When the fixtures for the forthcoming season were made public, many fans would have immediately checked to see when their team were due to meet their big local rival. Derbies are part of the essence of football, perhaps even more so in South America than in Europe. The logic is clear. Distances are vast in South America, forcing the game to develop locally. Brazil has only had a genuinely national championship since 1971, while the Peruvian league was restricted to Lima until 1967.I am reflecting on this because I have just come back from watching Rio's biggest derby, Flamengo against Vasco da Gama - 'the classic of the multitudes'.
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