With relatively uneventful rivalries Boca Juniors – River Plate (only reports of and no actual deaths) and Feyenoord – Ajax both ending at 2-2 last weekend, Missed PK ceased the opportunity to dive deeper into the rivalry issue.
Contrary to somewhat popular belief, throwing money at a team and playing against another oil magnate’s Afternoon Delight does not create a rivalry. Rivalries, aka derbies if the teams are located in the same city or are in cities close to each other, usually have generations of conflicts (Barca – Real, Red Star – Partizan, Rangers – Celtic), many controversial games (many a Boca – River Plate), and at least a handful of players that would get lynched where they to show up in the wrong (part of) town (Ruggeri). With rivalry claims running wild (those TV ratings need to stay up!), Missed PK presents your Rivalry Checklist. Score less than 6 out of 10, and the match is not a rivalry, but just another game. The impact? Rivalries you attend or watch live, games you can record.
And here your ‘Official Missed PK Rivalry Checklist’:
□ Pictures of players that move between the teams are burned, preferably by fans of both teams
□ There have been deaths amongst fans
□ At least 2 games got completely out of hand with over 5 red cards
□ The games between youth teams require police protection
□ The fans have vastly different background (e.g. based on religion, working class, boxers or briefs)
□ Players that score the winning goal, no matter how bad they are, will be celebrated forever
□ The fans must know at least 2 chants that seriously offend the other team
□ Everybody can recall at least 2 games with controversial calls
□ Minimum games requirement: at least 20 times over the last 15 years in League/Cup play, or 4 times in the last 10 years in international play
□ Marrying a fan of the rival can only occur in secret (with no family present)
Extra free points can be added if the rivalry has a historical context that includes war, a colonial backlash, a craving for independency, territorial occupation or attempts thereof.
Do the math for your favorite rivalry and let us know if they meet the standards!
Not done!! Messi and Neymar hug after Brazil – Argentina. During rivalry games, the only embrace allowed is a headlock.
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