The Knowledge: The Longest Derby, Double Title Winners, and FA Cup Anomalies

Carlisle and Barrow will play each other next season in the Cumbrian derby in the National League, writes Peter Hutchinson. The clubs are located at opposite ends of Cumbria and the distance between the two grounds is some 78 miles by car. Does this make it the greatest distance between two teams involved in a derby?

A couple of clarifications: answers here will feature the shortest distances by car. The second, perhaps more important, point is that we are excluding matches that are simply rivalries. Specifically, we are looking for matches between teams that are linked based upon their proximity or geography, rather than, say, a ‘clásico’ between Real Madrid and Barcelona, which is essentially a historical rivalry in which the distance between the two teams is largely irrelevant.

Within the UK, the Cumbrian derby certainly looks the furthest derby by distance. If we are staying in England, the closest we can get to 78 miles is the A49 derby between Shrewsbury Town and Hereford United, separated by 51 miles, although it should be said that the two teams have not met since the latter was dissolved in 2014. Hereford FC, the phoenix club currently in the National League North, are widely seen as the same club as Hereford United.

In England, thoughts immediately go to Crystal Palace and Brighton, dubbed the M23 derby, but a quick search reveals that Selhurst Park is a mere 46 miles from the Amex Stadium. It is also 46 miles that separate the stadiums of Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City, the Devon derby. Just behind are Ipswich and Norwich – the East Anglian derby – with Portman Road and Carrow Road 45 miles apart. It is something of a stretch but one could classify AFC Wimbledon v MK Dons as a derby. The distance from Plough Lane to Stadium MK is 60 miles by car.

Farther afield, we must mention the derby between Persib Bandung and Persija Jakarta, who take part in the Indonesia derby, or Laga Klasikal as it is locally known, with Persib’s Gelora Bandung Lautan Api Stadium lying 108 miles away from Persija’s Jakarta International Stadium in Indonesia’s capital.

Italy is fertile ground for a host of famous derbies. There is the Derby d’Italia between Milan and Juventus, with 85 miles separating San Siro and Juve’s Allianz Arena. The Derby dell’Appennino, named after the mountain range that separates Bologna and Florence, has 64 miles between the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium and Fiorentina’s Artemio Franchi Stadium. The Derby di Sicilia between Palermo and Catania spans 134 miles across the breadth of Sicily, while the Derby delle Isole between Palermo and Sardinian club Cagliari goes even further – a full 250 miles across the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Our winner, though, comes from New Zealand’s North Island. With Auckland FC only entering the A-League Men in 2024-25, the New Zealand derby between themselves and Wellington Phoenix is still very much in its infancy. In February, just the sixth edition of the derby, a comical own goal from Wellington goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi sparked a 5-0 thrashing by Auckland, prompting Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano to resign immediately after the defeat. With 386 miles between the two grounds, the NZD is our clear winner.

Can you find a derby based on proximity or geography with teams more than 386 miles apart? Emails to the usual place: [email protected].

Double winners

Deji Elerewe has won the title with both Bromley and Lincoln this season. Has any other player managed the same feat? asks Anthony Hall. We covered this answer 10 years ago, but regular contributor Dirk Maas has come in clutch with some additions, limiting his search to the top five leagues in Europe in this century.

Different league levels in the same country in the same season: Jonas Urbig with Köln and Bayern Munich in 2024-25.

Different league levels in different countries in the same season: Leigh Griffiths with Celtic and Wolverhampton in 2013-14.

Same league levels in different countries in the same season: Urby Emanuelson with Ajax and Milan in 2010-11; Daniel Amartey with Leicester City and FC Copenhagen in 2015-16; Timothy Weah with Paris Saint-Germain and Celtic in 2018-19; Antoine Bernède with PSG and RB Salzburg in 2018-19; Leandro Paredes with Zenit St Petersburg and PSG in 2018-19; Álvaro Odriozola with Real Madrid and Bayern in 2019-20; Takumi Minamino with RB Salzburg and Bayern in 2019-2020; João Cancelo with Manchester City and Bayern Munich 2022-23; Tajon Buchanan with Club Brugge and Inter in 2023-24; Khvicha Kvaratskhelia with Napoli and PSG in 2024-25; Sacha Boey with Bayern and Galatasaray in 2025-26.

Easy street

Chelsea faced only one Premier League team, Leeds United, en route to the FA Cup final. Has any team reached the final without facing a top-flight team? wonders Jeremy Cartwright. This did happen, and in one of the most iconic cup finals ever, replies Mykola Kozlenko. Yes, the 1923 ‘white horse’ FA Cup final featured a team with such an achievement. West Ham, themselves a second-tier side, had only lower-league opponents on their way to the final. The same happened to Les Herbiers in the 2017-18 Coupe de France final. Themselves a third-tier side, Les Herbiers did not meet a Ligue 1 side before facing PSG in the final.

Millwall did it during their run to the 2004 FA Cup final, beating Walsall, Telford United, Burnley, Tranmere Rovers and Sunderland along the way, adds Phil Benton.