Between the 1960s and 1980s, Ipswich Town were among the cream of the crop. He was league champion in 1962, won the FA Cup in 1978 and even won the UEFA Cup three years later. A great season for Norwich City was 1992/93, the inaugural Premier League season, when the Canaries finished third behind Manchester United and Aston Villa.
Both clubs represent the largest cities in the eastern region of England, which is also known by its historic name of East Anglia. Its cornerstones are the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. The centre of Norfolk and the largest city in the region is Norwich. Its entire conurbation has a population of about 370,000. Just 80 miles to the south lies the capital of neighbouring and rival Suffolk, Ipswich, whose population is roughly half that of the rest of the county.
The region is an important agricultural area because of its fertile soils. The derby between the two biggest clubs there is therefore often called the Old Farm derby, a humorous corruption of the name of the famous Old Firm Derby in Glasgow between Celtic and Rangers.
The nickname of the Ipswich footballers, the Tractor Boys, also corresponds with the farming tradition. Norwich's yellow and green jerseys also suggest a connection with the extensive grain fields and vegetable farms in the area but are actually related to the club's nickname, which is the Canaries. This is how Norwich players have been known since the early 20th century, as the club's chairman at the time bred canaries.
The Pride of Anglia
Although the East Anglians are pranksters and are not afraid to poke fun at themselves (as evidenced by the fact that Ipswich fans are not ashamed of the club's nickname, but rather consider themselves 'Tractor Boys' and boast about the nickname), they prefer a different name for the biggest game there than the Old Farm derby. They call the battle for the football king of the region by a much more pompous and poetic name - the Pride of (in this case, East) England, or Pride of Anglia.
But it's not just the two most successful and traditional clubs there that are vying for the title. Other major clubs from the wider East of England region include Colchester United, Peterborough United and Cambridge United.
Colchester currently lie in League Two (the fourth tier), with Peterborough and Cambridge a tier above. Ipswich Town were also promoted from League One to the Championship last season, where now they meet their biggest rival, Norwich, again after a gap of several years. The Pride of Anglia will be decided again this season in England's second-highest league.
Ipswich's main achievements on the domestic scene were mentioned in the introduction. In particular, in the decade between 1973 and 1983, they were one of the absolute top sides of English football and regularly performed on the European stage. The Tractor Boys ploughed through all three of the continent's major club competitions of the time (European Champions Cup, Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup) and have done so well on the international stage that they are still the only English team never to have lost a home game in a European Cup.
What's more, they have faced the likes of Real Madrid, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Lazio and Barcelona and have beaten all of them at home (Barcelona twice). Out of a total of 31 matches at their stadium on Portman Road, Ipswich players left as winners on 25 occasions, drawing six times with their European opponents.
For the record, the club's last match in European football so far was a loss in the 2nd round of the UEFA Cup in the 2002/03 season to Slovan Liberec (Ipswich won 1-0 at home, Slovan won in Liberec by the same scoreline and then won the penalty shootout).
Norwich has not achieved as much success (and as grand) as their regional rival. The Canaries have managed to win just the League Cup (twice, in 1962 and 1985). Yet they also hold one interesting European record among English teams - they are the only one who managed to beat Bayern Munich at its old Olympic Stadium. Bayern moved from their former home to the modern Allianz Arena in 2005 and have lost to English sides there more than once.
The oldest chant in the world
Ipswich Town was founded in 1878, and Norwich City nearly a quarter of a century later (1902). The strong tradition and history of football in the east of England is underlined by Norwich's chant, "On the Ball, City." Indeed, it is believed to be the oldest football chant still in use in the world. Norwich fans have been singing it since the club's foundation. The song is even older than the club itself. It is said to have been composed by one of Norwich City's founders and later club chairman Albert T. Smith for his previous football teams.
Ipswich Town are now closely associated with music, too. World-famous singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran is a big fan. The Suffolk native is also one of the club's major sponsors - he even has a place on the most prestigious part of the jersey, where his music album logo or a reference to his tour appears.
