De Klassieker (Derby van Rotterdam)

Lore & Background

The rivalry between these two clubs goes beyond the football rivalry, transcending into the city rivalry between Amsterdam and Rotterdam. This rivalry began when these two cities first received their city rights in the 13th century. The football clubs are the pride of these cities; Ajax to Amsterdam and Feyenoord to Rotterdam. The inhabitants of these cities differ significantly in both attitudes and cultures which is clearly reflected on the football pitch. The clash is seen between the artists of Amsterdam and the workers of Rotterdam. Amsterdam is renowned for its culture, having produced many artists and actors. Ajax’s style of play has long been a source of pride for the supporters, and one of irritation for the Feyenoord fans. The Rotterdammers feel that those hailing from Amsterdam possess delusions of grandeur, and there is a saying to reflect these sentiments: 'While Amsterdam dreams, Rotterdam works'. Rotterdam was forced to work after being bombed heavily in the Second World War by the Nazis. A harbor town, its people are proud of their work ethic and resentful of Amsterdam's showiness. The first encounter between these two clubs was on 9 October 1921 in Rotterdam which was surrounded by controversy. The match initially ended 3–2 in Ajax' favour. This was later officially declared 2–2 due to Feyenoords protest to what they believed was a dubious goal by Ajax. There has also been a competition as who has the biggest stadium between these two clubs which mainly occurred in the 1930s and 1940s. This was done as bragging rights as which city, between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, had the biggest stadium in the Netherlands. The Olympic Stadium was constructed in 1928 and had a capacity of 31,600 which was the biggest in the Netherlands. In 1934 De Meer Stadion was constructed with a capacity of 22,000. Ajax used the Olympic Stadium for European matches and De Meer for domestic matches. The status of the Olympic Stadium being the largest in Netherlands would change in 1937 when Feyenoord opened De Kuip was constructed with a capacity of 64,000. Ajax responded by adding a second ring to Olympic Stadium, also in 1937. After the Second World War, Feyenoord expanded De Kuip to 69,000 in 1949. From the season 1947–48 up to and including 1955–56 no competitive matches were played between these two clubs. This was due to Feyenoord never winning their regional leagu

In Their Own Story

The rain slicks the grass at De Kuip, turning the pitch into a mirror of the grey Rotterdam sky. Tens of thousands of red-and-white clad fans create a wall of noise that vibrates through the stadium's concrete bones. As the referee blows the whistle for kick-off against Ajax, the air crackles with decades of history. A Feyenoord midfielder wins a brutal tackle near the halfway line, the crowd erupting in a roar that echoes off the De Kuip stands, silencing the visiting blue shirts instantly.

Reader's Guide

Since the 70's there have been many clashes between the supporters of both clubs, including destructions inside stadiums. The Beverwijk in 1997 was most infamous. One Ajax fan, Carlo Picornie, was beaten to death by rival supporters, triggering more strict policies from the Dutch football association KNVB to tackle hooliganism. As a result of the incident, the two Klassiekers in 1997-98 were played without away fans. In 2004 Feyenoord player Jorge Acuña was taken to hospital with head, neck and rib injuries after Feyenoord players were attacked by Ajax hooligans during a match between the reserve teams of both clubs. Another Feyenoord player, Robin van Persie, had to be rescued by Ajax coach John van 't Schip and player Daniël de Ridder. In April 2005, riots took place around Feyenoord's ground involving hooligans from both sides and the riot police. Travelling Ajax fans had demolished the train transporting them to Rotterdam after the train was sent back to Amsterdam before arriving in Rotterdam. The second train arrived in Rotterdam but the fans were forced to wait outside the stadium until the match was over. Meanwhile, Feyenoord supporters who had just seen their team lose 2-3, were determined to clash with rivals from Amsterdam, who had not seen the match. Hooligans filmed by police were shown on national TV. Virtually every hooligan on TV handed himself in. In February 2009, the mayors of Amsterdam and Rotterdam made an agreement with the KNVB to ban visiting fans from the away games for the next five seasons in an effort to curb the violence. However, after Ajax fans threw fireworks on the field during the 2014 KNVB Cup Final, Ajax banned its supporters from traveling to Rotterdam through at least the 2016-17 season. In March 2015, the Ajax clubhouse was burned down for which the cause is officially unknown. However the police and Ajax fans suspected Feyenoord fans to have been behind this event. Ajax hooligans planned a revenge attack on Feyenoord fans but were stopped by police. In February 2016, an incident took place in Amsterdam Arena where an effigy of Kenneth Vermeer, who made the crossing from Ajax to Feyenoord, was hanged from a stand occupied by the Ajax ultra group VAK410. In response, Ajax closed the sections normally used by VAK410 for the next edition of De Klassieker at the Arena, and banned season ticketholders from those sections from

Did You Know?

• The record attendance for De Klassieker was 65,562 on 9 January 1966 in Rotterdam.
• The highest scoring match was a 9–5 win for Feyenoord in the 1960-61 season.
• Feyenoord's biggest win over Ajax was 6–0 on 7 April 2024.
• The first encounter was on 9 October 1921, initially a 3–2 Ajax win but later declared 2–2 after a Feyenoord protest.