Speaking on the Match of the Day Top 10 Podcast, Micah Richards has been discussing the Second-City Derby.
Richards, along with Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer were tasked with ranking English football’s top 10 derbies, and as you may well imagine, Aston Villa vs Birmingham made the cut.
Richards has, of course, played in this fixture, and he used just one word to describe the rivalry – ferocious.
What’s been said?
Richards spoke about Villa vs Blues.
“Oof, I played in one. Ferocious,” Richards said.
“The fans, honestly, they’re as bad as the Chelsea fans. Talk about hatred, what about that one fan who came on and punched Grealish in the face? They take everything personally. Throughout the whole week, the city is just saying ‘if we’re going to win any game, just win this one,” Richards said.
Massive
Perhaps it’s because Birmingham City and Villa play each other so infrequently, or perhaps it’s because of the gulf in class between the two sides, but it sometimes feels like this derby is underrated in the pantheon of great English football fixtures.
Yes, it doesn’t have the glitz and glamour of Liverpool vs Manchester United or Arsenal vs Tottenham, but if you want passion, fire and noise, there aren’t many better games.
As Richards says, the fans take this one very seriously, and with both teams still fielding a number of local lads, it’s a rivalry that is also felt on the pitch.
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