De Klassieker (Derby van Rotterdam)
Ajax against Feyenoord, Amsterdam against Rotterdam.
De Klassieker is the main football rivalry in the Netherlands, between Ajax of Amsterdam and Feyenoord of Rotterdam, two of the country's traditional Big Three. Its record crowd was 65,562, in Rotterdam on 9 January 1966.
Quick Facts
- Other names
- Ajax vs Feyenoord
- Location
- Netherlands
- First meeting
- 9 October 1921
- 1ste Klasse
- Feyenoord 2–2 Ajax
- Teams
- Ajax; Feyenoord
- Total meetings
- 209
- Latest meeting
- 22 March 2026
- Eredivisie
- Feyenoord 1–1 Ajax
- Most wins
- Ajax (96)
- Largest victory
- Ajax 8–2 Feyenoord (18 September 1983); Feyenoord 6–0 Ajax (7 April 2024)
Reader's Guide
The rivalry mirrors the one between the cities: Amsterdam is seen as the city of artists, Rotterdam, a harbour town heavily bombed in the Second World War, as the city of workers, summed up in the saying 'While Amsterdam dreams, Rotterdam works'. The first meeting, in Rotterdam on 9 October 1921, ended 3-2 to Ajax but was later officially recorded as 2-2 after Feyenoord protested a doubtful Ajax goal. The fixture has a violent side: Ajax fan Carlo Picornie was killed in the 1997 Beverwijk clash, after which both 1997-98 meetings were played without away fans, and in February 2009 the two mayors and the KNVB agreed to ban visiting fans for five seasons. The highest-scoring meeting was a 9-5 Feyenoord win, and on 7 April 2024 Feyenoord won 6-0, its biggest ever win over Ajax.
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