The approach to La Bombonera roars that one is about to enter something far beyond the realms of footballing normalcy.
The road sweeps down towards a park where innocuous fairground carousels circle, their tinkling music submerged under the blasts from pyro that resemble military ordnance in its power to shake the senses.
A railway line is then crossed and the stadium comes into full view. It is guarded by cordons of riot police. There are searches, demands for proof of identity and then one climbs the stairs to the highest point of the terrace.
The stadium is bouncing, the terrace trembling beneath one’s feet. The noise is constant, the light show spectacular. Fans climb the wire mesh fences separating the crowd from the players.
There is so much to witness, to hear, to experience. It is the day of the Boca Juniors-River Plate derby. It is two hours before kick-off in the greatest local skirmish on the planet.
Here are the top 10 football derbies in the world. There are some criteria. I have chosen only one from any country. And I have ruled out clasicos such as Barcelona v Real Madrid or Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund to concentrate on city or regional rivalry.
Tensions boil over in a 2023 Buenos Aires derby between Boca Juniors and River Plate
The sight of the iconic La Bombonera stadium on derby day is unlike any other in world football
Former Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo takes in the sight as he enters La Bombonera
1 Boca Juniors v River Plate
The most powerful football experience in my life was my 10 days spent in Buenos Aires, taking in five games.
This immersion in the greatest football city in the world was gilded by a derby match. There are multiple theses on the difference between Boca and River. Some involve finance, class and politics.
Whatever, it is also visceral. Fans identify themselves with their team. On a tour of El Monumental, the River stadium, I asked the guide what the club meant to him. ‘It’s my life,’ he replied.
2 Celtic v Rangers
This could be dismissed as a parochial choice. However, the truth is that in a lifetime of travelling the world for football, there has been a constant. People hear your accent and ask about the derby.
It punches way above its weight in terms of sporting significance. It stands as a singular event that will be known about throughout the world without any sporting context.
3 Partizan Belgrade v Red Star Belgrade
This has a political history, given that the clubs represented the sporting wing of sections of the communist government.
It has survived the death of communism and, indeed, may even have grown in antipathy. The grounds are separated by 400 yards. There is a park in this area which routinely becomes a battleground on derby day.
Fans of Partizan Belgrade and Red Star Belgrade always ensure a colourful atmosphere
Souness risks sparking civil war as he plants a Galatasaray flag on Fenerbahce turf in 1996
4 Fenerbahce v Galatasaray
Known as the Intercontinental, because Fenerbahce is from the Asian part of the city and Galatasaray from the European, this rivalry traces back to 1935 when a match was abandoned after there were riots off the field and brutality on it. It was a friendly.
It has, of course, a Scottish link in that Graeme Souness, then Galatasaray manager, placed a club flag in the centre circle after emerging victorious in the 1996 cup final.
5 AC Milan v Internazionale
Two of the greatest teams in the world — though Italian football has been one of the major victims of the dominance of the English Premier League — share one of the most historic stadiums in the world.
The clash has featured some of the greatest players in the history of the game down the years. It holds an enduring appeal beyond Italy.
Sulley Muntari gets up close and personal with David Beckham in a Milan derby in 2009
Penarol fans take any vantage point they can to see clash with Nacional at Centenario stadium
6 Nacional v Penarol
It is sometimes forgotten that Uruguay was once the major footballing power in South America, winning the first World Cup.
Nacional and Penarol share the city of Montevideo and the reduced circumstances of the domestic game has not diluted the passion the game provokes.
Nacional clings proudly to the tradition of being set up for local players, while Penarol was largely the construct of European immigrants.
7 Corinthians v Palmeiras
The temptation was to opt for a Rio de Janeiro derby but the clash of Sao Paulo rivals is irresistible.
It is depicted in social and economic terms. Corinthians hold on to their working-class roots while Palmeiras, a club set up by the city’s Italian community, have gravitated upwards in economic terms.
In the Copa Libertadores semi-final against Boca in 2023, Palmeiras fans burned Argentinian currency in La Bombonera to show contempt for the economic woes of the locals.
The regional clash between Real Sociedad and Athletic Bilbao has got spicier over the years
8 Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad
The Basque derby does not divide a city (Sociedad are based in San Sebastian) but it divides a populace.
It is probably the most benign derby on the list, though it has increased in acrimony over recent years.
It would be best viewed in the San Mames, placed in the centre of Bilbao, where the atmosphere is spectacular and fans spill out into the streets lined with bars and restaurants.
9 Al Ahly v Zamalek
The Cairo derby has its origins in 1917 but has prospered down the years because of the success of both clubs.
Zamalek’s Kabongo Kasongo aims a kick at Aliou Badji of Al Ahly during a Cairo derby in 2020
Fan violence isroutine though the worst incident in Egyptian football followed a match between Al Ahly and Al Masry in Port Said in 2012 when 74 people were killed after a pitch invasion.
10 Borussia Dortmund v Schalke
The Revierderby is contested by two teams whose cities are 20 miles apart in the Ruhr Valley.
The meetings have become a rarity of late with Schalke in Buli 2 but the rivalry is the biggest in Germany, eclipsing Dortmund v Bayern which is a modern construct based on purely sporting matters with no other issues.
