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 34 honours while Al Wahda has 15 honours.

History

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 of 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.^[1][2][3]

Statistics

As of 11 March 2023^[5]

Shared players and managers

Players

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.

Al Ain, then Al Wahda

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–present	9	2

Al Wahda, then Al Ain

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

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

References