Derby du Nord
Encyclopedia
The Derby du Nord is a football match contested between French clubs RC Lens
RC Lens
Racing Club de Lens is a French association football club based in the northern city of Lens in the Pas-de-Calais department. Its nickname, sang et or , comes from its traditional colours of red and gold. Their primary rivals are their northern neighbors Lille OSC, whom they contest the Derby du...

 and Lille OSC
Lille OSC
LOSC Lille Métropole is a French association football club based in Lille. The club was founded in 1944 as a result of a merger and currently play in Ligue 1, the first division of French football. Lille plays its home matches at the Stade Lille-Metropole in nearby Villeneuve-d'Ascq. In 2012, the...

, two of region's most successful clubs. The derby has the name despite Lille being the only club of the two situated in the department of Nord. Lens are situated in the southern department of Pas-de-Calais. The name can also refer to matches involving Lille and Valenciennes
Valenciennes FC
Valenciennes Football Club is a French association football club based in Valenciennes. The club was founded in 1913 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top level of French football. Valenciennes plays its home matches at the recently-built Stade du Hainaut located within the city...

 as both clubs are located within Nord, however, the match historically refers to matches involving Lille and Lens. As a result, the Lille–Valenciennes match is sometimes referred to as Le Petit Derby du Nord.

The two clubs first met in 1937 when Lille were playing under the Olympique Lillois
Olympique Lillois
Olympique Lillois was a French association football club from the city of Lille. Founded in 1902 they merged with SC Fives in 1944 to form Lille OSC.-Honours:Championnat de France*Champion : 1933*Runner-up : 1936Trophée de France...

 emblem. Due to each club's close proximity towards each other being separated by only 40 kilometres (24.9 mi) and sociological differences between each club's supporters, a fierce rivalry developed. The Derby du Nord is underpinned by social and economic differences, since the city of Lens
Lens, Pas-de-Calais
Lens is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is one of France's large Picarde cities along with Lille, Valenciennes, Amiens, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Arras, and Douai.-Metropolitan area:...

 is known as an old, working-class, industrial city and Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...

 as a middle-class, modern, internationally-oriented one. Nowadays the matches, which can spark intense feelings on both sides, have gained prominence as they may determine berths in continental competitions.

Head to head record

Last updated: 29 January 2011
Competition Played Lille Draw Lens
French League
French football league system
The French football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for club football in France. At the top two levels of the system is the Ligue de Football Professionnel, which consists of two professional national divisions, Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Below that are a number of leagues run by the...

98 36 31 31
Coupe de France
Coupe de France
The Coupe Charles Simon, commonly known as the Coupe de France , is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation...

9 6 1 2
Coupe de la Ligue
Coupe de la Ligue
The Coupe de la Ligue , known outside of France as the French League Cup, is a knockout cup competition in French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel...

1 0 0 1
Trophée des champions
Trophée des champions
The Trophée des champions , is a French association football trophy contested in an annual match between the champions of Ligue 1 and the winners of the Coupe de France. It is equivalent to the Super Cups found in many countries...

0 0 0 0
Totals 108 42 32 34

External links

Lille OSC Official Site RC Lens Official Site
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