Rosario Central Has Owned the Rosario Derby Since 2013: 17 Wins, Just 2 Losses

There's one number that sums up the current state of the Rosario derby better than any other: 17 wins, six draws and just two losses. That's Rosario Central's record since returning to Argentina's top flight in 2013, and it goes a long way toward explaining why Newell's shows up to every new edition of the derby feeling like it's fighting an uphill battle.

It all began on Saturday, October 19, 2013, with Central winning at home, 2-1. The goals for the Canalla came from Alejandro Donatti and Hernán Lencina, while Maxi Rodríguez pulled one back for the visitors. But the detail that really foreshadowed what was coming wasn't the score itself, it was who was managing Central that afternoon: Miguel Ángel Russo, who has never lost a derby since and has delivered seven wins for the Canalla across his different stints in charge of the club.

From that match to today, the gap has become enormous. A 15-game cushion in a little over a decade is no small thing for a rivalry that's usually tightly matched on paper. La Lepra, meanwhile, keeps piling up frustration: every derby becomes a chance to snap the streak, one that, so far, hasn't come.

The Full Head-to-Head, Depending on How You Slice It

That said, if you set aside this recent stretch and look at the all-time record in the top division alone (not counting domestic or international cups), the picture looks quite different and much more even. Rosario Central and Newell's have met 179 times in the league, with 57 wins for the Canalla, 45 for La Lepra and 77 draws (two matches were recorded as a loss for both sides due to crowd incidents or suspensions). Within that count, there's an interesting wrinkle: the last time these two drew in the league was more than half a century ago, on July 27, 1970, a 1-1 at Parque Independencia.

If you add domestic and international cups on top of AFA league tournaments, the total climbs to 197 matches: 67 for Central, 46 for Newell's and 82 draws. And if you also include the seven matches the two clubs played before either had joined AFA's top division, back in the regional football era, the total reaches 204 games, with 70 wins for the Canalla, 50 for La Lepra and 82 draws.

For anyone after the most complete figure of all, including the old Rosario regional league as well, the final tally is 279 matches: 99 wins for Rosario Central, 77 for Newell's and 101 draws. The first meeting between the two dates back to 1905, so we're talking about a rivalry with more than a century of history, one that's had even stretches and others, like the current one, clearly dominated by one side.

The next chapter of this story will be written on Sunday, when Central hosts Newell's at the Gigante de Arroyito starting at 2:45 p.m. (Argentina time), with live coverage on ESPN Premium. For La Lepra, it's a chance to finally snap a streak that's grown heavier by the year; for the Canalla, it's a chance to keep stretching a lead that grows bigger, number after number, season after season.