The Guangzhou derby or the Canton derby is the name given to a football derby contested by any two teams in the city of Guangzhou, China. The term specifically refers to individual matches between the teams, but can also be used to describe the general rivalry between the different clubs.[1] Guangzhou Apollo (predecessor of Guangzhou) against Guangzhou Matsunichi (1995–2000) and Guangzhou against Guangzhou City are ranked as two of the most ferocious Guangzhou Derbies.[2]
As of 2024 season, there are two clubs in the Chinese Super League, China League One and China League Two that play in Guangzhou:
Former clubs in the highest league include Guangdong Hongyuan F.C. (Jia-A 1994-1997), Guangzhou Matsunichi F.C. (Jia-A 1996 & 1998-1999) and Guangzhou City (CSL 2012-2022). Guangzhou Baiyunshan F.C., Guangdong Xiongying F.C. and Guangdong Sunray Cave F.C. were formerly in the second-tier league.
When professionalism was established within the Chinese football leagues in 1994, it opened the door for more than one team within each region. This saw the establishment of Guangzhou Matsunichi which used to be the youth academy of Guangzhou FC but were sold off to Matsunichi Digital Holdings Limited.[3] Direct ties between these two teams also saw them share the Yuexiushan Stadium. In their first meeting in the first round of the 1995 Chinese FA Cup, Matsunichi beat Guangzhou FC 4–3 on aggregate.[4] For a brief period during the 1998 season, both teams were in the top tier with Matsunichi finishing higher than Guangzhou FC. On 9 August 1998 in the second Guangzhou Derby that season, a Chinese first-tier league record of five red cards and nine yellow cards was issued. Apollo's Peter Blazincic, Wen Junwu and Mai Guangliang as well as Matsunichi's Leonardo Jara and Tu Shengqiao were sent off during the match.[5] The rivalry reached its peak and subsequent conclusion during the 2000 season with both clubs in the second tier fighting relegation. On 15 July 2000, Guangzhou FC won 3–1 against Matsunichi which inevitability helped lead to Matsunichi's relegation, causing Matsunichi to disband at the end of the season.[6] [7]
| Season | Competition | Date | Home team | Result | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Chinese FA Cup | 25 June 1995 | Guangzhou Matsunichi | 4–2 | Guangzhou Apollo |
| 2 July 1995 | Guangzhou Apollo | 1–0 | Guangzhou Matsunichi | ||
| 1996 | Chinese Jia-A League | 5 May 1996 | Guangzhou Matsunichi | 1–4 | Guangzhou Apollo |
| 8 September 1996 | Guangzhou Apollo | 1–0 | Guangzhou Matsunichi | ||
| 1998 | Chinese Jia-A League | 9 April 1998 | Guangzhou Apollo | 2–2 | Guangzhou Matsunichi |
| 9 August 1998 | Guangzhou Matsunichi | 3–1 | Guangzhou Apollo | ||
| 2000 | Chinese Jia-B League | 15 April 2000 | Guangzhou Apollo | 0–0 | Guangzhou Matsunichi |
| 16 July 2000 | Guangzhou Matsunichi | 1–3 | Guangzhou Apollo | ||
| Matches | Apollo wins | Draws | Matsunichi wins | Apollo goals | Matsunichi goals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese Jia-A League | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 6 | |
| Chinese Jia-B League | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | |
| Chinese FA Cup | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Official matches | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 14 | 11 |
When Guangzhou R&F (predecessor of Guangzhou City) moved to the city of Guangzhou, a local derby, often referred to as the Canton derby, was born.[8] The first Canton derby was at Yuexiushan Stadium on 16 March 2012 as Guangzhou Evergrande (predecessor of Guangzhou) lost 2–0 against Guangzhou R&F.<ref>Web site: 张烁张远联袂发威 富力再爆冷2–0恒大. sports.sohu.com. 2012-03-16. 2015-11-17. 2015-11-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20151119074245/http://sports.sohu.com/20120316/n338005769.shtml. live. Relations between the two club owners remain cordial off the pitch and club owners Xu Jiayin and Zhang Li were seen enjoying a meal together instead of watching the second derby in 2012 which Guangzhou R&F also won.[9] [10]
