Bruges derby
The Bruges derby is a local football rivalry between two Belgian Pro League clubs Club Brugge and Cercle Brugge, who share the Jan Breydel Stadium in Bruges, Belgium.
Location | Bruges |
---|---|
Teams | Cercle Brugge Club Brugge |
First meeting | Unknown date, either 1899 or 1900 |
Latest meeting | 1 April 2024 Pro League Cercle Brugge 1–1 Club Brugge |
Next meeting | 21 May 2024 |
Stadiums | Jan Breydel Stadium |
Statistics | |
Meetings total | 177 (175 results known, 2 lost) |
Most wins | Club Brugge (104) |
All-time series | Cercle Brugge: 31 Drawn: 41 Club Brugge: 104 Unknown: 2 |
Largest victory | Club Brugge 10–0 Cercle Brugge (17 January 1990) |
The derby was first contested during the 1899–1900 season however the results of this season have been lost. The first known result was the following season in November 1900 and finished 0–0. The return fixture that season ended 2–2 but Cercle won the next five games before Club recorded their first victory with a 5–0 in October 1904. It would be the start of Club Brugge's dominance as they went on to win 13 of the next 19 pre-War fixtures, losing only 2. Cercle Brugge were the more successful side of the two before the Second World War winning three championships and one cup to Club Brugge solitary championship.
Since the 1970s Club Brugge have become one of the most successful sides in Belgium winning a further 12 championships and a record 10 Cups while Cercle have only added 3 more cups since, because of this many Club Brugge fans now see Anderlecht as their main rival. In the derby Club Brugge maintains a dramatically superior record often winning many consecutive games and have also recorded many high-scoring wins such as 8–1 in 1981 and their biggest ever victory against any opposition with a 10–0 win in 1991.
The derby is notable as for many years it was the only city-based derby regularly played in Belgium. Cities such as Antwerp, Brussels, and Liège had two or more successful sides but many of these had gone out of existence or play outside the top flight. In recent years, other cities have seen derbies reoccur at the highest level:
- the Antwerp derby was briefly contested by Antwerp and Beerschot from 2020 until 2022.
- the Liège derby between Seraing and Standard Liège from 2021 until 2023.
- the Brussels derby between Union SG and Anderlecht is now being played with both clubs at the highest level.