South Indian Derby
The South Indian Derby, also known as the Southern Derby or Southern Rivalry or Deccan Trivalry, is the name given to a football derby contested by any two of the three professional football clubs from South India—Bengaluru FC, Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters FC. The geographical proximity of the clubs contributes significantly to the rivalries. Along with this, the competition between the West Block Blues and Manjappada—the fan clubs of Bengaluru FC and the Blasters respectively—intensifies the rivalry among those two clubs.
Bengaluru was founded in 2013; the Blasters and Chennaiyin were founded one year later. The first South Indian Derby was in 2014, when Kerala and Chennaiyin first met in the inaugural season of the Indian Super League. Bengaluru joined the Indian Super League in 2017, playing in the same division with the Blasters and Chennaiyin for the first time. They played their first Southern Derby against Chennaiyin FC on 17 December 2017, and played their first match against the Kerala Blasters on 31 December 2017.
History
Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu are the three among the five states from South India that also shares their borders. Kerala Blasters is based in Kochi, in Kerala's west; Chennaiyin FC is based in Chennai, in Tamil Nadu's north east; Bengaluru FC is based in Bengaluru, in Karnataka's south east.Though Hyderabad FC, located in Telangana, geopolitically a South Indian state, the club was generally not considered in the derby because of its location and it being a relatively new club in the league. They later shifted their base to Delhi.
Bengaluru FC was founded in July 2013 as a direct entrant to play in the 2013-14 I League season. Concurrently, there were plans to start a new tournament between eight new clubs; the ISL was officially launched on 21 October 2013 by IMG–Reliance, Star Sports, and the All India Football Federation. Kerala Blasters and Chennaiyin FC were founded in 2014 as the league's only South Indian clubs. The first official South Indian Derby took place on 21 October 2014 at Marina Arena where Chennaiyin won the match 2–1 against Kerala Blasters. However, the rivalry between Chennaiyin and Blasters took shape in December 2014, when the Blasters defeated Chennaiyin 4–3 on aggregate in the semifinals to enter the 2014 season final. In 2017, the AIFF approved the proposition to simultaneously run the ISL and I-League in the short–term, with the ISL to become Indian football's top tier in the near future. As part of a league expansion, the ISL's organizers accepted bids for two new teams in the 2017–18 Indian Super League season; Bengaluru FC won the bid for one of the slots. For the first time, South India's three dominant clubs competed in India's top football league; a new derby atmosphere developed, similar to that of the Kolkata Derby.
Bengaluru FC v Chennaiyin FC
Bengaluru and Chennaiyin first met on 17 December 2017 at Sree Kanteerava Stadium, the home ground of Bengaluru FC, with the match ending 1–2 in favour of Chennaiyin. They met face-to-face three times that season; the last occasion was in the finals of 2017–18 Indian Super League season, where Chennaiyin defeated Bengaluru 2–3, thereby clinching their second Indian Super League title. Since then, both teams' fans had started to develop a rivalry. The rivalry between fans and players grew more intense when the fans of Chennaiyin FC displayed a controversial banner speaking out about Raphael Augusto, when he left Chennaiyin to play for Bengaluru during the 2019–20 Indian Super League season. Since the fans' first confrontation, a match between Bengaluru FC and Chennaiyin FC is one of the most awaited in the Southern Derby.By competition
| Competition | Played | Bengaluru wins | Drawn | Chennaiyin wins | Bengaluru goals | Chennaiyin goals |
| Indian Super League | 17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 29 | 16 |
| Total | 17 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 29 | 16 |
Full list of results
Note: Not included friendly matches.
