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 36 honours while Al Wahda has 16 honours.
History The rivalry between the two teams stems from the fact that they 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 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.
Background Al Ain being from the Eastern region while Al Wahda hails from the city of Abu Dhabi, the two clubs compete to the claim the title of Abu Dhabi's best club. Many argue that this rivalry is the most significant in the country as the two clubs had the longest duel of battling titles from the late 90s to early 2000s, however with teams like Shabab Al Ahli and Al Jazira gaining momentum in recent years, both clubs has shifted their focus away from traditionally competing against each other.
Statistics Overview
Matches Al Ain winsDraws Al Wahda wins Al AinGoals Al Wahda110522236171306135 Head to head The below list is since the professional era started in 2008–09. Matches Wins Draws Goals Home wins Home draws Away winsOther venue winsAINWAHAINWAHAINWAHAINWAHAINWAHAINWAHPro League 31 17 8 6 48 26 10 4 1 5 7 4 President's Cup 1 1 1 1 League Cup 14 5 5 4 15 12 1 3 2 3 3 1 1Super Cup 1 1 3 3 1 All competitions 47 23 13 11 67 41 12 4 4 7 10 7 2 1 Exhibition games 2 2 6 2 1 1 All matches 49 25 13 11 73 43 13 4 4 7 10 7 31
Records Results Biggest wins Result Date Competition Al Wahda 5–1 Al Ain 1986 Pro League Al Ain 4–1 Al Wahda 19 January 1998 Al Ain 5–3 Al Wahda 30 October 2002 Al Wahda 4–1 Al Ain 14 December 2005 Al Wahda 4–3 Al Ain 16 May 2008 Al Ain 4–2 Al Wahda 25 April 2009 Al Ain 4–0 Al Wahda 10 December 2014 Al Ain 6–2 Al Wahda 1 March 2018 Al Wahda 0–4 Al Ain 12 March 2021 Al Wahda 0–3 Al Ain 10 March 2023 Al Ain 4–1 Al Wahda 2 June 1994 President's Cup Al Wahda 1–4 Al Ain 2 March 2012 League Cup Al Ain 3–0 Al Wahda 9 September 2013 Al Wahda 5–1 Al Ain 16 February 2018 Al Wahda 4–1 Al Ain 1986 Federation Cup Al Wahda 4–0 Al Ain 11 November 1999 Al Wahda 1–4 Al Ain 27 February 2006
Most goals in a match GoalsResultDateCompetition 8 Al Ain 5–3 Al Wahda 30 October 2002 Pro League Al Ain 6–2 Al Wahda 1 March 2018 7 Al Wahda 4–3 Al Ain 16 May 2008
Players
Goalscoring Top goalscorers Does not include friendly matches. RankPlayerClubGoals1 Majid Al Owais Al Ain112 Sebastián TagliabúeAl Wahda83 Kodjo LabaAl Ain5 Ismail MatarAl Wahda Mohamed Al-ShehhiAl Wahda Mohammed SalemAl Wahda7 Soufiane RahimiAl Ain4 Marcus BergAl Ain Asamoah GyanAl Ain Sultan RashedAl Ain Abdulrahim JumaaAl Wahda Abdulsalam JumaaAl Wahda Subait KhaterAl Ain13 Caio LucasAl Ain3 Balázs DzsudzsákAl Wahda Ibrahim DiakyAl Ain Haider Alo AliAl Wahda Slaviša MitrovićAl Wahda Lamin ContehAl Wahda Gharib Harib Al Ain Mohammad OmarAl Ain Arthur MosesAl Ain Fahed MasoudAl Wahda Salem JoharAl Ain Ahmed AbdullahAl Ain Hat-tricks only 2 players have scored a hat-trick in Classico matches. No.PlayerForTotal1 Salem JoharAl Ain12 Ahmed AbdullahAl Ain 1
Double No.PlayerForTotal1 Majid Al OwaisAl Ain 31 AlecsandroAl Wahda 11 Soufiane AlloudiAl Ain 11 André DiasAl Ain 11 Matar ColyAl Wahda 11 Ali MsarriAl Ain 11 Mohammad OmarAl Ain 11 Arthur MosesAl Ain 11 Mohammed SalemAl Wahda 11 Saeed AshourAl Ain 11 Matar Al SahbaniAl Ain 1 Notes Not including friendly matches.
General performances General information Al Ain Al WahdaClub name after establishmentAl Ain Sports ClubAl Wahda Sports and Cultural ClubFounding date1 August 19683 June 1984StadiumHazza bin ZayedAl Nahyan Capacity25,05315,894Number of seasons in Pro League (never been relegated)47 37 Most goals scored in a season in the Pro League74 (2012–13)75 (2004–05)Most points in a season in the Pro League65 (2021–22)65 (1998–99)Number of the Double wins (Pro League and President's Cup)10 Number of the Double wins (Pro League and AFC Champions League)10 Number of the Treble wins (Pro League, President's Cup and AFC Champions League)00
Honours Numbers with this background indicate the record in the competition. Al AinCompetitionAl WahdaDomestic 14 Pro League 4 7 President's Cup 2 5 Federation Cup (defunct) / League Cup 6 5 Super Cup 4Minor 2 Abu Dhabi Championship (defunct) — 1 Joint League (defunct) — 34 Total 16Regional 1 GCC Champions League — 1 Emirati-Moroccan Super Cup — 2 Total 0Asia 2 AFC Champions League — 2 Total 0 38 Grand total 16
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.
Saeed Al-Kathiri is the only player to score for and against both clubs. Al Ain, then Al Wahda PlayerAl Ain careerAl Wahda careerSpanLeagueappsLeaguegoalsSpanLeagueappsLeaguegoals Mutaz Abdulla1998–200921202009–2012240 Fares Jumaa2007–20157762020–present563 Jorge Valdivia2008–201025122015–2017348 Mohammed Al-Dhahri2010–20151802015–2018280 Salem Sultan2013002013–2019551 Rashed Muhayer2013–20193102020–2022140 Lee Myung-joo2014–20177052020–2022373 Cristian Guanca2021–20222582023–202492
Al Wahda, then Al Ain
PlayerAl Wahda careerAl Ain careerSpanLeagueappsLeaguegoalsSpanLeagueappsLeaguegoals Yasser Matar2006–200951201650 Saeed Al-Kathiri2006–201470132015–2017449 Yaqoub Al Hosani2009–20123502012–2013120 Balázs Dzsudzsák2016–20184313202041
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.
ManagerAl Ain careerAl Wahda careerSpanGWDLWin %SpanGWDLWin %94235230
Notes
References