\u201cParis FC\u2019s promotion means that Paris will have its first Ligue 1 derby since 1978-79. Is there any European city that has had a longer gap between top-flight derbies?\u201d queries Steve Whittaker from Frankfurt (which hasn\u2019t had a top-flight derby in the Bundesliga era).<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve touched on this before, many years ago<\/a>, when we found a 44-year gap between the meeting of Hertha Berlin and FC Union and a 48-year wait for FSV v Eintracht in Steve\u2019s home city. However both derbies reconvened in the second tier and don\u2019t count here. So it is well worth us having a drill down into some top-flight derby deserts. The 46-year wait for Paris bragging rights to be earned is indeed a long one, particularly for a capital city.<\/p>\n Dirk Maas takes us to the Belgian capital, Brussels, where fans of Anderlecht and Union Saint-Gilloise had to wait from the 1972-73 season (when Union were relegated) until 2021-22. We don\u2019t have the exact date of the the derby that took place in the early 1970s, but that adds up to at least 48 years.<\/p>\n \u201cZenit regularly played Dynamo Saint Petersburg in the Soviet top flight between 1938 and 1963, when Dynamo were relegated,\u201d writes Peter Skilton. \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be until the 2017-18 season, when FK Tosno (from the Town of Tosno but playing at Zenit\u2019s former home of the Petrovsky Stadium in the Saint Petersburg) were promoted, that they played another local derby in the top flight. Tosno only lasted one season before being relegated and leaving Zenit as once again the only club in the city.\u201d We make that 54 years.<\/p>\n But Lino Di Lorenzo has been in touch to set the record straight on the original question and offer a few other examples. \u201cMy research suggests that Paris actually had its last league derby in 1989-90 (not 1979) when Racing Club de Paris were relegated from Ligue 1, so it will mean a 36-year gap. A long time, but not the longest (although probably the most surprising). The answer depends on whether you limit yourself to European capitals, or cities with populations of more than, say, one million.\u201d Any European city is fine, Lino, so fire away:<\/p>\n Berlin had no Bundesliga derby<\/a> between 1977 (Hertha Berlin v Tennis Borussia Berlin) until 2019 (Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin \u2013 42 years). There were Berlin derbies in the old East German league, but teams from West Berlin would not have been able to participate in those.<\/p>\n Finally, Naples has never had a Serie A derby at all. To get close to one, you need to venture back to the pre-Serie A days of 1921 when the Italian Championship involved a series of mini-leagues leading to a final round-robin. In the last round before it entered the final phase in 1921, three teams from Naples played each other in a mini league \u2013 Bagnolese, Internazionale Napoli, and Naples Foot-Ball Club. Bagnolese have since dissolved, and the other two merged in 1926 to form what is now Napoli. So that could be 105 years and counting.<\/p>\n Lino also points out that Ajax have not had a top-flight derby in quite some time. FC Amsterdam were relegated in 1978 and went out of business in 1982. So that\u2019s 47 years and counting.<\/p>\n But Mykola Kozlenko has perhaps found two potential answers. The first is the biggest \u201cpure\u201d gap, which he thinks is 92 years, in Lausanne, between 1930-31 and 2023-24. \u201cOnly one team from Lausanne were regulars at the top level, namely Lausanne-Sports. However, unusual regulations in the 1930-31 season meant that several second-tier teams were promoted mid-season. Racing Lausanne were one of them, leading to a derby against Lausanne-Sports on 1 February 1931<\/a>. In the 2023-24 season, two Lausanne teams were promoted to the Swiss Super League: Lausanne-Sport and Stade Lausanne-Ouchy (the latter last played at the top level in the inaugural 1897-98 season \u2013 a 126-year gap). The first of the two Lausanne derbies happened on 21 October 2023<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n The longest \u201congoing\u201d streak without a derby from active teams is 104 years, in Bradford, since 1920-21. \u201cThere used to be a Bradford derby at the top level. The last top-level game took place on 2 October 1920<\/a>. With Bradford City in League One and Bradford (Park Avenue) playing in the eighth tier now, this derby is not exactly expected to happen again in the Premier League any time soon.