The Abu Dhabi Classico or the Al Classico is the rivalry between Al Ain and Al Wahda. The rivalry was first contested around the mid 1980s and has been the biggest derby in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Al Ain is from the city of Al Ain in the Eastern region of the emirate while Al Wahda is from the city of Abu Dhabi in the Central region. Both clubs are among the most successful teams in the UAE with Al Ain having 36 honours while Al Wahda has 16 honours.

Abu Dhabi Classico
Other namesAl Classico
LocationAbu Dhabi
TeamsAl Ain
Al Wahda
First meeting8 November 1985[1]
Football League
Al Ain 3–3 Al Wahda
Latest meeting20 May 2024
Pro League
Al Wahda 0–2 Al Ain
StadiumsHazza bin Zayed (Al Ain)
Al Nahyan (Al Wahda)
Statistics
Meetings total110 (official matches)
Most winsAl Ain (52)
Top scorerMajid Al Owais (11)

History

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The rivalry between the two clubs stems from the fact that the two teams are the most successful clubs in Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Al Ain established themselves as a top club in Abu Dhabi by winning two Abu Dhabi championships in 1974 and 1975 and later a top club in the country when they won the League title in 1977. Al Wahda's success was limited during that time. The rivalry sparked when the two clubs started exchanging titles around 1997 to 2005, Al Wahda won three titles while Al Ain won five, three out of those eight seasons had both clubs finish at the top two. The 2004–05 season was one the most significant time as Al Wahda won the league title while Al Ain won the president's cup with a 3–1 score line at extra time. Even though Al Ain would win five more league titles while Al Wahda only won once, matches between the two continue to spark major controversies and the two clubs rarely sign players and managers that have represented the other club to this day. During a fixture between the two in March 2022, fighting broke out between fans of both clubs after Al Ain won 1–0. Abu Dhabi police had to arrest several football fans during the incident.[2][3][4]

Background

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Al Ain being from the Eastern region while Al Wahda hails from the city of Abu Dhabi, the two clubs compete to the claim the title of Abu Dhabi's best club. Many argue that this rivalry is the most significant in the country as the two clubs had the longest duel of battling titles from the late 90s to early 2000s, however with teams like Shabab Al Ahli and Al Jazira gaining momentum in recent years, both clubs has shifted their focus away from traditionally competing against each other.[5]

Statistics

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Overview

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As of 20 May 2024[6]
Matches
  Al Ain wins Draws   Al Wahda wins   Al Ain Goals   Al Wahda
110 52 22 36 171 306 135

Head to head

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The below list is since the professional era started in 2008–09.[7]

Matches Wins Draws Goals Home wins Home draws Away wins Other venue wins
AIN WAH AIN WAH AIN WAH AIN WAH AIN WAH AIN WAH
Pro League 31 17 8 6 48 26 10 4 1 5 7 4
President's Cup 1 1 1 1
League Cup 14 5 5 4 15 12 1 3 2 3 3 1 1
Super Cup 1 1 3 3 1
All competitions 47 23 13 11 67 41 12 4 4 7 10 7 2 1
Exhibition games 2 2 6 2 1 1
All matches 49 25 13 11 73 43 13 4 4 7 10 7 3 1

Records

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Results

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Biggest wins

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Result Date Competition
Al Wahda 5–1 Al Ain 1986 Pro League
Al Ain 4–1 Al Wahda 19 January 1998
Al Ain 5–3 Al Wahda 30 October 2002
Al Wahda 4–1 Al Ain 14 December 2005
Al Wahda 4–3 Al Ain 16 May 2008
Al Ain 4–2 Al Wahda 25 April 2009
Al Ain 4–0 Al Wahda 10 December 2014
Al Ain 6–2 Al Wahda 1 March 2018
Al Wahda 0–4 Al Ain 12 March 2021
Al Wahda 0–3 Al Ain 10 March 2023
Al Wahda 1–4 Al Ain 2 March 2012 League Cup
Al Ain 3–0 Al Wahda 9 September 2013
Al Wahda 5–1 Al Ain 16 February 2018
Al Wahda 4–1 Al Ain 1986 Federation Cup
Al Wahda 4–0 Al Ain 11 November 1999
Al Wahda 1–4 Al Ain 27 February 2006

Most goals in a match

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Goals Result Date Competition
8 Al Ain 5–3 Al Wahda 30 October 2002 Pro League
Al Ain 6–2 Al Wahda 1 March 2018
7 Al Wahda 4–3 Al Ain 16 May 2008

Players

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As of 20 May 2024

Goalscoring

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Top goalscorers
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  • Does not include friendly matches.[8]
Rank Player Club Goals
1   Majid Al Owais Al Ain 11
2    Sebastián Tagliabúe Al Wahda 8
3   Kodjo Laba Al Ain 5
  Ismail Matar Al Wahda
  Mohamed Al-Shehhi Al Wahda
  Mohammed Salem Al Wahda
7   Soufiane Rahimi Al Ain 4
  Marcus Berg Al Ain
  Asamoah Gyan Al Ain
  Sultan Rashed Al Ain
  Abdulrahim Jumaa Al Wahda
  Abdulsalam Jumaa Al Wahda
  Subait Khater Al Ain
13   Caio Lucas Al Ain 3
  Balázs Dzsudzsák Al Wahda
  Ibrahim Diaky Al Ain
  Haider Alo Ali Al Wahda
  Slaviša Mitrović Al Wahda
  Lamin Conteh Al Wahda
  Gharib Harib Al Ain
  Mohammad Omar Al Ain
  Arthur Moses Al Ain
  Fahed Masoud Al Wahda
  Salem Johar Al Ain
  Ahmed Abdullah Al Ain

