“Carlisle and Barrow will play each other next season in the Cumbrian derby in the National League,” writes Peter Hutchinson. “The clubs are located at opposite ends of Cumbria and the distance between the two grounds is some 78 miles [by car]. Does this make it the greatest distance between two teams involved in a ‘derby’?

A couple of clarifications: answers here will feature the shortest distances by car. The second, perhaps more important, point is that we are excluding matches that are simply rivalries. Specifically, we are looking for matches between teams that are linked based upon their proximity or geography, rather than, say, a ‘clásico’ between Real Madrid and Barcelona, which is essentially a historical rivalry in which the distance between the two teams is largely irrelevant (save for being in the same country).

Within the UK, the Cumbrian derby certainly looks the furthest derby by distance. If we are staying in England, the closest we can get to 78 miles is the A49 derby between Shrewsbury Town and Hereford United, separated by 51 miles, although it should be said that the two teams have not met since the latter was dissolved in 2014. Hereford FC, the phoenix club currently in the National League North, are widely seen as the same club as Hereford United.

In England, thoughts immediately go to Crystal Palace and Brighton, dubbed the M23 derby, but a quick search reveals that Selhurst Park is a mere 46 miles from the Amex Stadium, which would only get you halfway across the Lake District between Carlisle and Barrow. It is also 46 miles that separate the stadiums of Plymouth Argyle and Exeter City, the Devon derby. Just behind are Ipswich and Norwich – the East Anglian derby (AKA El Tractico or the Old Farm) – with Portman Road and Carrow Road 45 miles apart. It is something of a stretch but one could classify AFC Wimbledon v MK Dons as a derby (rather than just a heated rivalry). The distance from Plough Lane to Stadium MK is 60 miles by car.

Farther afield, we must mention the derby between Persib Bandung and Persija Jakarta, who take part in the Indonesia derby, or Laga Klasikal as it is locally known, with Persib’s Gelora Bandung Lautan Api Stadium lying 108 miles away from Persija’s Jakarta International Stadium in Indonesia’s capital. The derby is renowned as one of the biggest in Asia and is fiercely contested on and off the pitch.

Italy is fertile ground for a host of famous derbies, and it is here (we think) that we find our overall winner. Of course there is the Derby d’Italia between Milan and Juventus, with 85 miles separating San Siro and Juve’s Allianz Arena in Italy’s north-west. A word, too, for the Derby dell’Appennino, named after the mountain range that separates Bologna and Florence, with 64 miles between the Renato Dall’Ara Stadium and Fiorentina’s Artemio Franchi Stadium. The Derby di Sicilia between Palermo and Catania spans a whopping 134 miles across the breadth of Sicily, while the Derby delle Isole (Derby of the Islands) between Palermo and Sardinian club Cagliari goes even further – a full 250 miles across the Tyrrhenian Sea.

Our winner, though, comes from New Zealand’s North Island. With Auckland FC only entering the A-League Men in 2024-25, the New Zealand derby between themselves and Wellington Phoenix is still very much in its infancy but has already blossomed into something substantial. In February, just the sixth edition of the derby, a comical own goal from Wellington goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi sparked a 5-0 thrashing by Auckland, prompting Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano to resign immediately after the defeat. With 386 miles between the two grounds, the NZD is our clear winner. Take that, Cumbria.

• Can you find a derby based on proximity or geography with teams more than 386 miles apart? Emails to the usual place: knowledge@theguardian.com.

Double winners

“Deji Elerewe has won the title with both Bromley (League Two) and Lincoln (League One) this season. Has any other player managed the same feat?” asks Anthony Hall.

We covered this answer 10 years ago in a previous Knowledge, but regular contributor Dirk Maas has come in clutch with some additions, although he does clarify that he has limited his search to the top five leagues in Europe in this century.

Different league levels in the same country in the same season:
Jonas Urbig with Köln (2. Bundesliga) and Bayern Munich (Bundesliga) in 2024-25.
Different league levels in different countries in the same season:
Leigh Griffiths with Celtic (Scottish Premiership) and Wolverhampton (League One) in 2013-14.

Same league levels in different countries in the same season:
Urby Emanuelson with Ajax and Milan in 2010-11
Daniel Amartey with Leicester City and FC Copenhagen in 2015-16
Timothy Weah with Paris Saint-Germain and Celtic in 2018-19
Antoine Bernède with PSG and RB Salzburg in 2018-19
Leandro Paredes with Zenit St Petersburg and PSG in 2018-19
Álvaro Odriozola with Real Madrid and Bayern in 2019-20
Takumi Minamino with RB Salzburg and Bayern in 2019-2020
João Cancelo with Manchester City and Bayern Munich 2022-23
Tajon Buchanan with Club Brugge and Inter in 2023-24
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia with Napoli and PSG in 2024-25
Sacha Boey with Bayern and Galatasaray in 2025-26

“Due to the seasons happening at different times of year, there is an argument that David Beckham achieved this picking up an MLS winner’s medal with LA Galaxy and a Ligue 1 winner’s medal with Paris Saint-Germain in 2012-13,” suggests Tom Reed. “Similarly, due to Norway running a summer football season, Harald Brattbakk won the league with Rosenborg in 1997 and then won the 1997-98 Scottish Premiership with Celtic.”

