Brian Clough Trophy

Infobox sports league
title = Brian Clough Trophy
sport = Football
founded = 2007
teams = 2 (Derby County and Nottingham Forest)
country = ENG
champion = Derby County (31 July 2007)

The Brian Clough Trophy is a football trophy competed for whenever East Midlands rivals Derby County and Nottingham Forest play each other. The trophy is named after Brian Clough, who managed both clubs with great success.

Rules

The trophy has been awarded to the winners of any league, cup or friendly match between the two clubs since the 2007-2008 season. Matches are held under the rules of the relevant competition. In the event of a draw, the holders retain the trophy [cite web|title=The Brian Clough Trophy|work=Derby County FC website|date=July 4 2007|url=http://www.dcfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10270~1067545,00.html|accessdate=2007-07-04] .

Background and history

Derby County and Nottingham Forest, football clubs located just a few miles apart, have long been arch rivals. Unusually, the same man managed both clubs during their greatest periods of success: Brian Clough. He managed Derby County from 1967-1973, a time in which they won their first Football League title, and Nottingham Forest from 1975-1993, during which they won their only Football League title and two European Cups. On both occasions, he lifted the club from Football League Second Division to the First Division title. In so doing, Clough was only the second manager, after Herbert Chapman, to win the Football League with two different clubs.

Clough himself retired from football in 1993, and died of stomach cancer in 2004. In early 2007, officials from Derby County, Nottingham Forest and the Brian Clough Memorial Fund, along with Brian Clough's widow Barbara and his son Nigel, agreed to institute an official tournament between Clough's two best known clubs. Similar to rugby union's Calcutta Cup, the competition would not regularly demand its own fixture, but would be competed for whenever the two clubs happened to meet. The first match, however, was a specially-arranged pre-season friendly, with all proceeds going to charity.

The trophy itself is a silver loving cup with a lid. The cup is over 100 years old, though it had never been used before becoming the Brian Clough Trophy [cite web|title=Revealed: The Brian Clough Trophy|work=Derby County FC website|dateJuly 25 2007|url=http://www.dcfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10270~1078426,00.html|accessdate=2007-07-26] .

Winners

Total wins

Does not include matches where the trophy is retained due to a draw.

Results

References