Rivalry is everywhere in football, whether individual battles on the pitch, boardroom politics, regional or national quarrels, or fighting for silverware. Such conflicts have sparked countless discussions regarding which are the ‘best and biggest’ fixtures in the global game, but those involving teams from the same city exhibit a particular intensity, both on and off the pitch.
Divided Cities: The World’s Most Passionate Single City Derbies is a game-by-game account of the good, bad, indifferent but always eventful experiences journeying to 11 same-city derbies most regularly cited as the most prominent in the world. Enjoying some of the most wonderful cities across the globe, delving into the rich histories of clubs and meeting the people that live and breathe every moment.
Very much a labour of love, it does not aim to glorify the violence or animosity between ultra groups, although stumbling into some tricky situations, but will give those who have maybe always thought about embarking on one of these trips inspiration to embark on their own journeys.
Italian Serie A rivalries in Divided Cities: The World’s Most Passionate Single City Derbies
Divided Cities: The World’s Most Passionate Single City Derbies, written by Total Italian Football co-founder Kevin Pogorzelski takes a close-up look at some of the standout single-city derbies in the world, and naturally there is Italian representation.
Kevin Pogorzelski has travelled extensively experiencing and writing about football around the world, but with a specific focus on the Italian game, after being captivated by the 1990 World Cup. For more than a decade, Kevin has covered matches and penned analysis and opinion articles for the websites Forza Italian Football and Total Italian Football, as well contributing pieces for a number of other outlets and being a weekly host on the Total Italian Football Podcast.
In his debut book, he opted to provide readers with in-depth insight into the Derby della Lanterna between Genoa and Sampdoria, as well as the Derby della Capitale between AS Roma and Lazio.
“Although planning not to include more than one single-city rivalry per country, it was impossible to ignore one of Rome or Genoa given their prominence amongst the biggest in world football,” Pogorzelski explained, justifying his choice of Italian derbies.
You can buy Divided Cities: The World’s Most Passionate Single City Derbies in paperback here.
