Federation Cup. Juventus had won six league titles and five cups by the early 1960s. West Adelaide Hellas was founded in 1962 by some Greek migrants who had previously been part of the Hellenic Olympic club, banned by the South Australian Soccer Federation for crowd violence. The Greek club merged with the original West Adelaide, which was founded in 1910 and played home games at Hindmarsh Stadium. Like Juventus, it too quickly obtained promotion to the first division, and the clubs established their rivalry.

Juventus and Hellas' first meeting came in September 1963, before the newly formed Hellas had even played its first game in the top tier. West Adelaide reached the final of that year's Federation Cup as it took out the second-tier competition. The final pit Hellas against Juventus, but the dominant Italians proved too good for the upstarts, winning 5–1 in the final. Juventus won the first division that year – their seventh title.

Juventus also won the first league meeting between the two teams, a 2–0 away victory on 18 April 1964. However, later in the year, Hellas was to draw blood against its new rival for the first time. The sides again came face-to-face in the Federation Cup as they had the previous year. The first match ended in a 3–3 deadlock that extra time was unable to resolve, so a replay was contested. Hellas won 2–1 a week later and went on to win its first cup title. However, Juventus again won the league that year.

Again, the two sides came against one another in the 1965 Federation Cup semi-final, with Juventus exacting revenge and going on to win the title. In 1966, West Adelaide won the first division for the first time, taking out wins against Juventus home and away in the process. The first match between the pair that season finished 6–3 to Hellas and remains the highest-scoring derby to date. The following year, Hellas thumped Juventus 4–0 in the league (to date, its biggest derby win) and also demolished the Italian club 3–0 in the Federation Cup final. However, Juventus still managed to win the league, one point ahead of second-placed Hellas.

West Adelaide won the next two league championships before Juventus won the league again in 1970. It also defeated Hellas in the Federation Cup final to claim the double. The two clubs had by now established themselves as South Australia's most powerful. Hellas won the 1971 competition, seven points clear of second-placed Juventus, but the Italian-backed club got revenge in the cup, beating Hellas in the final for the second straight season. Juventus would go on to win four Federation Cup finals in a row, all against West Adelaide.

Between 1966 and 1976, the two clubs won all but one league championship between them. Only Polonia Adelaide managed to break their dominance for a single season, winning the league in 1975.

The derby goes national

Adelaide City, as the renamed Juventus was known, and West Adelaide became foundation members of the National Soccer League in 1977. On 20 June, the two clubs ran out for the first time against one another in a national competition. In front of 12,328 spectators, Adelaide City trounced West Adelaide 4–1 with goals from Brian Northcote, Agenor Muniz, Dixie Deans and John Nyskohus.[1] Neil McGachey scored the only goal for Hellas. The match did not lack star quality, with Liverpool legend Graeme Souness lining up for West Adelaide.[2] The return game at Olympic Sports Field finished 2–2. West Adelaide won an NSL Cup tie between the two clubs; however, it was 3–2 after extra time. The two clubs were not allowed by the South Australian Soccer Federation to enter teams in the state competition that year, although they both re-entered South Australia's second tier in 1978.

Arguably the biggest derby ever played between the two clubs was contested in the final round of the 1978 National Soccer League season. West Adelaide needed just a draw to win its first NSL title and become the first Adelaide club, and first outside New South Wales, to be crowned Australian champion. Adelaide City couldn't win the league but needed to win the game to deny its rival the title. John Perin scored the opening goal for the Italian-backed club with a long-range strike and City appeared destined to spoil West's party until Vic Bozanić lobbed home an equaliser five minutes from time.[3] A crowd of 16,251 watched the game at Hindmarsh Stadium and it remains the highest recorded attendance of any derby between the two clubs.

West Adelaide wouldn't win another league derby until 1982. The two clubs also met semi-frequently in the NSL Cup, Hellas knocking City out of the 1982 and 1983 editions before the Black and Whites picked up a win in a new group phase format in 1984. Derby crowds dropped in the mid-1980s, and only 3500 spectators watched City defeat West 4–1 at Olympic Sports Field in June 1985, where a young Aurelio Vidmar scored twice in his first derby. The NSL had been split into two conferences from 1984 to 1986, and the two Adelaide clubs competed alongside sides from Victoria and Queensland in the Southern Conference. When the league's administrators chose to return to a single division for the 1987 season, they cut the number of clubs and relegated those which were not retained to their respective state leagues.

