The Sydney Derby: Western Sydney Wanderers vs. Sydney FC
Yesterday I got out to the Sydney Derby which is one of the greatest derbies in Australian football. There are historical, cultural and geographic divides between Sydney's West and the rest of Sydney so there's a lot of feeling in the derby. Sydney FC is somewhat of a glamour club and are also known as "Bling FC". Us "Westies" of Western Sydney are typically the working class "battlers". Western Sydney is also the most ethnically diverse in all of Australia, whereas the Sydney CBD, the Shire and and inner west areas that Sydney FC encompasses is still diverse, but not as much as Sydney's west.
The derby was first contested in 2012. Even Alessandro Del Piero, back when he played for Sydney FC, compared the atmosphere to those that are in Europe.
In 2019 I got out to my last Wanderers game which was 17,000+ for a season opener. Unfortunately due to a few factors the crowd was a bit lacking. The crowd of 14,000 was well short of the 30,000 capacity. For the record, I'm Western Sydney loud and proud!
The atmosphere was still great considering it was only 14,000 people.
Source: Own Work
There are a few contributing factors to the low crowd from last night. The Wanderers haven't been that great on the field recently. In late January we sacked our coach Carl Robinson. We replaced him with former Sydney FC captain Mark Rudan so there was some feeling from the "The Cove", Sydney FC's supporter base, when he was shown on the big screen.
We also had some really bad weather this past week with some areas of Sydney still flooded. In fact, driving home we experienced torrential rain which has some other areas of Sydney back on high alert for flooding.
Need proof there is feeling in this game? There's a police chopper monitoring the Wanderers support group enroute to the stadium.
Source: Own Work
The Wanderers support group the RBB (Red & Black Bloc) has drawn criticism for some of their behaviours but there is no doubt that they have brought the European Ultra and South American Barra culture to down under. The behaviour got stamped out but Australia is somewhat of a "police state" and there was extreme media scrutiny which blew it all out of proportion when you compare it to fan behaviour in other sporting codes. It put the club in a position between a "rock and a hard place" and they couldn't necessary endorse the behaviour and so many fans felt disillusioned.
The terraces a few years back would have been full but some unfair and disproportionate media attention unfortunately led to dwindling numbers.
Source: Own Work
Like I mentioned, the weather has been horrible and it would have contributed to a smaller then expected "away" contingent from Sydney FC fans.
Sydney FC's supporters known as "The Cove"
Source: Own Work
An awesome spot to down a beer. Unfortunately I was on "daddy duty" during the game.
Source: Own Work
"Piss poor" photography but let the record reflect that the Wanderers won 2-0!
Source: Own Work
It was an enjoyable game and we got up! The two clubs have played 30 times, and Sydney hold the edge with 13 wins and 8 losses. There have been 9 draws played out but the goal difference is +15 in favour of Sydney FC. But you're only as good as your last game, right?
Let me know about a footballing derby in your city!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
Wolfgang Sport started in 2017 as a way to connect my passion for American and British sports. Today it's evolved into a blockchain sports blog pushing the boundaries into the crypto world and embracing Web3 technologies.
You must have had a great time being that the Wanderers won 2-0. Also, you might be as good as your last game but remember that records are never forgotten 😂 Sydney still leading
The derby in my community isn't that popular but it's always a great time whenever it happens. The intensity, the cheering, and the rivalry are always fun.