Casablanca derby

The Casablanca Derby (ديربي الدارالبيضاء) is the football match in Morocco between Casablanca rivals Raja Club Athletic and Wydad Athletic Club. Traditionally played in the Stade Mohamed V, it is considered as one of the fiercest derbies in the world.

Since the beginning of Botola, the two teams have never been relegated and have always played each other every season whether in the league or in Throne Cup. They faced each other outside of national competitions once, during the 2019 Arab Cup of Champion Clubs. This duel is accentuated by a social dimension; Wydad is closer to the bourgeoisie class, while Raja is more popular since it has always been associated to the Moroccan trade union from which many of its founders and presidents belong. However, these ideological differences have faded over time and supporters of the two clubs now come from different social backgrounds.

The post 1980s period is marked by a rivalry in performance and prestige. It intensified even more over in the 2000s with the emergence of ultras groups. The Casablanca Derby is considered to be the football pinnacle in the Kingdom, due to its number of matches which exceeded the 150 in 2022, making it the most played confrontation in Moroccan football history, and the enthusiasm of the supporters who attach particular importance to it since it represents the opposition of the most popular and successful clubs in Morocco.

The top scorer in the history of the Casablanca Derby is Said Ghandi with 7 goals, followed by Mohsine Moutouali and Mouhcine Iajour with six goals each.

History
Wydad have historically been seen as more middle-class and privileged thanks to the one-time backing of King Mohammed V before his death in 1961. Wydad Casablanca has historically been associated with the Moroccan monarchy due to its close ties with the Moroccan royal family. The club's colors, red and white, are also said to symbolize the Moroccan monarchy.

Raja Casablanca, on the other hand, has traditionally been associated with leftist and populist politics. The club was founded in 1949 by a group of leftist activists and intellectuals who wanted to create a team that represented the working class. The club's colors, green and white, are said to symbolize the hope and renewal of the Moroccan people.

Incidents and memorable matches
As in most of the world's derbies, riots and fights can take place before, during and especially after a major game.

On February 10, 1957, the first meeting took place between the two rivals, and witnessed Raja's victory 1–0 at Stade Philip in Casablanca.

In 1978, Raja players withdrew from the match against Wydad during the last 10 minutes of the second-half because they were mistreated after conceding a penalty with a red card to their goalkeeper. Raja players did not accept the referee's decision and left the stadium by order of their captain Mohamed Fakhir, while Pitchou sat on the ball and waited with passion to score this penalty but Raja players refused to continue the match. The game ended by a score of 1–0 for Wydad.

In 1996, Raja defeated Wydad 5–1 in the Moroccan Throne Cup quarts-finals. This score is the highest between the two rivals.

On April 6, 2001, Wydad initially won 3–0, but Raja complained about the illegal participation of the substitute Abdelhaq Ait Laarif who was registered with both Wydad and Étoile de Casablanca. The Moroccan federation accorded the win to Raja.

On September 29, 2001, during the 100th derby which was part of the semifinals for the Moroccan Throne Cup, Youssef Belkhouja, a Wydad player, died on the pitch of a heart attack.

On 24 May 2006, there was a fierce competition between the two rivals to clinch the league title. Raja scored first with a penalty by Abdellatif Jrindou, that result would have given Raja the title; but at the end of the match (at the 90+6 minute), a staggering strike from a long distance by Hicham Louissi gave Wydad the draw needed to win the league for the 16th time after 13 years of the last cup.

On October 20, 2007, during an encounter between rival team supporters, Hamza Eddali, a Wydad fan who was 17, died. He is to date the last person killed in the Casablanca derby.

On April 18, 2010, after Raja beat Wydad with a score of 1–0, a fight broke out between Wydad and Raja fans. Over one hundred people were arrested.

In 2012, Wydad requested the FIFA and Royal Moroccan Football Federation to count the 5 titles that the club won in the regional championship organized during the Colonial Era in Morocco by french authorities before the creation of the Moroccan federation in 1956 as Botola titles. Their request was accepted and so, increased Wydad's Botola titles from 12 to 17. Wydad is the only club in Morocco to have their titles from the colonial era (before 1956) admitted by the FIFA.

On November 2019, the two rivals met in the second round of the Arab Club Championship. This was the first time that the derby took place in a non-local competition. The first game ended 1–1, with Wydad leading by away goals. The second leg was one of if not the most epic match in derby history, with Wydad going up 4–1 with 15 minutes to play and Raja coming back to score in the 94th minute to make it 4–4, with Raja progressing on away goals. This is the record for most combined goals in derby history but the match is also notable for its extraordinary atmosphere, with numerous Tifos being displayed and fireworks and flares going off throughout the match, the latter of which there were so many it looked at times that the stands were on fire.

