The Rijeka–Pula derby (Croatian: Derbi Rijeka – Pula), also called Derby della Učka (Derby della Monte Maggiore) is the name given to matches between Rijeka and Istra 1961. It is a regional derby between football clubs from Croatia's two largest northern coastal cities, Rijeka and Pula. The teams are supported by their fanbases called Rijeka's Armada and Pula's Demoni.

Rijeka vs Istra 1961
(Rijeka–Pula derby)
Other namesRegionalni derbi, susjedski derbi, derbi della Učka
LocationRijeka and Pula, Croatia
TeamsRijeka and Istra 1961
First meeting18 September 2004
(official)
Latest meetingIstra 1961 0–1 Rijeka
2024–25 Prva HNL
(3 November 2024)
Next meeting8 February 2025
Statistics
Meetings total82 (79 league)
Most winsRijeka (51)
Most player appearancesFausto Budicin (15)
Top scorerAntonio Čolak (9)
Largest victoryIstra 1961 0–7 Rijeka (4 May 2019)

History

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The rivalry between Rijeka and Pula dates back to the days of Kingdom of Italy in the early 1920s, when numerous clubs from Fiume (Rijeka) and Pola (Pula) met at various levels of the Italian league system. The first official match between Rijeka and Pula took place on 25 June 1920, between Juventus Enea Fiume and US Polese. While numerous Rijeka/Fiume (Juventus Enea, CS Olympia, CS Gloria, CS Fiume, Veloce, Magazzini Generali) and Pula/Pola (Polese, Grion, Edera) regularly met during this period, the most notable rivalry existed between the leading club of each city, U.S. Fiumana (successor of Olympia and Gloria after 1926) and G.S.F. Giovanni Grion Pola. Between 1930 and 1943, these two clubs played 20 official matches, with Fiumana winning 11 and Grion 5 matches, alongside 4 draws.

Following the end of World War II, the two cities became part of the Yugoslavia. Like all clubs in Yugoslavia,[1] U.S. Fiumana got restructured into the more proletarian-friendly brand S.C.F. Quarnero in July 1946.[2][3] The new regime decided to invite a club from the occupied Julian March for the 1946–47 Yugoslav First League and Quarnero was admitted after beating the short-lived Pula-based club USO (Unione Sportiva Operaia) in a two-legged play-off in August 1946.[4] In late 1947 USO merged with another local club to form NK Pula, which survives today as NK Istra. The Quarnero was renamed to NK Rijeka in June 1954.[5] During this period Rijeka spent most seasons playing in the Yugoslav First League, while Pula clubs played in the lower tiers. Until the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991, Rijeka played 21 official fixtures against Istra and Uljanik, mainly during its stay in the lower divisions in the 1950s and early 1970s, and in the 1973 and 1978–79 Yugoslav Cup.[6] Two other clubs from Rijeka, NK Orijent and NK Lučki Radnik met more frequently Istra and Uljanik in the lower tiers of Yugoslav football.

Since Croatian independence, Istra joined Croatia's top tier, and local derbies became a regular feature. Between 1992 and 2000, Rijeka and Istra met on 17 occasions, with Rijeka winning on eight and Istra on six occasions, while three matches finished in a draw. Pula did not have a top-tier club between 2000 and 2004. In 2004, NK Pula 1856, former Uljanik, was promoted to Prva HNL. In 2005, the club was renamed to NK Pula Staro Češko, in 2006 to NK Pula and, finally, in summer 2007 to NK Istra 1961. Since July 2004, Istra 1961 and Rijeka have played 65 regional derbies, with Rijeka winning 43 and Istra 1961 6 games, while 16 matches ended in a draw.

Results

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Competition Played Rijeka wins Draws Istra wins Rijeka goals Istra goals
Rijeka v. Istra (1992–2000)
Prva HNL 17 8 3 6 27 13
Rijeka v. Istra 1961 (2004–present)
Prva HNL 62 41 16 5 119 42
Croatian Cup 3 2 0 1 5 4
Totals 65 43 16 6 124 46
All Time 82 51 19 12 151 59

Last updated on 3 November 2024.