Hat-tricks

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only 2 players have scored a hat-trick in Classico matches.[8][9]

No. Player For Total
1   Salem Johar Al Ain 1
2   Ahmed Abdullah Al Ain 1

Double[1]

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No. Player For Total
1   Majid Al Owais Al Ain 3
1   Alecsandro Al Wahda 1
1   Soufiane Alloudi Al Ain 1
1   André Dias Al Ain 1
1   Matar Coly Al Wahda 1
1   Ali Msarri Al Ain 1
1   Mohammad Omar Al Ain 1
1   Arthur Moses Al Ain 1
1   Mohammed Salem Al Wahda 1
1   Saeed Ashour Al Ain 1
1   Matar Al Sahbani Al Ain 1

Notes

  • Not including friendly matches.

General performances

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General information

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Al Ain Al Wahda
Club name after establishment Al Ain Sports Club Al Wahda Sports and Cultural Club
Founding date 1 August 1968 3 June 1984
Stadium Hazza bin Zayed Al Nahyan
Capacity 25,053 15,894
Number of seasons in Pro League (never been relegated) 47 37
Most goals scored in a season in La Liga 74 (2012–13) 75 (2004–05)
Most points in a season in La Liga 65 (2021–22) 65 (1998–99)
Number of the Double wins
(Pro League and President's Cup)
1[note 1] 0
Number of the Double wins
(Pro League and AFC Champions League)
1[note 2] 0
Number of the Treble wins
(Pro League, President's Cup and AFC Champions League)
0[note 3] 0

Honours

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  •    Numbers with this background indicate the record in the competition.
Al Ain Competition Al Wahda
Domestic
14 Pro League 4
7 President's Cup 2
5 Federation Cup (defunct) / League Cup 6
5 Super Cup 4
Minor
2 Abu Dhabi Championship (defunct)
1 Joint League (defunct)
34 Total 16
Regional
1 GCC Champions League
1 Emirati-Moroccan Super Cup
2 Total 0
Asia
2 AFC Champions League
2 Total 0
38 Grand total 16

Shared players and managers

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Players

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The number of players that have played for both clubs are limited with the exception of a few local veterans. Only four foreign players have played for both clubs so far.

Saeed Al-Kathiri is the only player to score for and against both clubs.

Al Ain, then Al Wahda

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Player Al Ain career Al Wahda career
Span League
apps
League
goals
Span League
apps
League
goals
  Mutaz Abdulla 1998–2009 212 0 2009–2012 24 0
  Fares Jumaa 2007–2015 77 6 2020–present 56 3
  Jorge Valdivia 2008–2010 25 12 2015–2017 34 8
  Mohammed Al-Dhahri 2010–2015 18 0 2015–2018 28 0
  Salem Sultan 2013 0 0 2013–2019 55 1
  Rashed Muhayer 2013–2019 31 0 2020–2022 14 0
  Lee Myung-joo 2014–2017 70 5 2020–2022 37 3
  Cristian Guanca 2021–2022 25 8 2023–2024 9 2

Al Wahda, then Al Ain

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Player Al Wahda career Al Ain career
Span League
apps
League
goals
Span League
apps
League
goals
  Yasser Matar 2006–2009 5 1 2016 5 0
  Saeed Al-Kathiri 2006–2014 70 13 2015–2017 44 9
  Yaqoub Al Hosani 2009–2012 35 0 2012–2013 12 0
  Balázs Dzsudzsák 2016–2018 43 13 2020 4 1

Managers

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So far, Tite is the only coach to have represented both clubs, briefly managing Al Ain in 2007 and Al Wahda in 2010, his time at both clubs was cut short, getting sacked quickly at Al Ain due to disagreements with the club while at Al Wahda, he would sign for his former club Corinthians.

Manager Al Ain career Al Wahda career
Span G W D L Win % Span G W D L Win %
  Tite 2007 9 4 2 3 44.44 2010 5 2 3 0 40

Notes

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  1. ^ 2017–18
  2. ^ 2002–03
  3. ^ In 2002–03 Al Ain won the (Pro League, Super Cup and AFC Champions League), but Supercups don't count for treble

References

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  1. ^ a b "الوحدة والعين في الـكلاسيكو 50 الليلة". aletihad.ae. Retrieved 2024-06-18.
  2. ^ Salam Al Amir (13 March 2022). "Arrests ordered after fighting breaks out during Al Ain and Al Wahda game". The National. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  3. ^ "الوحدة يقهر العين بثلاثية في كلاسيكو أبوظبي". 15 October 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2022.
  4. ^ "العين و الوحدة الكلاسيكو الإماراتي". Al Ittihad. Retrieved 15 April 2005.
  5. ^ "كلاسيكو الإمارات". Al Arabiya. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
  6. ^ "H2H Comparison - Al Ain vs. Al Wahda - Teams". Soccerway. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  7. ^ "Head to Head stats". UAEProLeague.ae. Retrieved 2024-06-15.
  8. ^ a b "الكلاسيكو 45 بين العين والوحدة الليلة". aletihad.ae. Retrieved 2024-06-17.
  9. ^ "hatrick". FootballUAE.net. Archived from the original on 27 June 2002. Retrieved 17 June 2024.