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 Linfield play Glentoran at The Oval in 2014 | |
| Location | Belfast, Northern Ireland |
|---|---|
| Teams | Glentoran Linfield |
| First meeting | Linfield Athletic 3–1 Glentoran Friendly (1 October 1887) |
| Latest meeting | Glentoran 0–0 Linfield NIFL Premiership (6 April 2024) |
| Next meeting | TBC |
| Stadiums | The Oval (Glentoran) Windsor Park (Linfield) |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 648 (competitive, not including wartime) |
| Most wins | Linfield (306) |
| All-time series | Linfield – 306 Glentoran – 189 Draws – 153 |
| Largest victory | Linfield 8–0 Glentoran Irish League (21 November 1891) |
The Big Two derby, also referred to simply as the Big Two or Bel Classico, is the name given to the association football derby between Belfast clubs, Linfield and Glentoran. The derby is also sometimes referred to as the Belfast derby.[1] They are the two most successful and most supported clubs in Northern Ireland league football. They traditionally face each other on Boxing Day each year[2] which usually attracts the largest NIFL Premiership attendance of the season.[3] They regularly play each other in the league, and have contested more cup finals together than any other two clubs.[4] They also make up two of the three clubs (along with Cliftonville) that have competed in every season of Northern Ireland's top flight since its inception in 1890 – neither club ever suffering relegation.
Although Linfield and Glentoran have been the two most successful clubs in the domestic game to date, Linfield has won all three of the current major domestic trophies more than any other club. They have won more than twice as many league titles as their rivals, with Linfield having won 56 league titles to Glentoran's 23. Linfield has also lifted the Irish Cup a record 43 times to Glentoran's 23, and has won the League Cup a record ten times to Glentoran's 7.
- ^ GMT (18 October 2011). "Glens-Linfield clash rearranged". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ "The world's deadliest derbies: Newcastle v Sunderland, Aston Villa v Birmingham, Ajax v Feyenoord, Partizan v Red Star Belgrade, Rangers v Celtic, Roma v Lazio and more". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ "Ards are given the Blues". The Belfast Telegraph. 26 September 2011. Archived from the original on 23 July 2012. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
- ^ "Belfast 'Big Two' drawn together in cross-border cup". 4ni.co.uk. 28 January 2005. Archived from the original on 29 September 2013. Retrieved 15 May 2012.
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