List of matches

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   Match ended in a draw
Rijeka win
Istra win

Note: Home team's score always shown first

1992–2000

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M Date Competition Ground Score Rijeka scorers Istra scorers Attendance Report
1 7 Mar 1992 1. HNL Drosina 1–1 Ban Dadić 4,000 HRnogomet.com
2 2 May 1992 1. HNL Kantrida 3–0 Ljubančić (3) 1,000 HRnogomet.com
3 11 Oct 1992 1. HNL Drosina 2–1 Šarić Jurić, Knežević 4,000 HRnogomet.com
4 25 Apr 1993 1. HNL Kantrida 0–0 2,000 HRnogomet.com
5 21 Aug 1993 1. HNL Drosina 1–0 Jozipović 4,000 HRnogomet.com
6 27 Feb 1994 1. HNL Kantrida 2–0 Mladenović (2) 2,000 HRnogomet.com
7 23 Oct 1994 1. HNL Valkane 1–0 Jurčić 2,000 HRnogomet.com
8 30 Apr 1995 1. HNL Kantrida 2–2 Hodžić (2) Meštrović, Ugrčić 2,000 HRnogomet.com
9 13 Sep 1995 1. HNL Kantrida 4–0 Dželalija (2), Perković, Živković 1,000 HRnogomet.com
10 26 Nov 1995 1. HNL Drosina 0–1 Brkić 2,500 HRnogomet.com
11 14 Apr 1996 1. HNL Drosina 1–0 Fatorić 8,000 HRnogomet.com
12 22 May 1996 1. HNL Kantrida 4–1 Perković (3), Brkić Scoria 6,000 HRnogomet.com
13 18 Aug 1996 1. HNL Kantrida 2–0 Perković, J. Samardžić 4,000 HRnogomet.com
14 2 Mar 1997 1. HNL Drosina 0–2 Alempić (o.g.), Brkić 3,500 HRnogomet.com
15 2 Oct 1999 1. HNL Kantrida 4–1 Hasančić, Milicic (2), Balaban Bjelanović 3,000 HRnogomet.com
16 29 Feb 2000 1. HNL Drosina 1–0 Nosek 4,000 HRnogomet.com
17 25 Mar 2000 1. HNL Drosina 2–1 Čačić Nosek, Župan 4,500 HRnogomet.com