The first East Anglian derby was played back in 1902. Saturday's will be number 149. The record is even - Ipswich have won 60, Norwich 58. In the top tier of English football, however, only 28 have taken place. In all, Ipswich have spent only 26 seasons in the top flight, Norwich City one more.
In the current season, the Pride of Anglia title will be contested in the Championship. Ipswich, as newcomers to the Championship, are having a fantastic season so far. They are currently at the top of the table, which would guarantee them direct promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season (the top two teams are promoted directly).
Can Norwich stop the Tractors' good run? Form speaks in Ipswich's favour, but they haven't won a derby since 2009, a total of 12 games in a row. The Old Farm derby kicks off at 13:30 CET on Saturday.
Other derbies of the week:
Thursday, December 14th
Iran - Persian Gulf Pro League
Tehran derby
The Tehran derby is one of the most gruelling and biggest football competitions in Asia. The Persepolis club represents the working class of not only the Iranian capital but the entire country. Esteghlal is historically an upper-class club. The atmosphere of the derby is currently negatively affected by the general crisis in the country.
Friday, December 15th
Poland - Ekstraklasa
Zaglebie Lubin - Slask Wroclaw
Derby Dolnego Slaska (Lower Silesian derby)
The Lower Silesian derby was covered by Derby Week ahead of the first clash between the two clubs this season - it was won by Zaglebie in July. However, including this derby defeat, Slask Wroclaw have only lost twice so far this season and hold the top spot in the table.
Saturday, December 16th
Australia - A-League
The Big Blue
There is a great rivalry between Australia's two biggest cities - Sydney and Melbourne. The football derby between the two cities' biggest teams is called The Big Blue. The club colour of both teams is blue and in Australian English, the word blue also means fight, brawl or quarrel.
Belgium - Jupiler Pro League
Walloon derby
Standard Liege have completed the Belgian clásico double against Anderlecht and are about to face another derby. Their opponent will be Royal Charleroi Sporting Club, together with Standard one of the two traditional league teams representing the Walloon (French-speaking) part of Belgium.
Sunday, December 17th
Slag om Vlaanderen (Battle of Flanders)
Ghent and Bruges are beautiful historic cities in Flanders, Belgium. They are only 50 kilometres apart and are home to two successful clubs. Club Brugge is one of the best in the country in recent years. Gent also plays regularly in the European Cups.
Croatia - HNL
Vječni derby (Eternal derby)
Dinamo Zagreb, from the capital city, clearly reigns supreme in Croatian football, historically and currently. Its biggest rival is Hajduk from the second biggest city, Split. Both clubs are backed by large and fanatical fan groups - Bad Blue Boys (Dinamo) and Torcida (Hajduk).
England - Premier League
North-West derby
Liverpool and Manchester have been competing as cities since the Industrial Revolution. After the development of football, they also compete with each other on the pitch. LFC and Man Utd are historically the most successful English clubs. Liverpool have won a total of 68 trophies, United 67. The North West derby is one of the world's fiercest rivalries.
Germany - Bundesliga
Südderby (Southern Derby)
Munich and Stuttgart are the largest cities in the south of Germany. The derby between their football clubs is a rather one-sided affair. The resentment of VfB fans towards Bayern, in addition to the strength of the rival, is compounded by the fact that Bayern "took" players like Giovane Elber, Mario Gomez and Benjamin Pavard from them.
Israel - Ligat ha'Al
Haifa derby (Haifa derby)
As in other Israeli cities, the clash between football clubs with the names Hapoel and Maccabi is a great rivalry. The Hapoel vs Maccabi derby was analyzed by Derby Week using Tel Aviv as an example. Even in Haifa, the two clubs represent different social classes and values. Together, however, they share a stadium for more than 30,000 spectators.
Monday, December 18th
Portugal - Primeira Liga
Leos vs Dragoes (Lions vs Dragons)
Benfica and FC Porto are historically the best clubs in Portugal. Benfica Lisbon have won 38 titles, FC Porto 30. The rivalry between them is heightened by the competition between the capital Lisbon and the second largest, Porto. The rivalry is named after the animals that are the main symbols of both clubs.