Key

 * Colors

Botola
These are the meetings in the Botola

Throne Cup
These are the meetings in the Moroccan Throne Cup

Arab Club Champions Cup
These are the meetings in the Arab Club Champions Cup

Honours
Wydad leads Raja in terms of OFFICIAL overall trophies. Wydad has 17 domestic league titles compared to 13 for Raja, while both have three titles in the CAF Champions League. Wydad has six continental titles and Raja has nine continental titles.

Players
The first players to move from Raja to Wydad and back were Abdulaziz Anini and Ezzeddine Abdel-Rafi in 1973.


 * Raja then Wydad


 * 1965: 🇲🇦 Abdallah Azhar
 * 1967: 🇲🇦 Mustapha Milazzo
 * 1969: 🇲🇦 Moussa Hanoun
 * 1973: 🇲🇦 Mohamed Maâroufi
 * 1973: 🇲🇦 Azzeddine Abderrafii
 * 1975: 🇲🇦 Moustapha Choukri
 * 1980: 🇲🇦 Aziz Kharbouch
 * 1981: 🇲🇦 Jawad El Andaloussi
 * 1981: 🇲🇦 Mohamed Fennani
 * 1983: 🇲🇦 Abdellatif Beggar
 * 1983: 🇲🇦 Jawad Chennaoui
 * 1987: 🇲🇦 Faouzi Kadmiri
 * 1998: 🇲🇦 Nabil Okba
 * 2003: 🇲🇦 Adil Serraj
 * 2004: 🇲🇦 Zakaria Aboub
 * 2004: 🇲🇦 Mourad Fellah
 * 2008: 🇲🇦 Mustapha Bidoudane
 * 2009: 🇲🇦 Mohamed Armoumen
 * 2010: 🇲🇦 Mouhssine Iajour
 * 2011: 🇲🇦 Said Fettah
 * 2011: 🇲🇦 Hicham El Amrani
 * 2012: 🇲🇦 Omar Najdi
 * 2012: 🇲🇦 Anas El Asbahi
 * 2017: 🇲🇦 Zakaria El Hachimi
 * 2018: Michael Babatunde
 * 2022: 🇲🇦 Hamid Ahadad
 * 2023: 🇲🇦 Jamal Harkass


 * Wydad then Raja


 * 1949: 🇲🇦 Abdelkader Jalal
 * 1957: 🇲🇦 Mohamed Beggar
 * 1963: 🇲🇦 Mustapha Bettache
 * 1965: 🇲🇦 Abdelkader Bozambo
 * 1973: 🇲🇦 Abdelaziz Anini
 * 1974: 🇲🇦 Mohammed Sahraoui
 * 1989: 🇲🇦 Mohammed Sahil
 * 1989: 🇲🇦 Mustapha Bark
 * 1990: 🇲🇦 Hassan Hirs
 * 1992: 🇲🇦 Mustapha El Gherchi
 * 1992: 🇲🇦 Khalil Azmi
 * 2006: 🇲🇦 Khalid Fouhami
 * 2009: 🇲🇦 Youness Bellakhder
 * 2010: 🇲🇦 Tarik El Jarmouni
 * 2010: 🇲🇦 Zakaria Ismaili
 * 2011: 🇲🇦 Abdelhaq Ait Laarif
 * 2012: 🇲🇦 Abdelmajid Eddine
 * 2014: 🇲🇦 Jawad Issine
 * 2014: Lys Mouithys
 * 2015: 🇲🇦 Youssef Kaddioui
 * 2017: 🇲🇦 Abdeladim Khadrouf
 * 2021: 🇲🇦 Mohammed Nahiri
 * 2022: 🇲🇦 Haitam El Bahja

Managers

 * Raja then Wydad


 * ?: 🇲🇦 Abdelhak El Kadmiri
 * ?: 🇲🇦 Abderrahman Mahjoub
 * ?: 🇲🇦 Abdelkader Lakhmiri
 * ?: 🇧🇬 Dobromir Tashkov
 * 1997: Alexandru Moldovan
 * 2002: 🇦🇷 Oscar Fulloné
 * 2018: 🇹🇳 Faouzi Benzarti
 * 2020: 🇪🇸 Juan Carlos Garrido
 * Wydad then Raja


 * 1956: 🇲🇦 Kacem Kacemi
 * 1957: 🇲🇦 Père Jégo
 * 1981: 🇲🇦 Mustapha Bettache
 * 2001: 🇺🇦 Yuriy Sevastyanenko
 * 2008: José Romão