The city had won its first league title in 1986 – a 2–1 loss to West Adelaide late in the season notwithstanding. However, West Adelaide had struggled, finishing fourth from bottom in the conference. It was not included in the NSL for 1987 and did not return until the 1989–90 season, the first time the NSL was played in summer. West Adelaide's return to the national league was short-lived. The club finished second-to-last and lost both derbies on its return, although crowds had more than doubled since the mid-1980s. More than 10,000 watched the first derby at Hindmarsh Stadium where City had moved and would play out the rest of its time in the NSL. To make the NSL return more bitter for West, it also lost the 1989–90 NSL Cup Round of 16 game 3–0 to Adelaide City.

City soars, West struggles

After another year in state league purgatory, West Adelaide returned to the NSL for the 1991–92 season. Again, City was ruthless in front of a 10,000-strong crowd at Hindmarsh, winning 4–1 with two goals apiece from club legend Sergio Melta and a young Carl Veart. Adelaide City would go on to win its second NSL title that season, but West Adelaide was not going to be a pushover in the return fixture. More than 13,000 attended the game on 7 January 1992 and it was a future Socceroo striker Paul Agostino, then just 16 years old, who would get on to the end of a through ball and finish calmly past goalkeeper Robert Zabica to win the game 1-0 for West.[4]

Both Adelaide City and West Adelaide made the finals in 1992–93, and the playoffs would pit the two Adelaide sides against one another at the business end of the season for the first time. It was Hellas that won the first leg of the semi-final, but Adelaide City progressed after winning the second leg 2–1, having finished higher on the table after the minor round. Steve Maxwell scored the brace that ultimately helped City get past their local rivals, although the season ended with a disappointing 1-0 grand final defeat to Marconi.

Adelaide City won another derby in December 1993, a 4-0 demolition. West Adelaide claimed glory two months later, though when Socceroo striker Greg Brown scored a brace in front of a packed Hindmarsh Stadium. His side won 2–0; City again won the championship.[5] The two clubs also played off in a two-legged NSL Cup tie which City won 4–3 on aggregate.

The rest of the 1990s were particularly lean for West Adelaide as their crosstown rivals regularly finished among the top five and played finals football. West won the first derby of the 1994–95 season but the club's supporters did not realise they would only ever win one more NSL game against City again. West knocked City out of the 1994-95 NSL Cup on away goals after two drawn games, despite both matches being played at Hindmarsh Stadium. City won two derbies in each of the 1995–96 and 1996–97 seasons.

In 1998, West Adelaide rebranded itself as the Adelaide Sharks, in an attempt to attract more broad-based support beyond their traditional but dwindling base in Adelaide's Greek community. They ended City's run of derby wins with a 1–1 draw in their first derby under the Sharks moniker. Nathan Day, who would later play for City, scored West's goal. Adelaide City smashed the Sharks 5–0 in the first derby of the 1998–99 season. The result was the most one-sided in all 40 NSL games the two sides contested. There would only ever again be one more such derby in the national league.

Adelaide Sharks defeated City 1-0 thanks to a late Aleksandar Đurić goal on 4 April 1999. The crowd was just 3982 at Hindmarsh Stadium, almost 5000 less than watched the earlier fixture between the two clubs just three and a half months prior and a world removed from the crowds of more than 10,000 fans the derbies had traditionally attracted. Just a week before the 1999–00 season was due to start, the Sharks withdrew from the competition – bankrupt.

City would remain in the NSL until 2003 when it too pulled out of the competition, just weeks before the final edition was about to begin. It was replaced in the NSL by the newly formed Adelaide United, a club backed by the South Australian Soccer Federation and South Australian businessman and former Adelaide City sponsor Gordon Pickard. The April 1999 derby remains the last time two Adelaide clubs faced each other in a national league.

