User:The C of E/Belfast's big two
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Belfast's Big Two or the Big Two is the name given to the Northern Irish local derby between Belfast clubs, Linfield and Glentoran. The derby is also reffered to as the Belfast derby.[1] They are the most successful and most supported clubs in Northern Irish Football. They traditionally face each other on Boxing day each year[2] which attracts one of the biggest attendance of any Irish Premiership game.[3] They regularly play each other in the league and sometimes play each other in the Setanta Cup.[4]
Although both clubs are successful, Linfield currently lead Glentoran in terms of trophies won with Linfield's 51[5] to Glentoran's 23.[6]
The "original" Big Two[edit]
Belfast's big two didn't always refer to matches between Linfield and Glentoran. Up until 1949, Belfast's big two were Linfield and Belfast Celtic as they were the most successful teams in Northern Ireland. This rivalry often lead to sectarian violence between supporters of Protestant Linfield and Catholic Belfast Celtic, which was the main reason given for the closure of Belfast Celtic after a riot on Boxing day of 1948 that saw 3 Belfast Celtic players injured by Linfield supporters.[7] As a result of Belfast Celtic folding, Glentoran took their place in the Big Two.[8]
Supporters[edit]
The intensity of the Big Two rivalry since 1949 had been escalated due to the fact that since Belfast Celtic closed, Glentoran was the only club that could generate a support base that was similar to Linfield's as some supporters of Belfast Celtic became fans of Glentoran when Belfast Celtic was closed.[9] Although both teams are predominatly Protestant, the rivalry was tensioned as Glentoran fielded Catholic players and had Catholic fans[10] compared to Linfield originally only fielding Protestants until the 1980's.[11]
In the 1985 Irish Cup final at The Oval, Glentoran supporters released a cockerel and a pig that had been painted blue onto the pitch to insult fans of Linfield.[2]
Boxing Day[edit]
Although Linfield and Glentoran traditionally play a derby game on Boxing Day, in 2009 the traditional Boxing Day fixture was removed from the fixture list until 2011 by the Irish Football Association due to crowd trouble at Windsor Park.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ 14:20 GMT (2011-10-18). "Glens-Linfield clash rearranged". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "The world's deadliest derbies: Newcastle v Sunderland, Aston Villa v Birmingham, Ajax v Feyenoord, Partizan v Red Star Belgrade, Rangers v Celtic, Roma v Lazio and more". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ "Ards are given the Blues". Belfast Telegraph. 2011-09-26. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ "Belfast 'Big Two' drawn together in cross-border cup". 4ni.co.uk. 2005-01-28. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ 19:02 GMT (2012-04-28). "Linfield lift trophy despite losing to Glentoran". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Glentoran secure Northern Irish title". UEFA. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ "Sport and the British: Ireland, North of the Border". BBC. 2012-02-24. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ "Glentoran vs. Linfield - a potted history of 'Belclasico!'". Kukri Sport. 1905-09-02. Retrieved 2012-05-15.
- ^ Sugden, John (2001). Sport, Sectarianism and Society. Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 84. ISBN 0718500180.
- ^ Armstrong, Gary (1995). Fear and Loathing in World Football. Berg. p. 49. ISBN 1859734634.
- ^ Armstrong, Gary (2001). Fear and Loathing in World Football. Berg. p. 46. ISBN 1859734634.
- ^ "Glentoran v Linfield festive tie canned". Belfast Telegraph. 2009-02-17. Retrieved 2012-05-15.