\u201d<\/p>\n Bradford: still waiting for top-tier derby. Photograph: Tom Jenkins\/The Guardian<\/p>\n Get in touch if you have any more to add to the list.<\/p>\n Players with names similar to their positions (2)<\/p>\n We have another good one to add to the list \u2026<\/p>\n Here\u2019s Tom Berrett to introduce him. \u201cSpurs once signed a player called Rodrigo Defendi<\/a> \u2013 a centre-back, no less.\u201d Yes, he was signed as a 16-year-old in 2005 having been spotted by Frank Arnesen, but at such a tender age the Brazilian was never given a first-team start by Martin Jol. He did go on to have a decent career, though, winning the Coppa Italia with Roma, the Portuguese Cup with Vit\u00f3ria de Guimar\u00e3es and the league title with Botafogo.<\/p>\n The Knowledge archive<\/a>The Price is right<\/p>\n Last month<\/a> we looked at players who had scored more goals for their country than their clubs. Sam McIlwaine has a cracking example from the present day: the young West Brom and Northern Ireland midfielder Isaac Price, whose career record is a thing of trivialicious beauty.<\/p>\n Clubs: two goals, 75 appearances (one every 37.5 games)<\/p>\n Country: nine goals, 22 appearances (one every 2.44 games)<\/p>\n Isaac Price bags a goal for Northern Ireland. Photograph: Borut \u017divulovi\u010d\/Reuters<\/p>\n And there\u2019s another player<\/a> to keep your eye on too.<\/p>\n Knowledge archive<\/p>\n \u201cThis weekend the state leagues in Brazil finally came to a close,\u201d wrote Paulo Padilha in May 2012. \u201cBahia ended a 11-year trophy drought when they were crowned champions over local rivals Vit\u00f3ria and I couldn\u2019t help but notice that the trophy they were lifting<\/a> was in the shape of an elevator. In this case it was one of the landmarks<\/a> of the city of Salvador. Are there other examples of trophies that don\u2019t conform to the usual cup\/vase\/shield\/pedestal-thingy shapes?\u201d<\/p>\n Brazilian state federations seem the chief culprits here, as Paulo went on to explain: \u201cOver the years the state championships have provided several trophies in the shape of buildings. The federation of Rio Grande do Norte presented another replica of a local landmark<\/a> in addition to the regular trophy that changes hands from year to year, while the Santa Catarina<\/a> and S\u00e3o Paulo<\/a> federations have been known to hand out replicas of their own headquarters. The S\u00e3o Paulo federation even had a somewhat traditional trophy in the shape of the state\u2019s gubernatorial palace<\/a>, that was around for several years and required several people to carry it.\u201d<\/p>\n A 2025 update: we now have the Club World Cup trophy<\/a> to add to the list.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a weird one, for sure. Photograph: Ira L Black\/Fifa\/Getty ImagesCan you help?<\/p>\n \u201cEngland and Germany are in the Women\u2019s Euro 2025 semi-finals (at the time of writing). If they meet in the final, it could mean Jess Carter of England playing for the trophy against her fianc\u00e9e<\/a>, Ann-Katrin Berger of Germany. Have two spouses or partners ever played against each other in a competitive match?\u201d enquires Ciaran McCarthy (Beth Mead and Vivianne Miedema missed each other by a matter of minutes<\/a> earlier in Euro 2025).<\/p>\n \u201cIn the recent England v Sweden Euro 2025 penalty shootout, only five of the 14 penalties taken were scored \u2013 a success rate of 36%. Statistically, is this the worst penalty shootout in an international competition? What about club competitions?\u201d asks Derek Robertson.<\/p>\n \u201cIf a player has been sent off in a knockout tie that goes to penalties, it\u2019s possible that the shootout could continue long enough that the offending team\u2019s first penalty taker will take a second spot-kick up against the opposition\u2019s last penalty taker. Has this ever happened?\u201d muses Chris Carter.<\/p>\n \u201cHas any club ever won such a pair of disparate trophies, in terms of breadth and depth of opposition, as the Conference League and the swivelling saucer that Chelsea just won?\u201d wonders Paul Crawford. \u201cMy only offer is Celtic in 1967 winning the European Cup and the Glasgow Cup?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMalm\u00f6 and Copenhagen were drawn to face each other in Champions League qualifying, presuming they win their respective ties first,\u201d writes Jack B. \u201cThey played each other in the 2019-20 Europa League too. These two cities are approximately 26 miles apart. Is this the closest European tie between two teams in different associations?\u201d<\/p>\n