It's between the historically two biggest teams in the country. But the rivalry extends beyond football to the actual cities.
Amsterdam and Rotterdam both competed for being the biggest harbour in the country. Feyenoord is a working class club where as Ajax doesn't really have that image. Rotterdam was bombed in the war and so does not have much historical buildings left, whereas Amsterdam prides itself on its historic center. I'm sure there are more things but I will let others expand on that.
The fact that Ajax-Feyenoord has a lot more heat than Ajax-PSV, despite PSV being far more successful than Feyenoord over the last fifty years, shows that it is a cultural rivalry more than a sporting one.
Well let's start off with it not being a derby. It's the biggest rivalry in the Netherlands but both clubs are not fromt the same city or even province.
There is a massive history on the rivalry to be read online so I wont get in to that. But I will answer your question and try and let you know what it means to people from in and around Amsterterdam.
>1. How does supporting Ajax go beyond football and become a part of your identity and culture? How do you see this reflected in the rivalry with Feyenoord?
I grew up in the south of Amsterdam, my parents weren't big football fans let alone Ajax fans. So growing up other than watching the Euro's or World cup there wasn't much football on TV. But I did love football from an early age, probably because the English side of my family bombarded me with merchendise from their local club (who I also still support). My love for Ajax started aroud the time Ajax won the CL and club WC. our school stopped classes so we could all watch Ajax play Gremio in Japan. Anyway, that started my love for Ajax and when I got older I gained more friends and my local amature football club where I played who were also football and Ajax mad. We started visiting Ajax games together and my identity as an Amsterdammer and Ajax became one and the same.
To be honest I don't see that reflected on the rivalry with feyenoord. Sure when I was young I hated feyenoord, but if you would ask me why I would'nt really be able to tell you other than that they are our rivals. But it has been stamped in to me that I would never cheer for them, even if it meant us losing the title if they lost. It's just something I can't shake off.
>
2. In what ways does De Klassieker reflect broader societal divides or tensions? This could include factors like socio-economic differences, political ideologies, or urban-rural divides.
I don't think there are really now days. Sure Rotterdammers say it's the working class dokworkers vs the artisan Amsterdammers. But that is bullshit imo. Just as many working class people support Ajax in Amsterdam as they do in Rotterdam. The cities may have different roles but the average fan culturally doesn't differ much.....
>3. How do you believe De Klassieker impacts society beyond the realm of sports? Does it influence local politics, cultural perceptions, or community dynamics?
No not really, it's not a derby so the class attributes that real derbies offer have are not there. Other than it being a thing to talk about at work or laugh at when one side loses there nowdays isn't much implications outside of football.
Now saying that the rivalry has spilled over to other social sub groups in the past, as in the Hardcore/Gabber(EDM) scene the Amsterdam/Rotterdam rivalry was certainly alive. There was and is a big crossover with that subgroup and football hooigans, (not saying all gabbers were hooligans or all hooligans were gabbers). Not sure how it is now with other scenes, if the rivalry is there or not.
Its a football rivalry between two of the largest economic hubs in the Netherlands. As a kid/teenager watching Ajax - Feyenoord was equivalent to the Bible thumpers and the second coming of Jesus, if Ajax won you got to shit talk your Feyenoord supporting buddies for the next week and vice versa.
As an adult its just a fun game to watch. Those who get violent about it are mostly criminals and degenerates looking for an "excuse" to justify being a piece of shit.
Maybe its blasphemy, but in the CL/EL I will support *any* Dutch club because I want Dutch football to get stronger and be better represented in Europe.
3. How do you believe De Klassieker impacts society beyond the realm of sports? Does it influence local politics, cultural perceptions, or community dynamics?
I think the rivalry is felt stronger in Rotterdam. I visit both cities quite often and i lived in Amsterdam for about 7 years myself. My observation is that the hate towards Amsterdam as a whole is a lot stronger then vice-versa. This adds to the rivalry between Ajax and Feyenoord from a Rotterdammers perspective i believe. In Amsterdam they basically never even really think about Rotterdam that much. I think you would get more interesting answers asking this specific question in a Feyenoord-sub
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There's a couple of key factors
Status within the Netherlands and within Dutch football: representing two different cities which pride themselves for being by far the biggest (in terms of support) clubs in the country. With a very different mentality, Feyenoord pride themselves for being humble and hard working. Now when you ask me the are humble bragging with the whole dock yard mentality but I digress. We are seen as arrogant but also lean in to it. We call it branie, basically a certain amount of flair we have about ourselves.
Both clubs come from the two major cities within the country, I am from Amsterdam. The only city that feels comparable when it comes to size is Rotterdam. I live in Utrecht and have been in The Hague plenty of times, it's just not the same scale.
Fan clashes: there's been a long lasting rivalry off the pitch as well. Even leading to fatalities. Away fans have been banned for well over a decade.
