| Derby of the North | |
| Native Name: | |
| First Contested: | Heerenveen 4–1 Groningen 1974–75 Eerste Divisie (17 November 1974) |
| Mostrecent: | Heerenveen 3–1 Groningen 2021–22 Eredivisie (10 April 2022) |
| Nextmeeting: | TBD 2022–23 Eredivisie |
| City Or Region: | Northern Netherlands: Groningen and Friesland |
| Team1: | FC Groningen |
| Team2: | SC Heerenveen |
| Most Wins: | SC Heerenveen (29) |
| Largestvictory: | Groningen 5–0 Heerenveen 1979–80 Eerste Divisie (11 November 1979) |
The Derby of the North (Dutch; Flemish: '''Derby van het Noorden''') is a match between the Dutch football clubs FC Groningen and SC Heerenveen. Since the dissolution of SC Veendam in 2013, there are only four professional football clubs in the three northern provinces of the Netherlands (Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe): FC Groningen, SC Heerenveen, SC Cambuur and FC Emmen. Although Heerenveen have an older and fiercer rivalry with Cambuur, the only game referred to as the Derby of the North is Groningen versus Heerenveen. This is due to Groningen and Heerenveen being seen as representing the provinces of Groningen and Friesland, whereas Cambuur is only regarded as the team of the city of Leeuwarden.
Groningen and Heerenveen have the biggest following of the four northern teams and are regulars in the first-tier Eredivisie. Cambuur have played in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier, for most of their existence. Emmen, Drenthe's only professional football team, made their debut in the Eredivisie in 2018–19. FC Groningen draws a lot of support from the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe.[1]
Although FC Groningen and SC Heerenveen played each other for the first time in 1974, the rivalry did not commence until the mid-1990s. In the 1970s and 1980s, Groningen was the biggest and most successful football club in the northern provinces. Groningen were a regular in the first-tier Eredivisie, qualified several times for European football, and had the largest attendances in the Netherlands besides Ajax, Feyenoord and PSV.[2] Heerenveen would not play in the Eredivisie until 1990–91. Only SC Veendam joined FC Groningen in the Eredivisie in two discontinuous seasons the 1980s but went straight back down on both occasions. As Groningen was the only Northern representative in the top flight, the Dutch media referred to the club as the "Pride of the North". Groningen's club anthem, written in the 1980s, mentions the people from the three northern provinces Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe being united in their support for Groningen.
During the early 1990s, Groningen began to decline and were relegated from the Eredivisie in 1997–98. Heerenveen won promotion to the Eredivisie in 1992–93 and started to climb up the Eredivisie table in subsequent years. The side finished second in the 1999–2000 Eredivisie and qualified for the Champions League. Groningen won promotion back to the top tier the same season.
Heerenveen, under the guidance of chairman Riemer van der Velde, were referred by the Dutch media as a "family club" and gained sympathy by embracing its Frisian identity; Heerenveen have modelled their kit after the Frisian flag and play the Frisian provincial anthem before every home match. In the early 21st century, the Dutch media referred to Heerenveen as "everybody's second favorite team". During the same era, Groningen's supporters clashed several times with fans of other clubs. Heerenveen began to brand itself as the "Pride of the North", which had been Groningen's nickname, as the club had surpassed Groningen in domestic results. The rivalry intensified, particularly from Groningen's side, whose supporters began to refer to their side as the "people's club" with a passionate following, while they regarded Heerenveen fans as "fairweather supporters" with the worst atmosphere in the league.
In early 2006, Groningen left their outdated Oosterparkstadion for the Euroborg, and the club's crowd troubles became a thing of the past. In their new stadium, Groningen began to close the gap and climbed up the league table. Around the same time, Heerenveen's "friendly image" began to attenuate.
Heerenveen have won the derby 29 times and Groningen have been victorious on 18 occasions. From a Groningen perspective it can be argued that the record balances in Heerenveen's favour because the two sides did not meet during Groningen's heyday in the 1980s, due to Heerenveen being in the second tier Eerste Divisie.
Both Groningen and Heerenveen celebrated the opening of their current stadium with a 2–0 victory. Heerenveen did so in the Abe Lenstra Stadion on 26 Augustus 1994; Groningen played their first official match in the Euroborg against Heerenveen on 13 January 2006. Groningen and Heerenveen have never met in the KNVB Cup or the play-offs.