The derby is reborn

Adelaide City returned its focus to the South Australian Premier League in 2004 upon withdrawing from the NSL. West Adelaide management legally separated its senior and junior arms into two clubs before the Sharks entered administration and ultimately folded in 1999.

West Adelaide's juniors survived through a merger with state league club Adelaide Olympic. In 2008, nine years after the last Adelaide derby was played in the NSL, West Adelaide ended its arrangement with the Olympic and returned to fielding senior teams in the third tier of the South Australian competition. West Adelaide Hellas eventually won promotion back to the South Australian first tier, now called the National Premier Leagues South Australia, for the 2014 season.

West was drawn to host Adelaide City at its temporary home ground at West Beach in round 1 of its first season back in South Australia's top flight. The match was promoted in local media and attracted a crowd of 2900 – significantly higher than the average state league crowd. That match ended 1-1, and West Adelaide won the return leg at Adelaide City Park later in the season. The two clubs reached the final of the 2014 Federation Cup, which served as South Australia's qualifier to the inaugural FFA Cup.[6] Adelaide City won the highly anticipated match 4–1 at Hindmarsh Stadium and went on to defeat Western Sydney Wanderers in the FFA Cup; becoming the first state league side to defeat an A-League club.

West Adelaide won its first championship since its return from bankruptcy the following season despite a 4–0 loss to Adelaide City during the season. West also managed to knock City out of the cup, preventing the Black and Whites from embarking on a second FFA Cup campaign. Adelaide City responded by winning the next five derbies, including a 6-0 demolition in the final round of the 2017 FFSA season – the greatest-ever winning margin in derby history.

Ahead of the first derby of the 2018 season, the clubs announced a perpetual trophy had been created to recognise the historical significance of the derby. Adelaide City defeated West Adelaide 4–0 at home on 17 March to claim the Real Adelaide Derby Cup.[7]

