As one of the founding members of the original Football League, it's unsurprising that supporters of Derby County remain desperate to see their team in action at Pride Park.
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Derby County FC History
Derby County Football Club was founded back in 1884 and subsequently became one of 12 founder members of the Football League four years later. Despite being one of the oldest teams in the English game, Derby County wouldn't claim top-flight honours for the first time until 1972.
The Rams had previously won the FA Cup in 1946, defeating Charlton Athletic in what was the first FA Cup final following the end of WWII. This was the fourth time Derby had featured in this auspicious fixture, having lost in the FA Cup final three times around the turn of the 20th century.
Having won the 1971/72 First Division title, Derby County subsequently took part in the European Cup. Under the tutelage of Brian Clough, Derby progressed to the latter stages of the tournament but ultimately bowed out to Italian side Juventus in the semi-finals.
Derby clinched a second league title in 1975 with Liverpool once again finishing within 2 points of the champions. The following season DCFC were dumped out of the European Cup by Real Madrid, despite having claimed a 4-1 victory in the first leg of their Second Round (last-16) tie. A 5-1 defeat at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu meant that Derby would exit the competition in heartbreaking fashion.
Derby County Today
DCFC have played outside of the English top flight for much of the 21st century, and therefore have also struggled to progress in domestic cup competitions. Derby reached the League Cup semi-finals in the 2008/09 season but lost out to eventual champions Manchester United. The Rams advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals no fewer than three times during the 1990s but they have since failed to return to this stage of the tournament.
Derby spent the entirety of the 2010s playing in the EFL Championship, though financial troubles and subsequent points deductions meant the club succumbed to relegation to League One at the end of the 2021/22 season.
The Rams finished 2nd in the 2023/24 League One campaign to achieve automatic promotion to the Championship, 12 months after narrowly missing out on qualification for the play-offs.
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Derby County Rivalries
The club's biggest rivals are Nottingham Forest, with the two clubs separated by less than 15 miles. This rivalry is referred to as the East Midlands derby, with the teams' respective counties (Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire) bordering one another. Derby County and Nottingham Forest are also synonymous with Brian Clough, who achieved success as manager of both these clubs.
DCFC supporters also have some animosity towards Leicester City – also based in the Midlands – while Derby and Leeds United have been known to share a minor rivalry as well.
Derby County Famous Players
No player, past or present, has represented DCFC more times than Kevin Hector. The former striker amassed 581 appearances for the Rams, across two separate spells, and he was central to the team's two First Divisions titles in the 1970s. Hector also netted 201 goals for Derby, more than any other player post-WWI.
The likes of Ron Webster, Roy McFarland and Geoff Barrowcliffe also made in excess of 500 outings for Derby County FC.
Ex-England goalkeeper Peter Shilton made 211 appearances during his five-year stay at Derby. Wayne Rooney, Lee Carsley (Republic of Ireland) and Robbie Savage (Wales) are just a few of the many esteemed internationals who have previously turned out for the Rams.
Derby County Top Managers
Brian Clough was the man in charge when Derby County became champions of England for the first time. Clough guided the Rams to the First Division title in the 1971/72 season, with the trio of Leeds United, Liverpool and Manchester City all finishing just 1 point behind Derby.
Other well-known Derby County managers include:
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Arthur Cox (1984-93)
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Jim Smith (1995-2001)
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George Burley (2003-05)
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Nigel Clough (2009-13)
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Steve McClaren (2013-15)
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Gary Rowett (2017-18)
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Frank Lampard (2018-19)
Pride Park Stadium
Pride Park Stadium has been the home of Derby County FC since 1997, when the Rams relocated from The Baseball Ground which had been the club's home ground for more than a century.
The capacity of Pride Park is in the region of 33,000 almost double the number of seats at The Baseball Ground.
Pride Park hosted its first England international fixture in May 2001, with Wembley Stadium being rebuilt at the time. The Three Lions defeated Mexico, 4-0, with Paul Scholes, Robbie Fowler, David Beckham, and Teddy Sheringham all on the scoresheet.
Other (non-football) events have also taken place at Pride Park Stadium over the years, with musicians such as Rod Stewart and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers performing at this venue in 2005 and 2006, respectively.
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