Eternal derby (Macedonian: Вечно дерби), also known as the Macedonia derby (Macedonian: Македонско дерби), is the name given to matches between the two most popular clubs from North Macedonia, the Skopje-based FK Vardar and Bitola-based FK Pelister,[1] supported by Komiti and Čkembari respectively, with fans at times infamously engaging in hooliganism during the derby.[2][3]
| Other names | Вечно дерби Македонско дерби |
|---|---|
| Location |  North Macedonia(Skopje and Bitola) |
| Teams | Vardar Pelister |
| First meeting | 5 August 1990 (official) |
| Latest meeting | Vardar 1–1 Pelister (Macedonian Second League) (9 May 2023) |
| Stadiums | Toše Proeski Arena (Vardar) Petar Miloševski (Pelister) |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 78 |
| Most wins | Vardar (42) |
| Largest victory | Vardar 7–0 Pelister (8 May 1996) |
          Vardar |    Pelister |
The rivalry can be traced back to the 1989–90 season and a match in Skopje, between FK Vardar and Red Star Belgrade. A conflict occurred between the "Skopje fans" and a few Bitola fans who went to cheer for Vardar, who at that time was the most popular Macedonian football club in the former Yugoslavia. On 5 August 1990 in Bitola, Pelister and Vardar met in the Yugoslav second league and the first incident occurred. From that day forward, started the big rivalry between Komiti and Chkembari along with the Vardar-Pelister match becoming the Eternal derby of Macedonia.
However, the rivalry is playing at the stands but not much at the ground because Vardar there are many more honours than a rival from Bitola. In a present time there is a small number of attendance and Pelister were many times and Vardar once relegated to the Macedonian Second League so the rivalry has lost its formerly importance.[4] As of May 2018[update], there have been 68 derbies played in total since the establishment of the Macedonian championship in 1992, with Vardar winning 38 and Pelister 14 games, while 16 matches ended in a draw.
Statistics
The records does not include the awarded matches and a matches decided by a one goal difference.
Head-to-head
| Competition | Played | Vardar wins | Draws | Pelister wins | Vardar goals | Pelister goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yugoslav championship (1990–1992) | ||||||
| First League | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 |
| Second League | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Yugoslavia totals | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| Macedonian championship (1992–present) | ||||||
| First League | 58 | 30 | 16 | 12 | 89 | 63 |
| Second League | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Macedonian Cup | 14 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 21 | 11 |
| Macedonia totals | 72 | 38 | 19 | 14 | 110 | 74 |
| All Time | 78 | 42 | 20 | 16 | 120 | 79 |
Last updated on 9 May 2023.
Records
Official match results
Key
- Colors
Vardar win
Draw
Pelister win
- Competitions
- SF = Semi-finals
- QF = Quarter-finals
- R16 = Round of 16
Results
| Season | Competition | Date | Home team | Result | Away team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–08 | First League | 11 October 2007 | Vardar | 1–0 | Pelister |
| 16 March 2008 | Pelister | 2–1 | Vardar | ||
| 26 April 2008 | Vardar | 1–3 | Pelister | ||
| 2008–09 | First League | 23 August 2008 | Vardar | 3–0 | Pelister |
| 16 November 2008 | Pelister | 0–0 | Vardar | ||
| 12 April 2009 | Pelister | 0–0 | Vardar | ||
| 2009–10 | First League | 25 October 2009 | Pelister | 1–0 | Vardar |
| 21 March 2010 | Vardar | 1–0 | Pelister | ||
| 28 March 2010 | Pelister | 1–0 | Vardar | ||
| 2010–11 | First League | 28 August 2010 | Vardar | 1–0 | Pelister |
| 27 November 2010 | Pelister | 1–2 | Vardar | ||
