Soccer: New Kiwi version of the Old Firm
5:00AM Sunday March 16, 2008
Leeds United of the 1970s had a notoriously violent bunch of players and an equally infamous band of supporters known as the Leeds Service Crew.
Their pitched battles with Manchester United fans, aka the Red Army, were some of the most violent in British football history and both sets of fans would often clash before matches in organised fights.
Auckland City's 248 Service Crew (named after the 248 bus that runs from Britomart to Auckland's ground at Kiwitea St) is a little different - they have never fought rival fans.
"I'm a lover, not a fighter," Auckland City fan Richard McIlroy says. "But there are supporters in both camps who are as passionate as you'll find overseas. Just not as many.
"There's nothing of the stuff overseas where people yell racial abuse or stuff about their wives or children and wanting to kill them."
Despite this, clashes between Auckland City and Waitakere United are the closest thing this country has to Scotland's famous Old Firm derby.
There's not a lot of political or religious tension but there has definitely been antagonism.
There was the apparent poaching by Auckland City of prolific striker Keryn Jordan in 2005 and the furore over James Pritchett playing for Auckland when he was supposed to be on international duty. The subsequent appeals and counter appeals, finally won by Waitakere, took six months to settle and even delayed the start of last season's NZFC playoffs.
There have also been a few fairly heated matches. In one in 2006-07, 16 yellow and three red cards were dished out by referee Neil Fox. In the past six NZFC games, 41 yellow and four red cards have been brandished.
One of those reds was against Waitakere striker Commins Menapi for his horrendous tackle on Riki van Steeden in last year's NZFC grand final.
Although van Steeden was out for eight months, he is not exactly lily white. Plenty of opposition players have gone home nursing the odd cut and bruise after clashing with the abrasive defender but the 31-year-old admits the adrenaline pumps even more when they play Waitakere.
"We see it as an Old Firm-type rivalry," explains van Steeden, who says he would never cross town and join Waitakere. "It's not on such a massive scale and you won't see any crowd violence but, for the players, it's just as important. There's definitely a bit of hatred between the clubs.
"We want to be the best team in Auckland and, as it turns out, if you beat them, you tend to be the best in the country as well."
Auckland City were for a long time regarded as the best and won the first three NZFC titles. But after a run of 14 games unbeaten on the pitch in the NZFC and O-League, Auckland have since lost the last two derbies.
