La Plata derby
The La Plata derby (Clásico Platense or Clásico de La Plata in Spanish) is one of the most fiercely contested derbies in Argentine football. It is played between local clubs Estudiantes and Gimnasia y Esgrima.
Estudiantes striker Gastón Fernández carrying the ball followed by Ariel Agüero, 5 May 2011 | |
| Sport | Association football |
|---|---|
| Location | La Plata |
| First meeting | 27 August 1916 (Estudiantes 0–1 Gimnasia) |
| Latest meeting | Gimnasia 0-0 Estudiantes (1 Oct 2023) |
| Stadiums | Jorge Hirschi (Estudiantes) Juan C. Zerillo (Gimnasia) |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 186 |
| Most wins | Estudiantes (66) |
| Top scorer | Manuel Pellegrina (11) |
| Largest victory | Estudiantes 7–0 Gimnasia (15 Oct 2006) |
The first official derby took place as part of the 1916 Argentine Primera División championship on August 27, 1916. On that occasion, Gimnasia won 1–0 over Estudiantes, with an owngoal by Ludovico Pastor.
The largest victory in a derby was on October 15, 2006, when Estudiantes thrashed Gimnasia by 7-0 in the 11th fixture of the 2006–07 season.
According to several studies related to social research in football, La Plata is one of the few cities in the country where the local clubs surpass Boca Juniors and River Plate in number of supporters. The other cities are Rosario, Santa Fe, Córdoba, Rafaela and San Miguel de Tucumán.