We pick a side. Then we argue it properly.

Here’s the thing. Football has never been neutral. Nobody falls in love with this game by watching it from the middle.

You fell for it because someone took you to a ground, or sat you in front of a television, and told you about the stories of their favourite team. From that moment you had a side. You still do.

Why Rivals Knock exists

Most football writing gives you one of two things. Numbers without a soul, or hot takes without any respect. We wanted something else: the great conflicts of the game told as if you were there, living every moment of it. Club against club, player against player, era against era. Politics, pride, class, betrayal, and every so often, a bit of football.

Represent a side. Respect the other.

That line is the whole idea. We will tell you who we think was right, and we will back it with history and logic, not volume. Then we will give the other side its due, because a rivalry without a worthy opponent is just a grudge.

So yes, we take sides. We just refuse to be cheap about it.

Who is writing

I’m Awais. A lifelong Real Madrid supporter and a former competitive footballer. I’ve played this game, argued about it for years, and I still plan my week around kick-off times. I write from the stands, not the press box.

That means I take sides. It also means I know what it feels like to lose to a rival who was simply better. When Madrid are wrong, I’ll say it. When the other side is brilliant, I’ll say that too, through gritted teeth. And that’s the point.

How to read us

Foundation Articles are the definitive piece on a rivalry. Start there. Opinion pieces make one argument and defend it. Reactive pieces jump on a live moment, and only ever after the Foundation Article for that rivalry exists.

Every article ends with a question and two buttons. Pick your side. Then tell us why in the comments, and argue it properly.