Brian Clough made history for the Rams and the Reds, and his son’s Carabao Cup exploits with the Brewers have been praised by both East Midlands rivals.
Derby County and Nottingham Forest may be bitter rivals, but when it comes to opinion about Brian Clough, there is nothing but shared admiration for the greatest manager both clubs have ever had (of course, both sets of fans seek to claim Old Big ‘Ead as their own).
At the Baseball Ground, four trophies including the 1971-72 First Division title – the first English top-flight championship in the Rams’ history and one of only two overall; at the City Ground, their one and only First Division title and assorted other trophies including four League Cups and the small matter of two consecutive European Cups.
Cloughie may no longer be with us, but his son has so far enjoyed a reasonable enough career in management and, on Tuesday night, delivered the result of a lifetime to a club close to the Staffordshire / Derbyshire border – incidentally against the team from the city where his father was born, and for whom he scored 204 goals in 222 games.
Despite labouring in League One this season, Burton Albion took on the supposed might of Championship playoff-chasers Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium in the Carabao Cup and more than matched their opponents en route to a 1-0 win, courtesy of Jake Hesketh’s 48th-minute goal.
The result sent Burton – a non-league club for much of their history – into the semi-finals of a major cup competition for the first time in their history, Clough adding to his superb achievements in getting them into the Conference 18 years ago and, more recently, steering them into the Championship and keeping them there for two seasons.
Following the result on Teesside, several fans of both Derby and Forest took to Twitter and congratulated Clough on making history with his club – something his father did very well on both sides of the A52:
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