GLOBAL CLÁSICOS
The biggest ever wins of the ‘Clásicos’ around the world
Liverpool’s 7-0 against Manchester United is already part of the great humiliations of the eternal rival, but it’s not the greatest.
“Embarrassed,” “historic humiliation,” “the worst defeat in history,”... This was the feeling making the headlines in the English press describing the defeat handed out to Manchester United at Anfield at the hands of their eternal rival, Liverpool. The duel in the northwest of England -- between the two most successful teams in the country that invented football (and a great rivalry between the two cities for multiple reasons -- saw the biggest win in its history, beating the record dating from 1895, when the Merseysiders won 7-1.
And on the back of this 7-0 drubbing, we look back on the biggest wins of the great domestic ‘clásicos’ of world football.
Real Madrid 11-1 Barcelona
This stunning result may not be known by many, and was one Barça fans were keen to move on from quickly. It took place during the semifinals of the competition formerly known as the Copa del Generalísimo, in 1943. The first leg resulted in a victory for the Catalans with a score of 3-0. However, the second leg held at Chamartín ended in a scandalous 11-1 result. (See the main picture above)
This match took place during wartime and sparked intense rivalry between the two sets of supporters, and went beyond the boundaries of sport. Allegations were made in Barcelona that visiting referees and players were intimidated by the authorities, but investigations have revealed that these claims were unfounded. The match, which saw Los Blancos leading 8-0 at halftime, is the largest victory margin in the history of El Clásico.
Boca 6-0 River
It’s a curious story of the biggest win in the Argentine Superclásico. It happened in 1928, in the old wooden Xeneize stadium, where Boca humiliated their rivals Millionaires 6-0. Such was the affront that the most remembered thing about that duel was the plea of the River captain, who asked the referee for mercy to signal the end before regulation time.
Ajax 8-2 Feyenoord
Some big names were in place for the biggest win in De Klassieker, the classic game in the Netherlands: Ajax’s 8-2 win over Feyenoord in the 1983/84 season. Those from Amsterdam, with Van Basten and Koeman, had no mercy on an opponent that included Johan Cruyff! Also a very young Ruud Gullit. They may have lost this battle badly, but they won the war, ending up with the league title.
Celtic 7-1 Rangers
The game between Scotland’s Old Firm is a rivalry that transcends sport. Back in the 1957 Scottish League Cup Celtic destroyed their bitter rivals 7-1.
Juventus 7-2 Inter
It is the biggest win in the so-called Derby d’Italia between the two most successful clubs at the national level. It happened over a century ago, in December 1913, when The Old Lady hammered Inter Milan 7-1. Those from Turin were short-lived with the bragging rights, however, as less than a month later they were on the wrong side of a 6-1... against the same opponent. Football, eh?!
Benfica 12-2 Porto
Julinho was an incredible net filler and finished with 170 goals in 166 games in the Portuguese league -- yes, just over one per game on average. It was he who scored five in Benfica’s scandalous defeat of Porto in O Clássico played in Lisbon in the 1944/45 league.
National 6-0 Peñarol
The one known as the ‘10-0 Clásico’ of 1941 had two chapters. Because if the match between the first teams ended with a 6-0 victory for Nacional, their ‘reserves’ bagged another four to nothing against Peñarol’s second team that same day.
Bayern 11-1 Borussia
That 11-1 win for a Bayern Munich team led by Torpedo Müller and Franz Beckenbauer against Borussia Dortmund in Der Klassiker was a nightmare for the Dortmund team’s goalkeeper, Jürgen Rynio. And clearly it was the type of result that was never expected as the manual scoreboard had to be amended, as it did not have the capacity to place two digits in that 1971 clash.
Chivas 7-0 América
The great rivalry in Mexico was ignited on August 22, 1956. According to those who lived through that game, the América players began with a certain mockery of Chivas, trying to dribble and showboat. After Chivas’ first goal, however, the flood gates opened with a festival of goals to go down in history.
Marseille 1-5 PSG
The most modern humiliation of this huge rivalry occurred in Le Classique during the French league just six years ago. And to make the 5-1 win by the Parisiens even more painful, it came at Marseille’s own stadium in the 2017 season.
Corinthians 6-0 Flamengo
A Corinthians full of legendary players humiliated Flamengo in the 1953 Sao Paulo Tournament. A hat-trick for the top scorer in Corinthian history, Claudio Christovam.