Bengaluru FC v Kerala Blasters FC
Kerala Blasters and Bengaluru FC first met on 31 December 2017, with Bengaluru winning the match 3–1. However, the rivalry between the Blasters and Bengaluru is a unique one in Indian football as it developed even before the pair played against each other. The rivalry originates from the competition between both clubs' fan bases—Manjappada of the Blasters and Bengaluru's West Block Blues. When Bengaluru FC joined the Indian Super League in 2017, it was also announced that C. K. Vineeth and Rino Anto, who both played for Kerala Blasters in 2016 season on loan from Bengaluru, would be signing permanently with the Blasters. When Bengaluru played at home against the North Korean side April 25 SC in the first leg of the AFC Cup Inter-Zone in August 2017, both Vineeth and Anto were present at Kanteerava to witness the game. Even though the majority of West Block Blues began singing their specialized chants for Vineeth and Rino Anto, acknowledging their presence and their contributions to the club, a number of supporters among the group also started abusive chanting against Kerala Blasters. Later tension between the groups began when Rino Anto expressed his displeasure over the incident on social media. The rivalry intensified when the groups started going against each other posting banter on social media. It was in the 2021 Durand Cup that the two sides met for the first time outside the ISL with Bengaluru winning the match 2–0 at full-time on 15 September 2021.With a new format for the playoffs of the 2022–23 Indian Super League season, Bengaluru and Kerala Blasters met against each other in the knockout stage match on 3 March 2023, which took an unusual turn. The Blasters players forfeited the knockout match in the extra-time following the controversy around the legitimacy of the free-kick goal scored by the Bengaluru captain Sunil Chhetri in the 96th minute. The Blasters players and staff argued that the free-kick was taken before the Blasters players set themselves in their defensive positions. The referee gave Sunil Chhetri's goal the greenlight, and the infuriated Blasters coach Ivan Vukomanović called-off his players from the pitch into the dressing room. Following the discussion with the match commissioner, the referee blew the final whistle and Bengaluru was awarded the win. This match was met with immense criticism from fans and pundits and added to tensions between both the clubs.
Kerala Blasters management then appealed to the AIFF for the match to be replayed and protested for the match referee Crystal John to banned from refereeing. A separate AIFF disciplinary panel was met on 6 March to decide on the possible sanction on Kerala Blasters for waking out of the game, but the disciplinary committee rejected the Blasters' protest to replay the match. The AIFF DC rejected the appeal of the Blasters citing that the case did not fall in the exception mentioned in the Article 70.5 of the AIFF disciplinary code. AIFF further issued a notice to the Blasters for the walkout as a punishable offence under the violation Article 58 of AIFF disciplinary code which states that if a team refuses to play a match that was in progress, the club has to pay 'at least rupees six lakh' as penalty, and in serious cases, the club would be penalized six lakh rupees and would be disqualified from a competition in progress and/or would be excluded from taking part in a future competition. Just four days from this controversial match and the rejection of the Blasters' appeal, Bengaluru and Kerala Blasters were drawn in the same group of the 2023 Indian Super Cup tournament that is to be held in EMS Stadium in Kozhikode, Kerala. After Bengaluru lost in the final against ATK Mohun Bagan on 18 March, Bengaluru's owner Parth Jindal called out for VAR in Indian football citing the refereeing errors in the final match, to which the Blasters' fans responded with mocking comments. The AIFF DC chaired on 31 March then imposed a fine of rupees 4 crores on the Blasters for walking off the pitch and directed them to issue a public apology within a week, failing which the club would have to pay a fine of rupees 6 crores. The disciplinary committee also imposed a 10-match ban of participating in any AIFF held competitions on the Blasters coach Ivan Vukomanović along with a fine of rupees 5 lakhs, and directed the latter to issue a public apology within a week same as that of the club under the Article 9.1.2 of the AIFF disciplinary code, failing which the fine would be increased to rupees 10 lakhs, doubling the initial fine. On 1 April, The Hindu reporter Stan Rayan reported that the Blasters are likely to appeal against the AIFF DC's decision on the penalties on the club as well as their coach following the verdict on 31 March even though the club did not release an official statement on the issue. After the AIFF DC's verdict, the Blasters publicly issued their apology, and the Blasters coach Vukomanović also provided his statement as directed by the committee. The Blasters and Vukomanović then filed an appeal to the All India Football Federation's appeal committee against the verdict of the AIFF DC, which was rejected by the committee in June 2023.
Since their first meeting in December 2017, the match between the Blasters and Bengaluru is one of the most anticipated derbies in the Indian football and in the league and is often referred to as the 'Real South Indian Derby'.
By competition
| Competition | Played | Kerala Blasters wins | Drawn | Bengaluru wins | Kerala Blasters goals | Bengaluru goals |
| Indian Super League | 17 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 19 | 31 |
| Durand Cup | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| Indian Super Cup | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 21 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 22 | 37 |
Full list of results
Note: Not included friendly matches.
