The Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya SC–Al-Minaa SC rivalry, sometimes referred to as Al-Araqa Derby,[1][2] is a high-level competition between the two oldest established clubs in the history of Iraqi football clubs Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and Al-Minaa (the two teams were founded in 1931). It is considered one of the largest matches in Iraqi football in terms of the number of spectators. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya is considered among the four biggest clubs in Baghdad, the capital,[3] while Al-Minaa, located in Basra in southern Iraq, is considered one of the biggest and most popular teams in the south, and is the first team that was able to obtain the league title from outside Baghdad.[4]

Al-Araqa derby
The GCPI director shakes hands with Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and Al-Minaa players before the start of the match at Basra in 1954. The match ended in a 1–1 draw.
LocationBaghdad/Basra (Iraq)
Teams
First meetingAl-Quwa Al-Jawiya 2–0 Al-Minaa
1973–74 Iraqi National First Division
Latest meetingAl-Quwa Al-Jawiya 2–1 Al-Minaa
2024–25 Iraq Stars League
(27 September 2024)
Statistics
Meetings total75 (League)
Top scorerHammadi Ahmed
(11 goals)
All-time seriesLeague:
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya: 36
Drawn: 23
Al-Minaa: 16
Largest victoryAl-Quwa Al-Jawiya 6–0 Al-Minaa
1998–99 Iraqi Premier League
(31 March 1999)

The two teams had previously played against each other in 1950s and 1960s in friendly games before the national league was established in 1973, and their matches were characterized by excitement.[5]

One of the historical precedents for this derby is that the first time a scoreboard was placed for Al-Shaab Stadium on 21 March 1977, was in this derby match, which ended with a score of 2–2 and the first to score in the match was Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya player Saleem Malakh.[6]

In the 2004–05 season in Premier League, the teams were divided into groups, and the two teams reached the final match at Al-Shaab Stadium in Baghdad to determine the title, in which Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won 2–0 to become champions, with Al-Minaa finishing in second place.[7][8] Consequently, the two teams played in the 2006 AFC Champions League as Iraq's representatives in the tournament.[9]

The derby was not without excitement in the field of sacking coaches due to the loss in it, as in 2 April 2016, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya coach Sabah Abdul-Jalil was dismissed due to the loss to Al-Minaa at Basra International Stadium.[10]

Statistics

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ِAl-Minaa goalkeeper and defenders fend off an attack by Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya players during a Premier League match on 23 May 2015.

The first official match between the two clubs was a National First Division match in the 1973–74 season and resulted in a 2–0 victory for Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya. The first match in the Premier League was in the 1975–76 season where Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (known as Al-Tayaran at the time) won 1–0 with a goal scored by the player Hanoon Mashkoor, while Ali Abdul Zahra scored the first goal for Al-Minaa against Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in the second match of the same season, which ended in a 1–1 draw.[11]

The player who scored the most in the league was Hammadi Ahmed, who scored 10 goals for Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya against Al-Minaa, while Jalil Hanoon scored the most for Al-Minaa against Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in the league, as he scored 8 goals. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya scored 108 goals in the league, while Al-Minaa scored 66 goals. The biggest victory was a 6–0 victory for Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in the 1998–99 season at Al-Shaab Stadium. The highest number of goals in one match recorded was 6–3 in favor of Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in the 1983–84 season at Al-Shaab Stadium and 5–4 in favor of Al-Minaa in the 1994–95 season at Al-Shaab Stadium too.[12]

One of the most beautiful goals in this derby was the winning goal scored by Hamza Adnan against Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya at Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Stadium in 30 September 2015, which came from a free kick from a distance from the goal in stoppage time. The match ended with Al-Minaa winning 1–2.[13]

League Results
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya wins Draws Al-Minaa wins
Premier League 35 23 16
National First Division 1 0 0

All-time results

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League matches only.[14]
  Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya win   Al-Minaa win   Draw 

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "مــلــــعــب الصـقـــور يـحتضن ديـربي العراقة". almadapaper.net (in Arabic). September 30, 2015.
  2. ^ "الليبي زقلام هويدي يزين الديربي العراقي". rimessa.net (in Arabic). November 26, 2019.
  3. ^ "القوة الجوية.. 58 لقباً في تأريخ اول نادٍ رسمي بالعراق". alsumaria.tv (in Arabic). April 22, 2020.
  4. ^ "الميناء البصري.. 85 عاما تأريخ طويل وأول من نقل درع الدوري خارج العاصمة". burathanews.com (in Arabic). November 28, 2016.
  5. ^ Homaidi, Karim Allawi. "Basra in the memory of its people" (PDF). Basra Heritage Center in The Holy Abbasid Shrine; Basra 2016. Retrieved 2024-02-11.
  6. ^ "سليم ملاخ أول لاعب عراقي يسجل اسمه على لوحة ملعب الشعب". alsabaah.iq (in Arabic). September 7, 2019.
  7. ^ "نادي القوة الجوية يحرز لقب دوري النخبة العراقي في كرة القدم". kuna.net.kw (in Arabic). July 15, 2005.
  8. ^ "الجوية بطل دوري العراق". aletihad.ae (in Arabic). July 17, 2005.
  9. ^ "قرعة دوري أبطال آسيا 2006 اليوم بمشاركة العين والوحدة". aletihad.ae (in Arabic). December 1, 2005.
  10. ^ "اقالة مدرب القوة الجوية بعد خسارة الفريق أمام الميناء". alsumaria.tv (in Arabic). April 2, 2016.
  11. ^ "نتائج مباريات الدوري العراقي الموسم 1975-1976". forum.kooora.com (in Arabic). May 25, 2020.
  12. ^ "نتائج مباريات القوة الجوية × الميناء بالدوري العراقي". forum.kooora.com (in Arabic). November 20, 2012.
  13. ^ "هدف الميناء " حمزة عدنان " الرائع على القوة الجوية". iraqTube10 (in Arabic). October 1, 2015.
  14. ^ "Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Vs Al-Minaa (head-to-head)". kooora.com (in Arabic). Retrieved February 11, 2024.