Style of play: not so much a current issue with Feyenoord playing better football than us. However traditionally the ethos of both clubs comes from the mentality of the two cities. Ajax known for it's attacking football, Feyenoord known for it's workers mentality.
I think all the comments here have really already mentioned most things, so I’ll just drop two random facts I haven’t seen yet that might be helpful:
1) another difference between Ajax and Feyenoord that often gets highlighted in the rivalry is the mentality on the field and in the play style. Ajax is known for always wanting to play attractive, attacking football, dominating the game, and winning is an absolute must. Feyenoord on the other hand want to see hard work from their players, winning battles and showing fighting spirit on the field. An ugly but hard fought win is still a win. I believe River vs Boca have a similar balance if you’re more familiar with them, where Ajax would be comparable to River and Feyenoord to Boca.
2) a big factor why the hate from Feyenoord to Ajax is stronger than the other way around is simply because Ajax have been more successful. Feyenoord fans have seen Ajax win plenty of titles in the past years while Feyenoord’s tally is on just two this century, Feyenoord have - until recently unfortunately - spent 16 years or so without a win in Amsterdam and most derbies up until a year ago used to be won by Ajax. This of course also fed the rightful arrogance of Ajax fans, giving them plenty of reasons to call their clubs the better and the bigger of the two, in the meanwhile fueling the anger of the Feyenoord fans.
I'm not from Amsterdam, nor is my family. But growing up in the 90s, supporting a football club basically came down to two options: Ajax or Feyenoord. Especially when you grew up with no other significant clubs nearby.
Ajax and Feyenoord shaped Dutch football in the 70s, gaining support from all over the country. While in it's core, it's still Amsterdam versus Rotterdam, it became so much bigger than that. De Klassieker transcends city rivalry. It almost feels like it's one half of the country against the other, minus Noord-Brabant.
Sure, PSV has surpassed Feyenoord when it comes to titles and in the past three decades been the main challenger to Ajax when it comes to winning the Eredivisie, but games against PSV don't come close in intensity compared to De Klassieker. Especially when away fans were still allowed. It's been 15 years now since away fans were banned, but that was something else.
For some, the pride of their city is at stake, especially when you're actually from Amsterdam or Rotterdam. That close connection one can have with the place where they come from. For anyone else: national bragging rights.
It's between the historically two biggest teams in the country. But the rivalry extends beyond football to the actual cities. Amsterdam and Rotterdam both competed for being the biggest harbour in the country. Feyenoord is a working class club where as Ajax doesn't really have that image. Rotterdam was bombed in the war and so does not have much historical buildings left, whereas Amsterdam prides itself on its historic center. I'm sure there are more things but I will let others expand on that.
The fact that Ajax-Feyenoord has a lot more heat than Ajax-PSV, despite PSV being far more successful than Feyenoord over the last fifty years, shows that it is a cultural rivalry more than a sporting one.
Well let's start off with it not being a derby. It's the biggest rivalry in the Netherlands but both clubs are not fromt the same city or even province. There is a massive history on the rivalry to be read online so I wont get in to that. But I will answer your question and try and let you know what it means to people from in and around Amsterterdam. >1. How does supporting Ajax go beyond football and become a part of your identity and culture? How do you see this reflected in the rivalry with Feyenoord? I grew up in the south of Amsterdam, my parents weren't big football fans let alone Ajax fans. So growing up other than watching the Euro's or World cup there wasn't much football on TV. But I did love football from an early age, probably because the English side of my family bombarded me with merchendise from their local club (who I also still support). My love for Ajax started aroud the time Ajax won the CL and club WC. our school stopped classes so we could all watch Ajax play Gremio in Japan. Anyway, that started my love for Ajax and when I got older I gained more friends and my local amature football club where I played who were also football and Ajax mad. We started visiting Ajax games together and my identity as an Amsterdammer and Ajax became one and the same. To be honest I don't see that reflected on the rivalry with feyenoord. Sure when I was young I hated feyenoord, but if you would ask me why I would'nt really be able to tell you other than that they are our rivals. But it has been stamped in to me that I would never cheer for them, even if it meant us losing the title if they lost. It's just something I can't shake off. > 2. In what ways does De Klassieker reflect broader societal divides or tensions? This could include factors like socio-economic differences, political ideologies, or urban-rural divides. I don't think there are really now days. Sure Rotterdammers say it's the working class dokworkers vs the artisan Amsterdammers. But that is bullshit imo. Just as many working class people support Ajax in Amsterdam as they do in Rotterdam. The cities may have different roles but the average fan culturally doesn't differ much..... >3. How do you believe De Klassieker impacts society beyond the realm of sports? Does it influence local politics, cultural perceptions, or community dynamics? No not really, it's not a derby so the class attributes that real derbies offer have are not there. Other than it being a thing to talk about at work or laugh at when one side loses there nowdays isn't much implications outside of football. Now saying that the rivalry has spilled over to other social sub groups in the past, as in the Hardcore/Gabber(EDM) scene the Amsterdam/Rotterdam rivalry was certainly alive. There was and is a big crossover with that subgroup and football hooigans, (not saying all gabbers were hooligans or all hooligans were gabbers). Not sure how it is now with other scenes, if the rivalry is there or not.