| Season | Competition | Date | Home team | Result | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Chinese Super League | 16 March 2012 | Guangzhou R&F | 2–0 | Guangzhou Evergrande |
| 15 July 2012 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 0–1 | Guangzhou R&F | ||
| 2013 | Chinese Super League | 27 April 2013 | Guangzhou R&F | 0–2 | Guangzhou Evergrande |
| 25 August 2013 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 1–0 | Guangzhou R&F | ||
| 2014 | Chinese Super League | 9 May 2014 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 0–1 | Guangzhou R&F |
| 28 September 2014 | Guangzhou R&F | 3–4 | Guangzhou Evergrande | ||
| 2015 | Chinese Super League | 23 May 2015 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 2–2 | Guangzhou R&F |
| 21 September 2015 | Guangzhou R&F | 1–2 | Guangzhou Evergrande | ||
| 2016 | Chinese Super League | 1 April 2016 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 2–0 | Guangzhou R&F |
| 20 July 2016 | Guangzhou R&F | 2–1 | Guangzhou Evergrande | ||
| Chinese FA Cup semi-finals | 17 August 2016 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 2–2 | Guangzhou R&F | |
| 21 September 2016 | Guangzhou R&F | 1–3 | Guangzhou Evergrande | ||
| 2017 | Chinese Super League | 8 April 2017 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 2–2 | Guangzhou R&F |
| 29 July 2017 | Guangzhou R&F | 4–2 | Guangzhou Evergrande | ||
| Chinese FA Cup fifth round | 19 July 2017 | Guangzhou R&F | 4–2 | Guangzhou Evergrande | |
| 1 August 2017 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 7–2 | Guangzhou R&F | ||
| 2018 | Chinese Super League | 2 March 2018 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 4–5 | Guangzhou R&F |
| 5 August 2018 | Guangzhou R&F | 2–4 | Guangzhou Evergrande | ||
| 2019 | Chinese Super League | 6 April 2019 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 2–0 | Guangzhou R&F |
| 20 July 2019 | Guangzhou R&F | 0–5 | Guangzhou Evergrande | ||
| 2020 | Chinese Super League | 30 July 2020 | Guangzhou R&F | 0–5 | Guangzhou Evergrande |
| 4 September 2020 | Guangzhou Evergrande | 2–1 | Guangzhou R&F | ||
| 2021 | Chinese Super League | 20 April 2021 | Guangzhou | 2–2 | Guangzhou City |
| 24 July 2021 | Guangzhou City | 3–3 | Guangzhou | ||
| 2022 | Chinese Super League | 13 September 2022 | Guangzhou City | 1–0 | Guangzhou |
| 10 December 2022 | Guangzhou | 0–0 | Guangzhou City | ||
Statistics as of 10 Dec 2022.
| Matches | Guangzhou wins | Draws | Guangzhou City wins | Guangzhou goals | Guangzhou City goals | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese Super League | 22 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 45 | 32 | |
| Chinese FA Cup | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 9 | |
| Official matches | 26 | 12 | 6 | 8 | 59 | 41 |
Below is the list of players who have scored at least two goals in official meetings.
| Position | Name | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Eran Zahavi | Guangzhou R&F | 13 |
| 2 |  Alan Carvalho | Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao | 8 |
| Ricardo Goulart | Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao | ||
| Renatinho | Guangzhou R&F | ||
| 5 |  Ai Kesen | Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao | 4 |
| Gao Lin | Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao | ||
| Paulinho | Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao | ||
| 8 |  Abderrazak Hamdallah | Guangzhou R&F | 2 |
 Míchel | Guangzhou R&F | ||
| Muriqui | Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao | ||
| Xiao Zhi | Guangzhou R&F | ||
| Yu Hanchao | Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao |