The Guangzhou derby or the Canton derby () is the name given to a football derby contested by any two teams in the city of Guangzhou, China. The term specifically refers to individual matches between the teams, but can also be used to describe the general rivalry between the different clubs. Guangzhou Apollo (predecessor of Guangzhou) against Guangzhou Matsunichi (1995–2000) and Guangzhou against Guangzhou City are ranked as two of the most ferocious Guangzhou Derbies.
Clubs As of 2026 season, there are three clubs in the Chinese Super League, China League One and China League Two that play in Guangzhou: Guangdong GZ-Power (League One) Guangdong Mingtu (League Two) Guangzhou Dandelion Alpha (League Two)
Guangzhou F.C., established in 1954, was a former professional football club based in Guangzhou with the longest history in the city, other former clubs in the highest league include Guangdong Hongyuan F.C. (Jia-A 1994-1997), Guangzhou Matsunichi F.C. (Jia-A 1996 & 1998-1999) and Guangzhou City (CSL 2012-2022). Guangzhou Baiyunshan F.C., Guangdong Xiongying F.C. and Guangdong Sunray Cave F.C. were formerly in the second-tier league.
Guangzhou Apollo v Guangzhou Matsunichi History When professionalism was established within the Chinese football leagues in 1994, it opened the door for more than one team within each region. This saw the establishment of Guangzhou Matsunichi which used to be the youth academy of Guangzhou FC but were sold off to Matsunichi Digital Holdings Limited. Direct ties between these two teams also saw them share the Yuexiushan Stadium. In their first meeting in the first round of the 1995 Chinese FA Cup, Matsunichi beat Guangzhou FC 4–3 on aggregate. For a brief period during the 1998 season, both teams were in the top tier with Matsunichi finishing higher than Guangzhou FC. On 9 August 1998 in the second Guangzhou Derby that season, a Chinese first-tier league record of five red cards and nine yellow cards was issued. Apollo's Peter Blazincic, Wen Junwu and Mai Guangliang as well as Matsunichi's Leonardo Jara and Tu Shengqiao were sent off during the match. The rivalry reached its peak and subsequent conclusion during the 2000 season with both clubs in the second tier fighting relegation. On 15 July 2000, Guangzhou FC won 3–1 against Matsunichi which inevitability helped lead to Matsunichi's relegation, causing Matsunichi to disband at the end of the season.
Official match results
Season Competition Date Home team Result Away team1995Chinese FA Cup25 June 1995Guangzhou Matsunichi 4–2Guangzhou Apollo2 July 1995 Guangzhou Apollo 1–0Guangzhou Matsunichi1996Chinese Jia-A League5 May 1996Guangzhou Matsunichi 1–4Guangzhou Apollo8 September 1996Guangzhou Apollo 1–0Guangzhou Matsunichi1998Chinese Jia-A League9 April 1998Guangzhou Apollo 2–2Guangzhou Matsunichi9 August 1998 Guangzhou Matsunichi 3–1Guangzhou Apollo2000Chinese Jia-B League15 April 2000Guangzhou Apollo 0–0Guangzhou Matsunichi16 July 2000Guangzhou Matsunichi 1–3Guangzhou Apollo
Statistics Matches Apollo wins Draws Matsunichi wins Apollo goals Matsunichi goals Chinese Jia-A League 4 2 1 1 8 6 Chinese Jia-B League 2 1 1 0 3 1 Chinese FA Cup 2 1 0 1 3 4 Official matches84221411
Guangzhou v Guangzhou City History When Guangzhou R&F (predecessor of Guangzhou City) moved to the city of Guangzhou, a local derby, often referred to as the Canton derby, was born. The first Canton derby was at Yuexiushan Stadium on 16 March 2012 as Guangzhou Evergrande (predecessor of Guangzhou) lost 2–0 against Guangzhou R&F. Relations between the two club owners remain cordial off the pitch and club owners Xu Jiayin and Zhang Li were seen enjoying a meal together instead of watching the second derby in 2012 which Guangzhou R&F also won.
Official match results
Season Competition Date Home team Result Away team2012Chinese Super League16 March 2012Guangzhou R&F 2–0Guangzhou Evergrande15 July 2012Guangzhou Evergrande 0–1Guangzhou R&F2013Chinese Super League27 April 2013Guangzhou R&F 0–2Guangzhou Evergrande25 August 2013Guangzhou Evergrande 1–0Guangzhou R&F2014Chinese Super League9 May 2014Guangzhou Evergrande 0–1Guangzhou R&F28 September 2014Guangzhou R&F 3–4Guangzhou Evergrande2015Chinese Super League23 May 2015Guangzhou Evergrande 2–2Guangzhou R&F21 September 2015Guangzhou R&F 1–2Guangzhou Evergrande2016Chinese Super League1 April 2016Guangzhou Evergrande 2–0Guangzhou R&F20 July 2016Guangzhou R&F 2–1Guangzhou EvergrandeChinese FA Cup semi-finals17 August 2016Guangzhou Evergrande 2–2Guangzhou R&F21 September 2016Guangzhou R&F 1–3Guangzhou Evergrande2017Chinese Super League8 April 2017Guangzhou Evergrande 2–2Guangzhou R&F29 July 2017Guangzhou R&F 4–2Guangzhou EvergrandeChinese FA Cup fifth round19 July 2017Guangzhou R&F 4–2Guangzhou Evergrande1 August 2017Guangzhou Evergrande 7–2Guangzhou R&F2018Chinese Super League2 March 2018Guangzhou Evergrande 4–5Guangzhou R&F5 August 2018Guangzhou R&F 2–4Guangzhou Evergrande2019Chinese Super League6 April 2019Guangzhou Evergrande 2–0Guangzhou R&F20 July 2019Guangzhou R&F 0–5Guangzhou Evergrande2020Chinese Super League30 July 2020Guangzhou R&F 0–5Guangzhou Evergrande4 September 2020Guangzhou Evergrande 2–1Guangzhou R&F2021Chinese Super League20 April 2021Guangzhou 2–2Guangzhou City24 July 2021Guangzhou City 3–3Guangzhou2022Chinese Super League13 September 2022Guangzhou City 1–0Guangzhou10 December 2022Guangzhou 0–0Guangzhou City
Statistics Statistics as of 10 Dec 2022.
Matches Guangzhou wins Draws Guangzhou City wins Guangzhou goals Guangzhou City goals Chinese Super League 22 10 5 7 45 32 Chinese FA Cup 4 2 1 1 14 9 Official matches2612685941
Top goalscorers Below is the list of players who have scored at least two goals in official meetings.
PositionNameTeamGoals1 Eran ZahaviGuangzhou R&F132 Alan CarvalhoGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao8 Ricardo GoulartGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao RenatinhoGuangzhou R&F5 Ai KesenGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao4 Gao LinGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao PaulinhoGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao8 Abderrazak HamdallahGuangzhou R&F2 MíchelGuangzhou R&F MuriquiGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao Xiao ZhiGuangzhou R&F Yu HanchaoGuangzhou Evergrande Taobao
References