Chennaiyin FC v Kerala Blasters FC
Kerala Blasters and Chennaiyin FC were founded in 2014 as two of the eight clubs competing in the Indian Super League's (ISL) inaugural season. Their first match was on 21 October 2014 at Marina Arena, with Chennaiyin winning 2–1. Chennaiyin won the second match, at Kochi, 1–0. The clubs played each other again in the semi-finals of that season's playoffs; in the first of two legs, the Blasters defeated Chennaiyin 3–0. At the end of regular time in the second leg, Chennaiyin led 3–0 on the night, levelling the tie 3–3 on aggregate and sending it to extra time. However, in the 116th minute, Stephen Pearson scored for the Blasters, giving them a 4–3 win on aggregate.In 2016, Chennaiyin manager Marco Materazzi was suspended for one match after his involvement in a scuffle between a Chennaiyin and a Kerala Blasters player. This incident led to Blasters' fans wearing Zinedine Zidane masks at the return leg in Kochi, intensifying the clubs' rivalry.
By competition
| Competition | Played | Kerala Blasters wins | Drawn | Chennaiyin wins | Kerala Blasters goals | Chennaiyin goals |
| Indian Super League | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 31 | 29 |
| Total | 22 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 31 | 29 |
Full list of results
Note: Not included friendly matches.
Statistics
All-time results
- This table includes all matches played between the teams. From the first game played between Kerala Blasters FC and Chennaiyin FC on 21 October 2014, to the most recent South Indian Derby between Kerala Blasters FC and Bengaluru FC on 2 March 2024.
| Club | Played | Wins | Drawn | Losses | Goals scored | Goals conceded | Goal difference |
| 38 | 23 | 7 | 8 | 66 | 38 | +28 | |
| 39 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 45 | 60 | -15 | |
| 43 | 10 | 13 | 20 | 53 | 66 | -13 |
Note: Not included friendly match statistics.
Head-to-head ranking in Indian Super League (2014–present)
This list includes the regular season performance of the three clubs that compete in the derby.| P. | 14 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | TBD | |||||||
| 2 | 2 | 2 | TBD | ||||||||
| 3 | 3 | 3 | TBD | ||||||||
| 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | TBD | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | 5 | TBD | ||||||||
| 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | TBD | |||||||
| 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | TBD | |||||||
| 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | TBD | ||||||
| 9 | 9 | TBD | |||||||||
| 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | TBD | |||||||
| 11 | TBD | ||||||||||
| 12 | TBD | ||||||||||
| 13 | TBD |
Notes:
- Bengaluru FC was not part of the first three seasons of the Indian Super League. They came in as one of two new entries from the 2017–18 season onward.
- The first three seasons of the Indian Super League were finished in the same year with the regular season running from October to December. In the 2017–18 season, ISL started to follow a regular season running from November to March.
Records
Highest scoring matches
| No. of goals | Score | Date | Competition |
| 9 | Kerala Blasters 3–6 Chennaiyin | 1 February 2020 | Indian Super League |
| 6 | Bengaluru 4–2 Kerala Blasters | 13 December 2020 | Indian Super League |
| 6 | Bengaluru 4–2 Kerala Blasters | 7 December 2024 | Indian Super League |
| 6 | Chennaiyin 2–4 Bengaluru | 30 December 2021 | Indian Super League |
| 6 | Chennaiyin 2–4 Bengaluru | 28 December 2024 | Indian Super League |
| 6 | Kerala Blasters 3–3 Chennaiyin | 29 November 2023 | Indian Super League |
| 5 | Chennaiyin 4–1 Kerala Blasters | 21 November 2015 | Indian Super League |
| 5 | Bengaluru 2–3 Chennaiyin | 17 March 2018 | Indian Super League |
| 5 | Kerala Blasters 3–2 Bengaluru | 11 December 2022 | Indian Super League |
Notes:
- This table includes only the matches from the derby with five or more goals in total.
- Not including friendly matches.
Appearances
| No | Country | Name | Appearances | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 |  Goal-scorers
|
Colombia