The idea of a soccer "derby" eluded me when I was younger. Not only because I heard it as a
"dArby", but also because American announcers would always make a point to distance it from our
petty little rivalries in the US. Derbies are a rivalry, but fueled by years of bad blood and
proximity - where immense soccer fervor allowed multiple teams to pop up within a few miles of each
other.
El descenso del West Ham de la Premier League hace que regrese ésta temporada uno de los
clásicos más apasionantes del futbol mundial aunque probablemente es más conocido por la
rivalidad fuera del campo que dentro del mismo. Una fecha marcada en el calendario de toda
Inglaterra: Millwall recibe este fin de semana por la séptima fecha del Championship inglés –la
segunda categoría- a los Hammers en el The Den Stadium.
Bobby Robson, manager of Ipswich in 1978, said of Millwall fans after fights erupted throughout
The Den during an FA Cup match, "They [the police] should have turned the flamethrowers on them."
When you consider the history of Millwall supporters, that could be construed as a compliment.
It would exhaust too much time and effort to recount the past of Millwall FC supporters, but in
short, they were some of the worst torchbearers of English hooliganism in the 1970′s.