Results

Competition Date Round Home team Score Away team Venue Record
1 1963 Federation Cup 14 September 1963 GF5–1 West Adelaide Hellas1–0–0
2 1964 SASF Division One 25 April 1964 20–2 Adelaide Juventus2–0–0
3 20 June 1964 112–2 West Adelaide Hellas2–1–0
4 1964 Federation Cup 15 August 1964 RO162–2 (a.e.t.) Adelaide Juventus2–2–0
5 22 August 19642–1 Adelaide Juventus2–2–1
6 1965 SASF Division One 29 May 1965 72–1 West Adelaide Hellas3–2–1
7 31 July 1965 160–4 Adelaide Juventus4–2–1
8 1965 Federation Cup 11 September 1965 SF1–3 Adelaide Juventus5–2–1
9 1966 SASF Division One 30 April 1966 36–3 Adelaide Juventus5–2–2
10 9 July 1966 110–1 West Adelaide Hellas5–2–3
11 1966 Federation Cup 10 September 1966 QF4–3 Adelaide Juventus5–2–4
12 1967 SASF Division One 24 April 1967 24–0 Adelaide Juventus5–2–5
13 12 June 1967 90–0 West Adelaide Hellas5–3–5
14 1967 Federation Cup 23 September 1967 GF3–0 Adelaide Juventus5–3–6
15 1968 SASF Division One 11 May 1968 32–2 West Adelaide Hellas5–4–6
16 27 July 1968 132–0 Adelaide Juventus5–4–7
17 1969 SASF Division One 10 May 1969 61–1 Adelaide Juventus5–5–7
18 26 July 1969 162–1 West Adelaide Hellas6–5–7
19 1970 SASF Division One 30 May 1970 72–2 Adelaide Juventus6–6–7
20 173–4 West Adelaide Hellas6–6–8
21 1970 Federation Cup GF3–2 West Adelaide Hellas7–6–8
22 1970 Coca-Cola Challenge Cup 12 October 1970 3def. by West Adelaide Hellas7–6–9
23 1971 SASF Division One 15 May 1971 40–2 West Adelaide Hellas7–6–10
24 31 July 1971 133–5 Adelaide Juventus8–6–10
25 1971 Federation Cup 18 September 1971 GF1–0 West Adelaide Hellas9–6–10
26 1971 Coca-Cola Challenge Cup 25 September 1971 SF1–0 West Adelaide Hellas10–6–10
27 1972 SASF Division One 22 April 1972 20–2 Adelaide Juventus11–6–10
28 24 June 1972 103–1 West Adelaide Hellas12–6–10
29 1972 Federation Cup 2 September 1972 GF2–0 West Adelaide Hellas13–6–10
30 1973 SASF Division One 19 May 1973 60–1 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field13–6–11
31 28 July 1973 154–1 Adelaide JuventusHindmarsh Stadium13–6–12
32 1973 Federation Cup 1 September 1973 GF0–1 Adelaide Juventus14–6–12
33 1973 Coca-Cola Challenge Cup 22 September 1973 GF1–0 West Adelaide Hellas15–6–12
34 1974 SASF Division One 25 May 1974 61–0 Adelaide JuventusHindmarsh Stadium15–6–13
35 3 August 1974 151–0 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field16–6–13
36 1975 SASF Division One 24 May 1975 62–2 Adelaide JuventusHindmarsh Stadium16–7–13
37 2 August 1975 150–1 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field16–7–14
38 1975 Coca-Cola Challenge Cup 27 September 1975 SF3–2 Adelaide Juventus16–7–15
39 1976 SASF Division One 12 June 1976 83–2 Adelaide JuventusHindmarsh Stadium17–7–15
40 28 August 1976 171–1 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field17–8–15
41 1976 Coca-Cola Challenge Cup 9 October 1976 GF2–1 Adelaide Juventus17–8–16
42 20 June 1977 121–4 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium18–8–16
43 19 September 1977 252–2 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field18–9–16
44 20 September 1977 12–2 (a.e.t.)
Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium18–9–17
45 28 May 1978 131–2 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field18–9–18
46 19 July 1978 RO161–0 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium19–9–18
47 27 August 1978 261–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium19–10–18
48 25 April 1979 RO321–0 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium20–10–18
49 10 June 1979 121–2 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium21–10–18
50 16 September 1979 251–0 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field22–10–18
51 18 May 1980 111–0 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field23–10–18
52 14 September 1980 240–2 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium24–10–18
53 24 May 1981 140–3 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium25–10–18
54 29 July 1981 SF1–0 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium25–10–19
55 30 August 1981 282–1 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field26–10–19
56 16 May 1982 142–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium26–10–20
57 14 June 1982 RO323–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium26–10–21
58 22 August 1982 280–0 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field26–11–21
59 6 March 1983 RO161–0 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium26–11–22
60 15 May 1983 101–2 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium27–11–22
61 21 August 1983 232–0 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field28–11–22
62 4 March 1984 10–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium29–11–22
63 23 May 1984 10–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium30–11–22
64 8 April 1984 62–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium30–11–23
65 1 July 1984 141–0 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field31–11–23
66 12 August 1984 203–2 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field32–11–23
67 30 September 1984 270–3 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium33–11–23
68 24 March 1985 32–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium33–11–24
69 9 June 1985 144–1 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field34–11–24
70 27 April 1986 RO161–0 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium34–11–25
