Biggest Rivalries in Football: Derby della Capitale

The Italians have many derbies, with Brazil and Great Britain probably the most in the world. 

But there is no other derby in the world like the eternal duel of the eternal city—Lazio vs. Roma.

For Roma and Lazio and their football world, FIFA’s slogan that politics has no place in stadiums does not apply. 

In their matches, politics is even the most important determinant. 

Italians are a fanatically political people; the traditional eternal struggle of “reds and blacks” is regularly transferred from the streets of Rome to the stands where – figuratively speaking – communists and fascists clash. 

Although both Roma and Lazio were initially creations of Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime, today, the situation is fundamentally different.

Those who support Lazio come from the political right, mostly from the richer northern part of the city, while the Romanists declare themselves as leftists from the poorer working class.

The leader of the National Fascist Party proposed merging Roma’s clubs—Roman, Alba-Audace, Fortitudo, and Lazio—into one powerful team, which would rule Italy by the decree of the National League. 

However, he was opposed by General Giorgio Vaccaro, who at that time was a high-ranking member of the leadership of the Italian Football Federation, and managed to resist the Nazis and save Lazio as the only independent club next to the newly formed AS Roma. 

Such a “soil” could not give rise to any other rivalry. 

The first official duel of the eternal city was played twenty days before entering the thirties of the last century, and Roma celebrated as a guest with a goal in the very finish.  Their capital rivalry – symbolically named the “Derby della Capitale” – takes on even more significance as they are known to be far less trophy-winning than most of the top-level teams in Italy. 

Nevertheless, this is exactly what highlights the greatness, tradition, and everything that the meeting between Roma and Lazio represents in the football world. The Roman derby rivals the world’s leading firefights in everything, from the football to the atmosphere in the stands. 

Still, the amount of open hatred and gruesome violence is something that certainly stands out from everything.

Lazio has won two Serie A titles, seven Italian Cups, five Super Cups, the Cup Winners’ Cup and the UEFA Super Cup. 

Roma was Italy’s champion three times, lifted the Cup trophy nine times, the Super Cup twice, and triumphed in the Cup of Fair Cities. Roma also won the UEFA Conference League trophy. 

These teams have played 199 matches throughout history, and Roma is better with 74 wins, Lazio has 58 wins, and 67 times the match ended in a draw. 

Interestingly, on this derby’s best goal scorers list, Roma’s players are in the first four places. Dino da Costa and Totti have 11 goals each, Delvecchio 9 and Montella 8.

They have shared the stadium since 1954, but that could change very soon because Roma has announced a move and showed plans for building a new stadium.

Football and fanaticism are a dangerous combination. 

They can be, as they should be, a perfect combination, but we are witnessing that it is practically impossible. Each of the football derbies in the world has something that sets it apart from the crowd, forcing us to observe it from a different perspective and talk about it from a special angle. 

However, no derby is even similar to the Eternal City derby.

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