2004–present

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M Date Competition Ground Score Rijeka scorers Istra 1961 scorers Attendance Report
1 18 Sep 2004 1. HNL Veruda 0–0 3,500 HRnogomet.com
2 26 Feb 2005 1. HNL Kantrida 1–1 D. Tadić Jerneić 4,000 HRnogomet.com
3 23 Jul 2005 1. HNL Kantrida 2–2 Zekić, Krpan Jerneić, Pilipović 4,000 HRnogomet.com
4 22 Oct 2005 1. HNL Veruda 3–0 Šehić (2), Jerneić 3,000 HRnogomet.com
5 14 Oct 2006 1. HNL Veruda 2–3 Toñito (2), Bule Raić-Sudar, Budicin 2,500 HRnogomet.com
6 3 Mar 2007 1. HNL Kantrida 2–0 Ah. Sharbini, Ivanov 2,000 HRnogomet.com
7 28 Apr 2007 1. HNL Kantrida 1–1 M. Brajković Halilović 800 HRnogomet.com
8 21 Nov 2009 1. HNL Kantrida 2–0 Štrok, Križman 1,500 HRnogomet.com
9 13 May 2010 1. HNL Veruda 2–0 Anđelković, Šehić 2,500 HRnogomet.com
10 16 Oct 2010 1. HNL Veruda 0–0 2,500 HRnogomet.com
11 23 Apr 2011 1. HNL Kantrida 2–0 Vukman, Čulina 1,500 HRnogomet.com
12 24 Sep 2011 1. HNL Kantrida 0–0 3,000 HRnogomet.com
13 11 Apr 2012 1. HNL Drosina 0–0 2,500 HRnogomet.com
14 6 Oct 2012 1. HNL Kantrida 2–1 Cesarec, Datković Bačelić-Grgić 3,500 HRnogomet.com
15 3 Mar 2013 1. HNL Drosina 1–1 Kreilach Bačelić-Grgić 5,000 HRnogomet.com
16 10 May 2013 1. HNL Drosina 1–0 Hadžić 4,000 HRnogomet.com
17 20 Jul 2013 1. HNL Kantrida 3–0 Tomečak, Benko (2) 5,000 HRnogomet.com
18 22 Sep 2013 1. HNL Drosina 2–3 Benko, Kvržić, Krstanović Franjić, Križman 4,000 HRnogomet.com
19 8 Dec 2013 1. HNL Kantrida 3–3 Kramarić (3) Batarelo, Franjić, Babić 5,000 HRnogomet.com
20 19 Mar 2014 Cup (SF) Kantrida 2–1 Kramarić (2) Radonjić 7,000 HRnogomet.com
21 26 Mar 2014 Cup (SF) Drosina 0–1 Krstanović 7,500 HRnogomet.com
22 30 Mar 2014 1. HNL Drosina 0–1 Krstanović 2,500 HRnogomet.com
23 4 Aug 2014 1. HNL Drosina 0–1 Krstanović 5,000 HRnogomet.com
24 18 Oct 2014 1. HNL Kantrida 3–1 Jajalo, Kramarić, Zec Tomić 5,000 HRnogomet.com
25 15 Feb 2015 1. HNL Drosina 0–0 3,000 HRnogomet.com
26 26 Apr 2015 1. HNL Kantrida 3–0 Tomasov (2), Álex 3,500 HRnogomet.com
27 13 Sep 2015 1. HNL Drosina 0–1 Bezjak 3,012 prvahnl.hr
28 28 Nov 2015 1. HNL Rujevica 1–0 Tomasov 4,180 prvahnl.hr
29 12 Mar 2016 1. HNL Drosina 0–1 Tomasov 2,251 prvahnl.hr
30 14 May 2016 1. HNL Rujevica 2–0 Vešović, Brezovec 3,322 prvahnl.hr
31 22 Jul 2016 1. HNL Rujevica 4–1 Gavranović (2), Bezjak (2) Roce 3,954 prvahnl.hr
32 30 Sep 2016 1. HNL Drosina 0–2 Črnic, Gorgon 3,984 prvahnl.hr
33 17 Dec 2016 1. HNL Rujevica 1–0 Andrijašević 4,471 prvahnl.hr
34 22 Apr 2017 1. HNL Drosina 1–1 Gorgon Gržan 4,746 prvahnl.hr
35 29 Jul 2017 1. HNL Rujevica 2–0 Gorgon, Gojković (o.g.) 5,504 prvahnl.hr
36 14 Oct 2017 1. HNL Drosina 1–0 Puclin 2,040 prvahnl.hr
37 10 Feb 2018 1. HNL Rujevica 4–0 Puljić, Čolak, Črnic, Zuta 4,151 prvahnl.hr
38 17 Apr 2018 1. HNL Drosina 0–1 Kvržić 1,637 prvahnl.hr
39 26 Aug 2018 1. HNL Rujevica 3–3 Héber (3) Mierez (2), Obeng 4,517 prvahnl.hr
40 11 Nov 2018 1. HNL Drosina 1–2 Čolak, Kvržić Perić-Komšić 1,953 prvahnl.hr
41 1 Mar 2019 1. HNL Rujevica 2–0 Gorgon, Murić 4,275 prvahnl.hr
42 4 May 2019 1. HNL Drosina 0–7 Pavičić (2), Čolak (2), Acosty, Puljić, Capan 1,741 prvahnl.hr
43 22 Sep 2019 1. HNL Drosina 0–3 Andrijašević, Lončar, Murić 2,797 prvahnl.hr
44 8 Dec 2019 1. HNL Rujevica 2–0 Gorgon, Murić 4,045 prvahnl.hr
45 7 Jun 2020 1. HNL Drosina 1–3 Lončar, Čolak, Murić Perić-Komšić 0 prvahnl.hr
46 25 Jul 2020 1. HNL Rujevica 4–2 Čolak (4) Guzina (2) 0 prvahnl.hr
47 29 Aug 2020 1. HNL Rujevica 2–1 Andrijašević (2) Guzina 0 prvahnl.hr
48 27 Jan 2021 1. HNL Drosina 1–2 Andrijašević (2) Špoljarić 0 prvahnl.hr
49 13 Feb 2021 1. HNL Rujevica 1–1 Murić Gržan 0 prvahnl.hr
50 7 Apr 2021 Cup (SF) Drosina 3–2 Drmić, Murić Šutalo, Hara, Guzina 0 hns-cff.hr
51 21 Apr 2021 1. HNL Drosina 1–2 Murić, Kulenović Galilea 0 prvahnl.hr
52 25 Jul 2021 1. HNL Rujevica 2–0 Drmić (2) 2,015 prvahnl.hr
53 2 Oct 2021 1. HNL Drosina 3–6 Krešić, Pavičić (2), Vučkić, Ampem, Bušnja João Silva, Mahmoud, Lisica 1,274 prvahnl.hr
54 18 Dec 2021 1. HNL Rujevica 1–0 Obregón 3,255 prvahnl.hr
55 2 Apr 2022 1. HNL Drosina 0–2 Vučkić (2) 2,170 prvahnl.hr
56 21 Aug 2022 1. HNL Drosina 1–1 Vučkić Petković 2,422 hnl.hr
57 29 Oct 2022 1. HNL Rujevica 0–1 Erceg 3,755 hnl.hr
58 3 Mar 2023 1. HNL Drosina 0–2 Janković (2) 3,019 hnl.hr
59 6 May 2023 1. HNL Rujevica 2–2 Frigan, Ampem Kadušić, Bakrar 6,657 hnl.hr
60 6 Aug 2023 1. HNL Rujevica 6–0 Ivanović, Selahi, Pašalić, Goda, Majstorović (o.g.), Grgić 4,856 hnl.hr
61 22 Oct 2023 1. HNL Drosina 1–1 Janković Mlinar 3,665 hnl.hr
62 4 Feb 2024 1. HNL Rujevica 3–0 Hodža, Janković, Marić 7,588 hnl.hr
63 14 Apr 2024 1. HNL Drosina 0–2 Fruk, Goda 5,228 hnl.hr
64 17 Aug 2024 1. HNL Rujevica 4–0 Rukavina, Pašalić, Ivanović (2) 4,159 hnl.hr
65 3 Nov 2024 1. HNL Drosina 0–1 Fruk 3,569 hnl.hr
66 8 Feb 2025 1. HNL Rujevica
67 19 Apr 2025 1. HNL Drosina