| 21 May 2011 | Pelister | 1–0 | Vardar | ||
| 2012–13 | First League | 30 September 2012 | Vardar | 3–1 | Pelister |
| Macedonian Cup QF | 7 November 2012 | Pelister | 0–1 | Vardar | |
| 21 November 2012 | Vardar | 2–0 | Pelister | ||
| First League | 6 March 2013 | Pelister | 0–0 | Vardar | |
| 13 April 2013 | Vardar | 0–1 | Pelister | ||
| 2013–14 | First League | 6 October 2013 | Pelister | 1–2 | Vardar |
| 9 March 2014 | Vardar | 1–1 | Pelister | ||
| 23 April 2014 | Vardar | 0–0 | Pelister | ||
| 2014–15 | First League | 3 August 2014 | Pelister | 0–1 | Vardar |
| 4 October 2014 | Vardar | 1–0 | Pelister | ||
| 22 March 2015 | Vardar | 1–1 | Pelister | ||
| 2015–16 | Macedonian Cup R165 | 30 September 2015 | Vardar | 4–1 | Pelister |
| 21 October 2015 | Pelister | 0–2 | Vardar | ||
| 2016–17 | First League | 28 September 2016 | Vardar | 1–1 | Pelister |
| 30 November 2016 | Pelister | 0–1 | Vardar | ||
| 9 April 2017 | Vardar | 3–1 | Pelister | ||
| 28 May 2017 | Pelister | 2–3 | Vardar | ||
| 2017–18 | First League | 24 September 2017 | Pelister | 0–1 | Vardar |
| 19 November 2017 | Vardar | 1–0 | Pelister | ||
| 1 April 2018 | Pelister | 0–0 | Vardar | ||
| 13 May 2018 | Vardar | 2–3 | Pelister | ||
| 2020–21 | First League | 4 October 2020 | Pelister | 1–1 | Vardar |
| 21 February 2021 | Vardar | 2–2 | Pelister | ||
| 4 April 2021 | Pelister | 2–0 | Vardar | ||
| 2021–22 | Macedonian Cup QF6 | 15 December 2021 | Pelister | 0–07 | Vardar |
| 2022–23 | Second League | 3 December 2022 | Pelister | 2–2 | Vardar |
| 9 May 2023 | Vardar | 1–1 | Pelister |
1 Vardar won 4–2 on penalties and won the one point.
2 Match suspended after 45 minutes (score: 0–0) due to the crowd trouble. Vardar were awarded a 0–3 win.
3 Match suspended before the kick-off due to the crowd trouble when Čkembari burned seats, collapsed the protective fence and clashed with the police. Vardar were awarded a 0–3 win.
4 The 2000–01 Macedonian Cup quarter-final tie was won by Pelister on away goals rule.
5 Pelister was played in the Second League in that season.
6 Vardar was played in the Second League in that season.
7 Pelister won 3–2 on penalties.
Players who have played for both clubs (senior career)
Players who have scored for both clubs in the derby
- Dejan Blazhevski (4 goals, 2 for Pelister and 2 for Vardar)
- Saša Ćirić (2 goals, 1 for Pelister and 1 for Vardar)
- Mile Dimov (2 goals, 1 for Pelister and 1 for Vardar)
Managers who have worked at both clubs
- Boban Babunski
- Ilija Dimoski
- Kiril Dojchinovski
- Perica Gruevski
- Gjoko Hadjievski
- Alekso Mackov
- Gorazd Mihajlov
Honours
These are the major football honours of Vardar and Pelister.
| Competition | Vardar | Pelister |
|---|---|---|
| Yugoslav Championship (1947–1992) | 0(1) | 0 |
| Macedonian Championship (1992–present) | 11 | 0 |
| Yugoslav Cup (1947–1992) | 1 | 0 |
| Macedonian Cup (1992–present) | 5 | 2 |
| Macedonian Supercup (2011–2015) | 2 | 0 |
| Total | 19(20) | 2 |
Head-to-head league ranking
The table lists the place each team took in each of the seasons.
| P. | 91 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 21 | 23 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | 2 | 2 | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | 3 | 3 | 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||||||||
| 5th | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | 8 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | 9 | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 11th | 11 | 11 | 11 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12th | 12 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15th | 15 |
Key
| Vardar | |
| Pelister |
Source: rsssf.org
References
External links
- Macedonian derbies article on MacedonianFootball.com