Brian Clough Trophy
| Founded | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Region | East Midlands |
| Number of teams | 2 (Derby County and Nottingham Forest) |
| Current champions | Derby County FC |
The Brian Clough Trophy is a football trophy competed for whenever East Midlands rivals Derby County and Nottingham Forest play each other (known as the East Midlands derby). The trophy is named after Brian Clough, who managed both clubs to great success. The trophy is currently held by Derby County FC after being held for the previous few years by Nottingham Forest FC.
Derby County and Nottingham Forest, football clubs located less than 20 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 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 the two clubs that Clough was most successful with as a manager. In a further twist in 2009 Nigel Clough himself became manager of Derby County, having previously played with distinction under his father at Nottingham Forest.
The competition does not regularly demand its own fixture, but is 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.
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