Sunday, 4 April 1999 is seared into my memory.

It’s your usual Adelaide afternoon and I’m sitting in front of the TV with my late father, watching football.

Part of me wishes I was at the game, but I also understood why my dad didn’t want to go.

West Adelaide Hellas (at that point known as the Adelaide Sharks) were on their deathbed.

Players weren’t being paid, the club was in turmoil and there was zero guarantee they’d play in the NSL again.

Hellas had some good players in their team that day: Richie Alagich, Corey Artone, Branko Milosevic, Paul Pezos, Joel Porter and Aaron Westervelt to name a few.

But they were surely no chance against an Adelaide City team featuring Ivanovic, Tobin, Mori and Veart (yes, that Veart).

I had some serious angst from years of beatings from City as a Hellas fan – mostly they comprised of Damian Mori scoring.

I was raised by my mother and stepfather (hence the double-barrel surname), but I loved going to watch Hellas play with my father.

Going to watch a derby was the pinnacle of those experiences with him.

My dad and I loved each other, but separation for 12 days out of 14 meant we often found it hard to connect.

Later in life we worked together and our relationship blossomed but in those early years, football was the one thing that we shared.

That’s why this Sunday is so important to me.

The Hellas players dyed their hair blue to show solidarity and won thanks to a late Aleksandar Đurić goal. I remember how happy I was.

(Not as happy as the fan who jumped the fence and body slammed Đurić – regular supporters would remember him as the overweight man who sat in the outer and always yelled at the Sharks manager: ‘Schaefer make a change’).

It’s funny how things play out. Paul Pezos, the current Adelaide City manager, played for West Adelaide that day. He was 20 years old.

He recalls the game with fondness and explains how that game set him on his path as a coach.

“We were in a bit of turmoil as a club,” he said.

“That day was a special day for me, obviously beating Adelaide City one-nil when it was a time long overdue.

“It’s was all about the belief, irrespective of what was happening on the outside.

“And this is what I’ve instilled in my players. It’s about having belief within ourselves and each other and making sure we back each other.

“Part of my coaching has been about belief – believing in my players, players believing in me and what we’re trying to do.”

A few months later Hellas folded.

I lost interest in NSL after that – I had no one to support.

That was until, of course, Adelaide United filled the void left by Adelaide City’s withdrawal from the competition in 2003.

And hence tonight will be the first time in 23 years that a team I support plays Adelaide City.

Adelaide City’s Nicholas Bucco and Adelaide United’s Lachlan Barr. Photo: Adelaide United

It would be foolish to say that this game is bigger than the rivalry with Melbourne Victory.

I’d even suggest that its behind the rivalry the Reds have with Sydney FC (in the early days of the A-League Mens, games against Sydney were arguably just as anticipated as those against Victory).

But this is a derby and a grudge match which has been hotly anticipated by supporters of both teams for a long, long time.

This all stems from the fact that United replaced Adelaide City in the NSL in 2003.

A lot of soccer people (who weren’t fans of City) didn’t get behind United because they felt they were Adelaide City in new colours.

Of course, that simply isn’t true. City withdrew from the competition and created a vacancy.

It was the eve of the new season, United were given six or so weeks to get ready and with most players already committed to teams, they signed many of the Adelaide City players who had become free agents.

Some City fans believe Adelaide ‘usurped’ their spot in the league – that’s also a fallacy.

The Reds would never have started had Bob D’ottavi decided to keep bankrolling City.

Even though lots of players have proudly worn the shirt of both teams, they have never met at a senior level (they have played at NSL level of course).

I’m reliably informed that United’s players are “up for it” and they know the significance of the game. City won’t take a step back either.

This should be fun.

Tonight’s game kicks off at 7pm at the State Centre for Football, Gepps Cross.

Spiro Karanikos-Mimis is InDaily’s soccer columnist.