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| Date | League | Venue | Result | Goal scorers FC Groningen [3] | Goal scorers sc Heerenveen | Attendance | Remarks | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Nov 1974 | Sportpark Noord | bgcolor=blue | Bloemberg | Zimic 2', Golijanin 23', Toornstra 66' [P], Wierts 76' | 10.000 | ||||
| 20 Apr 1975 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=green | Gritter, Hovenkamp | 13.000 | |||||
| 2 Nov 1975 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=green | Hoekstra, Molendijk, Van der Heide | 6.000 | |||||
| 16 May 1976 | Sportpark Noord | bgcolor=grey | Oosterwold | 2.500 | |||||
| 3 Sep 1976 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=green | Bakker | 5.000 | |||||
| 3 Apr 1977 | Sportpark Noord | bgcolor=grey | J. van Dijk | 3.000 | |||||
| 21 Aug 1977 | Sportpark Noord | bgcolor=blue | 6.500 | ||||||
| 29 Jan 1978 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Oosterwold | 8.500 | |||||
| 12 Nov 1978 | Sportpark Noord | bgcolor=green | Bakker | 2.500 | |||||
| 20 May 1979 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=grey | Swanenburg | 7.000 | |||||
| 11 Nov 1979 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=green | Houtman 13', 46', 67', 90', Mulder | 7.000 | |||||
| 27 Apr 1980 | Sportpark Noord | bgcolor=green | Houtman (2) | 11.000 | |||||
| 27 Jan 1991 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=green | Veenhof 1', Huizingh 20', Djurovski 85' | 15.000 | |||||
| 16 Jun 1991 | Sportpark Noord | bgcolor=blue | Huizingh 26', Djurovski 31' | Cămătaru 52', Van der Gijp 62', 88', Dijk 86' | 12.312 | The last match of a season in which Groningen had competed for the title, while Heerenveen was fighting against relegation. It is widely believed that in these pre-rivalry days, Groningen allowed Heerenveen to grab the victory in order to have a chance of survival. It was to no avail as Heerenveen fell one goal short to stay up. | |||
| 31 Oct 1993 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=grey | Ter Avest 40', Hamming 48' | Tammer 82', Alberda 86' | 14.100 | ||||
| 5 Apr 1994 | Sportpark Noord | bgcolor=blue | Hellinga 9', Tammer 52' | 13.500 | |||||
| 26 Aug 1994 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Sier 41', Regtop 71' | 13.200 | The first match in the Abe Lenstra Stadion | ||||
| 15 Jan 1995 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=grey | 15.010 | ||||||
| 29 Aug 1995 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Straal 88' | 13.300 | |||||
| 12 Mar 1996 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=grey | Bombarda 57' | Tomasson 64' | 13.500 | ||||
| 6 Sep 1996 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Gorré 83' | Hansma 33', Wouden 48', 60', Tomasson 54', Talan 69' | 12.320 | ||||
| 1 Jun 1997 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=green | Magno 16', 28', Gorré 64' | Nygaard 49' | 13.500 | ||||
| 2 Dec 1997 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Elkhattabi 73' | 15.000 | |||||
| 8 Apr 1998 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=grey | Magno 41' | Van Nistelrooy 73' | 13.700 | ||||
| 21 Dec 2000 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=green | Hugo 34', G. van Dijk 80' [P] | D. de Nooijer 15' | 13.000 | ||||
| 2 Mar 2001 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=grey | 14.350 | ||||||
| 21 Oct 2001 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=grey | Boussaboun 38' | Nurmela 32' | 13.000 | ||||
| 24 Apr 2002 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Hakansson 48', 69' | 14.400 | |||||
| 1 Dec 2002 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=grey | Salmon 60' | Samaras 79' | 12.500 | ||||
| 9 May 2003 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Salmon 72' | Sibon 45', De Jong 89' | 14.400 | ||||
| 13 Sep 2003 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Hansson 38' | 14.600 | |||||
| 19 Mar 2004 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=grey | 12.500 | ||||||
| 10 Dec 2004 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Väyrynen 66' | 17.863 | |||||