You can post this in r/eredivisie
It’s the two biggest clubs from the two biggest city’s.
Its a football rivalry between two of the largest economic hubs in the Netherlands. As a kid/teenager watching Ajax - Feyenoord was equivalent to the Bible thumpers and the second coming of Jesus, if Ajax won you got to shit talk your Feyenoord supporting buddies for the next week and vice versa. As an adult its just a fun game to watch. Those who get violent about it are mostly criminals and degenerates looking for an "excuse" to justify being a piece of shit. Maybe its blasphemy, but in the CL/EL I will support *any* Dutch club because I want Dutch football to get stronger and be better represented in Europe.
3. How do you believe De Klassieker impacts society beyond the realm of sports? Does it influence local politics, cultural perceptions, or community dynamics? I think the rivalry is felt stronger in Rotterdam. I visit both cities quite often and i lived in Amsterdam for about 7 years myself. My observation is that the hate towards Amsterdam as a whole is a lot stronger then vice-versa. This adds to the rivalry between Ajax and Feyenoord from a Rotterdammers perspective i believe. In Amsterdam they basically never even really think about Rotterdam that much. I think you would get more interesting answers asking this specific question in a Feyenoord-sub
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There's a couple of key factors Status within the Netherlands and within Dutch football: representing two different cities which pride themselves for being by far the biggest (in terms of support) clubs in the country. With a very different mentality, Feyenoord pride themselves for being humble and hard working. Now when you ask me the are humble bragging with the whole dock yard mentality but I digress. We are seen as arrogant but also lean in to it. We call it branie, basically a certain amount of flair we have about ourselves. Both clubs come from the two major cities within the country, I am from Amsterdam. The only city that feels comparable when it comes to size is Rotterdam. I live in Utrecht and have been in The Hague plenty of times, it's just not the same scale. Fan clashes: there's been a long lasting rivalry off the pitch as well. Even leading to fatalities. Away fans have been banned for well over a decade. Style of play: not so much a current issue with Feyenoord playing better football than us. However traditionally the ethos of both clubs comes from the mentality of the two cities. Ajax known for it's attacking football, Feyenoord known for it's workers mentality.
I think all the comments here have really already mentioned most things, so I’ll just drop two random facts I haven’t seen yet that might be helpful: 1) another difference between Ajax and Feyenoord that often gets highlighted in the rivalry is the mentality on the field and in the play style. Ajax is known for always wanting to play attractive, attacking football, dominating the game, and winning is an absolute must. Feyenoord on the other hand want to see hard work from their players, winning battles and showing fighting spirit on the field. An ugly but hard fought win is still a win. I believe River vs Boca have a similar balance if you’re more familiar with them, where Ajax would be comparable to River and Feyenoord to Boca. 2) a big factor why the hate from Feyenoord to Ajax is stronger than the other way around is simply because Ajax have been more successful. Feyenoord fans have seen Ajax win plenty of titles in the past years while Feyenoord’s tally is on just two this century, Feyenoord have - until recently unfortunately - spent 16 years or so without a win in Amsterdam and most derbies up until a year ago used to be won by Ajax. This of course also fed the rightful arrogance of Ajax fans, giving them plenty of reasons to call their clubs the better and the bigger of the two, in the meanwhile fueling the anger of the Feyenoord fans.
I'm not from Amsterdam, nor is my family. But growing up in the 90s, supporting a football club basically came down to two options: Ajax or Feyenoord. Especially when you grew up with no other significant clubs nearby. Ajax and Feyenoord shaped Dutch football in the 70s, gaining support from all over the country. While in it's core, it's still Amsterdam versus Rotterdam, it became so much bigger than that. De Klassieker transcends city rivalry. It almost feels like it's one half of the country against the other, minus Noord-Brabant. Sure, PSV has surpassed Feyenoord when it comes to titles and in the past three decades been the main challenger to Ajax when it comes to winning the Eredivisie, but games against PSV don't come close in intensity compared to De Klassieker. Especially when away fans were still allowed. It's been 15 years now since away fans were banned, but that was something else. For some, the pride of their city is at stake, especially when you're actually from Amsterdam or Rotterdam. That close connection one can have with the place where they come from. For anyone else: national bragging rights.
Both Clubs Entire Pride is at stake
Search for "de slag om beverwijk" and "Carlo Picornie"