Players

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Top scorers

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Updated up to the last derby played on 3 November 2024.

9 goals
7 goals
6 goals
5 goals
4 goals
3 goals

Players who have scored in Rijeka–Pula derby for both clubs

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Players who have played for both clubs (senior career)

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Managers who have managed both clubs

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Prva HNL results

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The table lists the place each team took in each of the seasons.

1992 92–93 93–94 94–95 95–96 96–97 99–00
No. of teams 12 16 18 16 14 16 12
Rijeka 6 4 6 11 9 4 4
Istra 7 8 10 12 11 15 11
04–05 05–06 06–07 09–10 10–11 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16 16–17 17–18 18–19 19–20 20–21
No. of teams 12 12 12 16 16 16 12 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10
Rijeka 4 2 7 9 9 12 3 2 2 2 1 2 2 3 3
Istra 1961 10 7 11 11 15 9 6 6 9 9 6 9 9 9 9

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Istraživanje riječke nogometne povijesti: "NK Rijeka sigurno nije osnovana 1946. godine, poveznica s Fiumanom je jako čvrsta"". Novi list. 2021-01-31. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  2. ^ "Povijest". HNK RIJEKA (in Croatian). Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  3. ^ "HNK Rijeka predstavio monografiju "Rijeka bijelih snova"". KIGO.hr (in Croatian). Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  4. ^ Percan, Anton. "Povijest" (in Croatian). NK Istra. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  5. ^ "Povijest" (in Croatian). NK Rijeka. Archived from the original on 14 February 2015. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  6. ^ Vivoda, Vlado. "Istra 1961-Rijeka: pobjeda u regionalnom derbiju za nastavak niza?" (in Croatian). Hocuri.com. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
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  • History of Rijeka's participation in championships at NK-Rijeka.hr (in Croatian)