Here is another alternative answer from Dave Stewart: “manager Adam Hinshelwood [father of Brighton player Jack Hinshelwood] started the season at York City but left after four games before they went on to that historic climax to pip Rochdale to the National League title. Adam ended up back in Sussex where he went on a mad run to take Worthing to the top of the Conference South at Christmas. After a bit of a wobble it looked like Dorking would be champions but they completely collapsed during the run in and Hinshelwood ended up as Conference South champion and next season will be back in the National League. Not sure if York have sent him a winner’s medal for the 10 points he earned them at the start of the season but technically he contributed to two title wins in the English non-league pyramid this season.”

And this is a slight variation in answer from Dan Almond, who flags that Evann Guessand should qualify for winner’s medals in both this season’s Europa League and Conference League competitions. That is, of course, if Aston Villa and Crystal Palace win their respective finals against Freiburg and Rayo Vallecano.

Easy street

“Chelsea faced only one Premier League team, Leeds United, en route to the FA Cup final. Has any team reached the final without facing a top-flight team?” wonders Jeremy Cartwright.

“This did happen, and in one of the most iconic cup finals ever,” replies Mykola Kozlenko. “Yes, the 1923 ‘white horse’ FA Cup final featured a team with such an achievement. West Ham, themselves a second-tier side, had only lower-league opponents on their way to the final: Hull City (D2), Brighton (D3), Plymouth (D3), Southampton (D2) and Derby County (D2). The same happened to Les Herbiers in the 2017-18 Coupe de France final. Themselves a third-tier side, Les Herbiers did not meet a Ligue 1 side before facing PSG in the final, eliminating Coulaines (D6), Châteaubriant (D5), Balma (D5), Romorantin (D4), Angoulême (D5), Saint-Lô (D5), Auxerre (D2), Lens (D2) and Chambly (D3).”

“Millwall did it during their run to the 2004 FA Cup final, beating Walsall, Telford United, Burnley, Tranmere Rovers and Sunderland along the way,” adds Phil Benton. “Unfortunately, they then came up against Manchester United in the final.”

Knowledge Archive

“What’s the most Irish players who have ever started for one team in a Premier League game?” asked Philip Farrell in 2014.

According to our eggheaded and always helpful pals at Opta, the highest number of Republic of Ireland players to have started for one team in a Premier League match is five and it has happened on three occasions. Sifting through the lineups of the games in question, the Knowledge can reveal that in October 1992, five Irishmen lined up for Middlesbrough in their 1-1 draw with Sheffield Wednesday at Ayresome Park. Alan Kernaghan, Curtis Fleming, Chris Morris, Graham Kavanagh and Bernie Slavin. Of the five players in question, it’s worth noting that while all five declared for and represented the Republic of Ireland, only Kavanagh was born and raised there. On the afternoon in question, it’s worth noting Middlesbrough also had Dublin native Alan Moore as an unused substitute.

On 1 February 2012, the Aston Villa side who drew 2-2 with QPR at Villa Park boasted five Irishmen, including one named Ireland: Shay Given, Richard Dunne, Ciaran Clark, Stephen Ireland and Robbie Keane. Of the quintet, only Clark was born outside the country he represents at international level. The same five players also started Aston Villa’s next match, a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle at St James’ Park.

Can you help?

“I am Lennon,” writes Lennon Quizon Graham. “I am only 11 years old. My dad is a Boro fan and so now I am. I love crazy stats and my dad told me about you. I read about teams that did not get any points, laughed my head off. My question is: what is the most time in a game the ball has not gone out of play?”

“Which player has won the most league championships without winning an international cap?” asks Nick Williamson. “Steve Bruce won three Premier League titles with Manchester United – surely there are other non-capped players with more title honours?”

“The Spanish national team have played at the Estadio Martínez Valero in Elche on seven occasions, winning all seven matches,” notes Cameron McGlone. “What’s the most games a team have played at a certain stadium while maintaining a 100% win record?”

“I’ve just noticed that, after 35 rounds in La Liga, Barcelona have only drawn one game,” notes Joe Rivers. “Excluding teams with 100% or 0% records, has a team ever gone a full season without drawing a single game?”

• Mail us with your questions and answers