| 15 May 2005 | Oosterpark Stadion | bgcolor=blue | D. Buijs 75' | Berg Hestad 27', Nilsson 60' | 12.500 | ||||
| 6 Nov 2005 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Huntelaar 5', 47', Bosvelt 43', Samaras 74' | 21.200 | |||||
| 13 Jan 2006 | Euroborg | bgcolor=green | Nevland 24', D. Buijs 53' | 19.710 | The first official match in the Euroborg stadium | ||||
| 22 Oct 2006 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Levchenko 81', 82' | Alves 14', 74', 79', Friend 67' | 26.000 | ||||
| 2 Feb 2007 | Euroborg | bgcolor=grey | Van der Linden 62' | Alves 70' | 19.846 | ||||
| 9 Dec 2007 | Heerenveen | bgcolor=blue | Nevland 9', 14' | Lovre 2' [OG], Bradley 7', 22', 41' | 25.600 | ||||
| 14 Mar 2008 | Euroborg | bgcolor=blue | Sulejmani 86' | 19.719 | |||||
| 28 Dec 2008 | Euroborg | bgcolor=blue | García García 54', Granqvist 90' | Pranjić 13' [P], Smárason 77', Paulo Henrique 90+5' | 22.311 | ||||
| 7 Mar 2009 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Holla 68' | Grindheim 59', Elm 90+3' | 26.100 | Record attendance for the derby game | |||
| 12 Sep 2009 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=green | Nordstrand 61' | 26.100 | |||||
| 20 Jan 2010 | Euroborg | bgcolor=green | Matavz 13', Granqvist 59' | 22.440 | |||||
| 17 Oct 2010 | Euroborg | bgcolor=green | Granqvist 46' | 22.427 | |||||
| 30 Jan 2011 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=green | Ivens 13', Matavz 25', Tadić 56', 90+4' | Đuričić 68' | 26.100 | ||||
| 11 Sep 2011 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Dost 45+1', Assaidi 61', Đuričić 84' | 26.100 | |||||
| 31 Mar 2012 | Euroborg | bgcolor=blue | Tadić 36' | Dost 24', 41', Elm 86' | 22.423 | ||||
| 21 Oct 2012 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Van la Parra 61', 83', Finnbogason 65' | 26.100 | |||||
| 7 Apr 2013 | Euroborg | bgcolor=green | Raitala 3' [OG], Bacuna 42' [P], De Leeuw 87' | Mareček 70' | 22.505 | ||||
| 15 Sep 2013 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Van der Velden 31' [P], Kappelhof 56' | Wildschut 52', Otigba 55', Finnbogason 72' [P], 90' | 24.150 | ||||
| 9 Feb 2013 | Euroborg | bgcolor=blue | De Leeuw 86' [P] | Van La Parra 33', Ziyech 36', Finnbogason 40' [P] | 20.193 | ||||
| 7 Dec 2014 | Euroborg | bgcolor=grey | De Leeuw 7' | Uth 25' | 20.705 | ||||
| 22 Feb 2015 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | De Leeuw 50' | Thern 35', Van Aken 59', Veerman 90+2' | 24.894 | ||||
| 13 Sep 2015 | Euroborg | bgcolor=green | Hoesen 1', Linssen 16', Mahi 82' | Thern 69' | 21.001 | ||||
| 1 May 2016 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=green | Idrissi 26', Rusnák 52' | Larsson 21' | 25.385 | ||||
| 15 October 2016 | Euroborg | bgcolor=blue | Zeneli 7', Larsson 73', Ghoochannejhad 82' | 21.155 | |||||
| 29 January 2017 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=grey | 21.750 | ||||||
| 13 August 2017 | Euroborg | bgcolor=grey | Veldwijk 53', Mahi 82' [P], 88' [P] | Thorsby 6', 86', Ghoochannejhad 40' | 19.422 | ||||
| 8 April 2018 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=grey | Van Weert 55' | Vlap 31' | 23.150 | ||||
| 11 November 2018 | Euroborg | bgcolor=green | Warmerdam 27', Doan 38' | 20.731 | |||||
| 14 April 2019 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=gray | Gladon 61' | Van Amersfoort 38' | 21.056 | ||||
| 27 October 2019 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=gray | Benschop 73' [P] | Faik 45+3' [P] | 22.428 | ||||
| 20 April 2020 | Euroborg | The game, and the 2019–20 Eredivisie season, were abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands. | |||||||
| 21 February 2021 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=gray | Suslov 82' | De Jong 43' | 0 | ||||
| 11 April 2021 | Euroborg | bgcolor=blue | Veerman 71' [P], Halilović 86' | 0 | |||||
| 12 September 2021 | Euroborg | bgcolor=gray | Ngonge 68' | Halilović 19' | 15.000 | ||||
| 10 April 2022 | Abe Lenstra Stadion | bgcolor=blue | Kasanwirjo 29' | Van Hooijdonk 7', 53', Van Beek 80' | 22.500 |