The is the

local derby A sports rivalry is intense competition between athletic teams or athletes, affecting participants, management, and supporters all to varying degrees. One of the first known sports rivalries occurred in the Roman Empire between the Blues and th ...

in Saitama,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, between fierce city rivals

Urawa Red Diamonds The or simply Urawa Reds (浦和レッズ, ''Urawa Rezzu''), also known as Mitsubishi Urawa Football Club from April 1992 to January 1996, are a professional association football, football club in the city of Saitama (city), Saitama, part of t ...

and RB Omiya Ardija.

History

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries SC was founded in 1950 by the employees of

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the prede ...

in Kobe, and Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Kanto SC was founded in 1969 by the employees of

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone (NTT) is a Japanese telecommunications holding company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Ranked 55th in ''Fortune'' Global 500, NTT is the fourth largest telecommunications company in the world in terms of revenue, as well as the third largest pu ...

in Urawa. Mitsubishi SC moved to Tokyo in 1958, and was sold to group company

Mitsubishi Motors is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.

in 1990. Mitsubishi and NTT Kanto first faced each other in 1987 but at the time it was a match between clubs from Tokyo and Saitama and not a derby match, and they had to wait until 1996 for their first Saitama derby. Mitsubishi moved to Urawa that the same place as NTT Kanto in 1992 and went professional as

, and NTT Kanto moved to Omiya in 1998 and went professional as

Omiya Ardija is a Japanese professional association football club based in Ōmiya-ku, Saitama, Ōmiya, Saitama Prefecture. Its "hometown" (as designated by the league) is shared with neighbours Urawa Red Diamonds. The team currently play in J2 League, the ...

. The cities of Urawa and Omiya merged to form the city of Saitama in 2001. The Saitama derby is known as one of the most intense derby matches in Japan. The stronger rivalry between Urawa and Omiya began with Omiya's promotion to the 2005 J.League Division 1. On the 17 July 2016 derby, the Omiya's ultras displayed insulting banners for Urawa. On the 30 April 2017 derby, the Urawa's ultras kicked the buffer zone fence, destroyed the mesh covering and threw objects onto the pitch after the defeat.

Honours

Statistics

Matches

J1 League

J2 League

Emperor's Cup

J.League Cup

Goalscorers

Players who played for both clubs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saitama derby Football derbies in Japan Urawa Red Diamonds Omiya Ardija