71 8 June 1986 93–1 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium35–11–25
72 24 August 1986 192–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium35–11–26
73 21 May 1988 100–1 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field35–11–27
74 20 August 1988 212–0 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium35–11–28
75 22 April 1989 60–5 West Adelaide HellasOlympic Sports Field35–11–29
76 8 July 1989 171–0 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium35–11–30
77 14 February 1990 13–0 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium36–11–30
78 14 April 1990 71–1 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium36–12–30
79 30 June 1990 182–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium36–12–31
80 4 May 1991 70–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium37–12–31
81 27 July 1991 180–2 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium37–12–32
82 7 October 1991 41–4 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium38–12–32
83 30 October 1991 11–0 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium39–12–32
84 7 January 1992 170–1 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium39–12–33
85 7 November 1992 60–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium40–12–33
86 18 November 1992 13–2 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium41–12–33
87 9 December 19921–2 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium42–12–33
88 1 February 1993 191–0 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium43–12–33
89 EF1–0 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium43–12–34
90 2–1 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium44–12–34
91 3 October 1993 10–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium45–12–34
92 6 October 19933–3 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium45–13–34
93 3 December 1993 64–0 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium46–13–34
94 7 February 1994 192–0 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium46–13–35
95 30 September 1994 12–2 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium46–14–35
96 3 October 19940–0 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium46–15–35
97 23 December 1994 132–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium46–15–36
98 9 April 1995 262–1 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium47–15–36
99 27 May 1995 102–2 Adelaide City47–16–36
100 5 August 1995 211–2 West Adelaide Hellas47–16–37
101 5 November 1995 61–2 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium48–16–37
102 7 January 1996 170–2 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium48–16–38
103 16 March 1996 31–3 West Adelaide Hellas48–16–39
104 31 March 1996 280–3 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium49–16–39
105 22 June 1996 140–2 Adelaide City50–16–39
106 24 November 1996 71–0 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium51–16–39
107 16 March 1997 210–2 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium52–16–39
108 31 May 1997 101–0 West Adelaide Hellas53–16–39
109 16 August 1997 211–1 Adelaide City53–17–39
110 14 January 1998 111–1 Adelaide CityHindmarsh Stadium53–18–39
111 5 April 1998 253–1 West Adelaide HellasHindmarsh Stadium54–18–39
112 16 May 1998 91–1 Adelaide City54–19–39
113 1 August 1998 200–1 West Adelaide Sharks54–19–40
114 17 May 1999 125–2 West Adelaide Sharks55–19–40
115 7 August 1999 252–1 Adelaide City55–19–41
116 11 June 2012 RO166–0 West AdelaideAdelaide City Park56–19–41
117 21 February 2014 11–1 Adelaide CityAdelaide Shores Football Centre56–20–41
118 24 May 2014 141–2 West AdelaideAdelaide City Park56–20–42
119 31 May 2014 GF4–1 West AdelaideHindmarsh Stadium57–20–42
120 6 March 2015 43–2 Adelaide CityAdelaide Shores Football Centre57–20–43
121 25 April 2015 RO164–0 West AdelaideAdelaide City Park58–20–43
122 8 June 2015 172–3 West AdelaideAdelaide City Park58–20–44
123 5 March 2016 21–0 West AdelaideAdelaide City Park59–20–44
124 5 June 2016 131–2 Adelaide CityAdelaide Shores Football Centre60–20–44
125 20 May 2017 111–2 Adelaide CityAdelaide Shores Football Centre61–20–44
126 12 August 2017 226–0 West AdelaideAdelaide City Park62–20–44
127 17 March 2018 54–0 West AdelaideAdelaide City Park63–20–44
128 24 June 2018 161–3 Adelaide CityAdelaide Shores Football Centre64–20–44
129 13 April 2019 73–0 Adelaide CityThe Parks Football Centre64–20–45
130 7 June 2019 130–0 West AdelaideAdelaide City Park64–21–45
131 17 February 2023 14–0 West AdelaideState Centre for Football65–21–45
132 13 May 2023 120–1 Adelaide CityWest Beach Parks Football Centre66–21–45

Records and statistics

MatchesAdelaide City
Wins
DrawsWest Adelaide
Wins
Adelaide City
Goals
West Adelaide
Goals
South Australian Competitions58 21 13 24 91 83
National Soccer League38 25 4 9 67 33
Cups/Playoffs36 20 4 12 61 40
Total132 66 21 45 219 156

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1977 National Soccer League results.
  2. News: Reference at www.adelaidenow.com.au. Adelaidenow.
  3. Web site: YouTube. YouTube. 16 June 2007.
  4. Web site: YouTube. YouTube. 2 July 2007.
  5. Web site: YouTube. YouTube. 16 June 2007.
  6. Web site: Reference at www.a-league.com.au.
  7. Web site: City Wrap Up The Real Adelaide Derby Adelaide City Football Club. 25 March 2018. 25 March 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180325171530/http://adelaidecityfc.com.au/city-wrap-up-the-real-adelaide-derby/. dead.