Looks pretty bloody spectacular Marcos! Is it always like that, if you went to any given game would the atmosphere be rocking, or are these pictures just taken from important / derby games?
The Best Stadiums in World Football
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Looks pretty bloody spectacular Marcos! Is it always like that, if you went to any given game would the atmosphere be rocking, or are these pictures just taken from important / derby games?
Looks pretty bloody spectacular Marcos! Is it always like that, if you went to any given game would the atmosphere be rocking, or are these pictures just taken from important / derby games?
i guess that picture was taken during a derby game or when river was about to conquer another championship -we have 33
-but no matter the game, the atmostphere is always espectacular with the crowd chanting during the whole game
I have.
IIRC you want to write assignment? Perhaps this can be something different.
That'll depend though, this stadium certainly holds its historical background as Indonesia was powerhouse in the south east asian region around that time, built to house the communist nation game originally.
If you're looking for modern stadium, pass this one
If you're looking for esthetics designs surely European stadium is where you should be looking.
It all depends.
If you could put a paragraph together for me about why the stadium is of particularly historical importance, and how things have changed to the modern day, I would be extremely appreciative
A quick browse for a start tells me it's no longer a 100,000+ stadium, modified down to a still impressed 88,000+ due to renovation work
A quick browse for a start tells me it's no longer a 100,000+ stadium, modified down to a still impressed 88,000+ due to renovation work
I've had the privilege to visit both of Buenos Aires' famous grounds and as far as I'm concerned La Bombonera is a better stadium than El Monumental. The latter lacks intimacy.
I've had the privilege to visit both of Buenos Aires' famous grounds and as far as I'm concerned La Bombonera is a better stadium than El Monumental. The latter lacks intimacy.
why do you need intimacy in a stadium? to kiss your boyfriend?
btw, i can asure you that when River Plate stadium is crowded you feel you are being intimate with a lot of people
Sell it to us with your paragraph then please Elliot. From the pictures posted so far, River appears to be the place to visit!
Croke Park during anniversary celebrations
If you want a stadium with history then you can't go too far wrong with Croke Park. It has been used for gaelic football and hurling matches since 1884. On 21st November 1920 the stadium was to host one of the most significant events to take place during the Irish war of independence. In response to an IRA guerilla attack on British agents earlier in the day British forces made their way to Croke Park during a match between Dublin and Tipperary and opened fire on the crowd killing twelve spectators and two players including Tipperarys captain.
It was never open to 'foreign' sports up until 2007 when a motion was passed to allow soccer and rugby matches to be played. After two rugby matches in February of that year The Republic of Irelands first chance to play in the third largest stadium in Europe came on 24th of March when they beat Wales 1-0 in a Euro 2008 qualifier. They have since played all their home World Cup 2010 qualifying fixtures at Croke Park including the 1st leg of the infamous play-off against France.
While it may not have too much history in regards hosting games of our favourite sport, 82,000 crazy Irish fans roaring on Ireland particularly against Italy and France last year is something I won't forget too easily.
If you want a stadium with history then you can't go too far wrong with Croke Park. It has been used for gaelic football and hurling matches since 1884. On 21st November 1920 the stadium was to host one of the most significant events to take place during the Irish war of independence. In response to an IRA guerilla attack on British agents earlier in the day British forces made their way to Croke Park during a match between Dublin and Tipperary and opened fire on the crowd killing twelve spectators and two players including Tipperarys captain.
It was never open to 'foreign' sports up until 2007 when a motion was passed to allow soccer and rugby matches to be played. After two rugby matches in February of that year The Republic of Irelands first chance to play in the third largest stadium in Europe came on 24th of March when they beat Wales 1-0 in a Euro 2008 qualifier. They have since played all their home World Cup 2010 qualifying fixtures at Croke Park including the 1st leg of the infamous play-off against France.
While it may not have too much history in regards hosting games of our favourite sport, 82,000 crazy Irish fans roaring on Ireland particularly against Italy and France last year is something I won't forget too easily.
I don't know if Croke Park is really what you're looking for but I couldn't let a thread about the best stadiums go without giving it a bit of a plug
That's great mate. Ireland have now played international matches there, so it's certainly suitible
why do you need intimacy in a stadium? to kiss your boyfriend?
btw, i can asure you that when River Plate stadium is crowded you feel you are being intimate with a lot of people
Holy shit, I walked right into that one.
I'm no expert, I've been to a single game at each ground (both v Independiente) and the atmosphere was significantly better at La Bombonera. Seems to me this was in part due to the considerable distance between the stands and the pitch at El Monumental.
Ok that's good, so it's a more intimate setting. Is that purely to do with the lack of running track or is there more to it?
It also seems quite a distinctive stadium, 3/4's of a bowl stadium the likes of which are commonplace, but then one side seems far less developed, can you explain what's going on there? Presumably that's the section Maradona would sit for the derby, looks like hospitality?
Chivas' new stadium's looking great.
Galatasaray's Ali Sami Yen Stadi.
Welcome to Hell.
There are few things in world football like the noise from a Turkish stadium.
Worthy of a mention as any as this historic little stadium won't be around much longer in it's current capacity. Home of Galatasaray SK in Istanbul, the stadium is named after the founder of the club and though it officially hosts just 24,000 it is one of the hottest, most intimidating venues in European football.
Steeped in history, Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Manchester United have all been beaten there, the stadium is about to be replaced by one with capacity of 52,647 which will make it the largest private stadium owned by a club in Turkey. Expected to be completed at the end of this year, it will also feature a mobile pitch and a hydraulic dome. Will the killer atmosphere, intensity and ferocity be replicated ? Can it become an even fiercer ground to visit ? That remains to be seen.
Welcome to Hell.
There are few things in world football like the noise from a Turkish stadium.
Worthy of a mention as any as this historic little stadium won't be around much longer in it's current capacity. Home of Galatasaray SK in Istanbul, the stadium is named after the founder of the club and though it officially hosts just 24,000 it is one of the hottest, most intimidating venues in European football.
Steeped in history, Barcelona, Real Madrid, AC Milan and Manchester United have all been beaten there, the stadium is about to be replaced by one with capacity of 52,647 which will make it the largest private stadium owned by a club in Turkey. Expected to be completed at the end of this year, it will also feature a mobile pitch and a hydraulic dome. Will the killer atmosphere, intensity and ferocity be replicated ? Can it become an even fiercer ground to visit ? That remains to be seen.
Not sure. It's obviously a major factor.
As far as I know it was build that way due to lack of property space. The outstanding stand is basically a lot of exec boxes stacked on top of a few rows of ordinary seats.
The Sapporo Dome, they have a pretty average side, not amazing in terms of atmosphere, but it looks very nice.
This also looks pretty spectacular, but it might not even be built
Reminds me a little of Hammarby, where one end of the stadium is an office block!!!
How come both games in Argentina were vs Independiente, just a quirk of fate or you chose specifically to go to games against them? What was it like getting a ticket, how expensive and available is it? Less than River presumably given their reputation?
In your opinion they are yet pretty much everyone agrees that they increase the atmosphere. But regardless, it is your choice to sit in an ultra end and therefore you know what you are getting in to. If you want to sit and watch, no one is stopping you from sitting on the sides.
Also I posted the video clip above which had no flares/smoke in sight.
Pure coincidence that both games were against Independiente. A Porteño mate of mine hooked me up with tickets but I'm pretty sure a ticket for either stadium isn't too hard to come by, unless we're talking Boca-River or vice versa. I think I paid him 20 pesos for the River game and 25 for the Boca game, in other words about 4 quid. This was 6-7 years ago and I'm not sure if they were full price tickets as they were a work perk.
I went to some scary matches here when it was still standing, especially when Cardiff City came to town.
Stockholms Stadion or Stockholms Olympia Stadion - Home of Djurgården IF.
This weird looking stadium was built in 1910-1912 and used in the 1912 Olympic Games. Since 1936, it is home of Djurgården IF, but also a very popular venue for other sporting events. It has the capacity of 13-14000, so it isn't really that big. Unfortunately because this stadium is not really built as a modern football stadium, security at games is seriously lacking, which has prompted a debate on whether Djurgården should be allowed to play there in the future. Some high risk games will often be moved to the bigger Råsunda Stadion (the national arena and home of rivals AIK). There has been talk of rebuilding it, i.e. remove the tracks around and make the stands more fitting for football fans. However, it was decided that rebuilding it wouldn't make it a good enough stadium for football, so it was left in its current state..
A nice ground to look at, but because of the big distance between the ground itself and the crowd, atmosphere can be lacking a bit. There are far better grounds in Sweden than this one, but I believe this one stands out for its design and history.
This weird looking stadium was built in 1910-1912 and used in the 1912 Olympic Games. Since 1936, it is home of Djurgården IF, but also a very popular venue for other sporting events. It has the capacity of 13-14000, so it isn't really that big. Unfortunately because this stadium is not really built as a modern football stadium, security at games is seriously lacking, which has prompted a debate on whether Djurgården should be allowed to play there in the future. Some high risk games will often be moved to the bigger Råsunda Stadion (the national arena and home of rivals AIK). There has been talk of rebuilding it, i.e. remove the tracks around and make the stands more fitting for football fans. However, it was decided that rebuilding it wouldn't make it a good enough stadium for football, so it was left in its current state..
A nice ground to look at, but because of the big distance between the ground itself and the crowd, atmosphere can be lacking a bit. There are far better grounds in Sweden than this one, but I believe this one stands out for its design and history.
Ok, great response. So far, in the bag, I have content for The Alianz Arena, Bayern Munich, Germany; Ali Sami Yen, Galatasaray, Turkey; Sapporo Dome, Consadole Sapporo, Japan; Westfalenstadion, Borussia Dortmund, Germany; – Marakana, Red Star Belgrade, Serbia; El Monumental, River Plate, Argentina; Croke Park, Ireland National Team, Ireland; La Bombonera, Boca Juniors, Argentina; and Stockholms Olympia Stadion, Djurgården IF, Sweden
Does anyone else have any other stadiums they'd like to write a paragraph about? The blog will probably go up on Thursday so get them in by Wednesday evening please
Does anyone else have any other stadiums they'd like to write a paragraph about? The blog will probably go up on Thursday so get them in by Wednesday evening please
Tucked away in downtown Piraeus lies the intimidating fortress of Olympiakos FC, Olympiakos Fan Club of Piraeus, originally known as the Piraeus Velodrome, now the Georgios Karaïskákis Stadium.
With more national titles than Panathinaikos, AEK Athens FC and PAOK FC combined, it is European success that Olympiakos fans most long for and the Karaïskákis Stadium has been something of a fortress from which they have seen off the likes of Liverpool, Deportivo, AS Monaco, Ajax, Porto and were only a last minute equaliser away from beating Juventus. It's their away form that has been their achilles heel in Europe.
Named after Georgios Karaiskakis, a hero of the Greek War of Independence who was mortally wounded nearby, the stadium has a capacity of 33,334.
It was renovated during the 1960s and was completely rebuilt in 2004 into an all seater stadium for the football competition of the 2004 Summer Olympics yet it still retains it's intimidating atmosphere come derby games and big European nights.
With more national titles than Panathinaikos, AEK Athens FC and PAOK FC combined, it is European success that Olympiakos fans most long for and the Karaïskákis Stadium has been something of a fortress from which they have seen off the likes of Liverpool, Deportivo, AS Monaco, Ajax, Porto and were only a last minute equaliser away from beating Juventus. It's their away form that has been their achilles heel in Europe.
Named after Georgios Karaiskakis, a hero of the Greek War of Independence who was mortally wounded nearby, the stadium has a capacity of 33,334.
It was renovated during the 1960s and was completely rebuilt in 2004 into an all seater stadium for the football competition of the 2004 Summer Olympics yet it still retains it's intimidating atmosphere come derby games and big European nights.
There's some gash stadiums here. A few really impressive ones though. Surely theres more on offer?
People have selected stadia on various criteria, size, history, atmosphere or merely just for sentimental reasons.
If you are so dissatisfied with the thread why don't you get off your fat, lazy cnut and write a few yourself ?
Estadio Azteca
Huge, inmense, colossal. There are not enough words to describe how big and how imponent it is. With 115,000 fans of capacity approx, the Estadio Azteca is one of the biggest football stadiums in the world, and amazingly, anywhere you're sitted in the stadium, the view is good, if not great.
The area that surrounds the stadium is not the most pleasant, if pleasant at all, but the trip is worthwhile.
Great football heroes have been there. Pelé won the world cup in the match of the century vs Italy. Maradona...well, you all know the story. Lineker, Hugo Sánchez, Klinsmann, fat Ronaldo, among plenty of others.
It's the place where the most popular team of the country plays its Home games, but they rarely fill the stadium, except when the derbys or "clásicos" are played.
It is also the place where the national team plays most of its Home games. The atmosphere when Mexico plays there (especially vs the USA) is great. IMO, it could well be much more louder, but a lot of people who are ticket holders are not very passionate and still attend the game.
What helps the imponent atmosphere at Estadio Azteca is that Mexico city is located 2235 meters above sea level, so teams that are not used to these kind of levels often pay the price in the second half. The Mexico national team has only lost once in a world cup qualifier at Estadio Azteca in history, vs Costa Rica in 2000, I was there, and it wasn't pretty.
Estadio Azteca is one of Mexico City's "monuments" (among plenty, plenty, plenty of others), and certainly THE football monument. Anyone who likes football should attend a match at Estadio Azteca, to see where some of the football legends played their trade or made themselves famous.
As an interesting fact, America (the local team at EA) recently scored the 1000th goal ever scored at EA.
Estadio Azteca is also used for concerts and events, and has also hosted music legends, as well as the Pope Joan Paul II (if any of you is interested, yeah, more than 115,000 people to see the Pope, religious country).
Atmosphere at this game was out of this world:
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I think that's more information than the one you needed Brad, but hopefully you can select what you find useful.
Huge, inmense, colossal. There are not enough words to describe how big and how imponent it is. With 115,000 fans of capacity approx, the Estadio Azteca is one of the biggest football stadiums in the world, and amazingly, anywhere you're sitted in the stadium, the view is good, if not great.
The area that surrounds the stadium is not the most pleasant, if pleasant at all, but the trip is worthwhile.
Great football heroes have been there. Pelé won the world cup in the match of the century vs Italy. Maradona...well, you all know the story. Lineker, Hugo Sánchez, Klinsmann, fat Ronaldo, among plenty of others.
It's the place where the most popular team of the country plays its Home games, but they rarely fill the stadium, except when the derbys or "clásicos" are played.
It is also the place where the national team plays most of its Home games. The atmosphere when Mexico plays there (especially vs the USA) is great. IMO, it could well be much more louder, but a lot of people who are ticket holders are not very passionate and still attend the game.
What helps the imponent atmosphere at Estadio Azteca is that Mexico city is located 2235 meters above sea level, so teams that are not used to these kind of levels often pay the price in the second half. The Mexico national team has only lost once in a world cup qualifier at Estadio Azteca in history, vs Costa Rica in 2000, I was there, and it wasn't pretty.
Estadio Azteca is one of Mexico City's "monuments" (among plenty, plenty, plenty of others), and certainly THE football monument. Anyone who likes football should attend a match at Estadio Azteca, to see where some of the football legends played their trade or made themselves famous.
As an interesting fact, America (the local team at EA) recently scored the 1000th goal ever scored at EA.
Estadio Azteca is also used for concerts and events, and has also hosted music legends, as well as the Pope Joan Paul II (if any of you is interested, yeah, more than 115,000 people to see the Pope, religious country).
Atmosphere at this game was out of this world:
--------------------------------
I think that's more information than the one you needed Brad, but hopefully you can select what you find useful.
The star system has been scrapped by UEFA and the Karaiskákis would be way too small to host a European final.
I disagree, I think there's been some exceptional stadiums, and people who've visited them have put together some great descriptions of what makes their particular favourite stand out
Thanks for everyone's help, still time to get more in!
Hopefully, someone has been to see Braga, I can't write a blog about great stadiums and not include that beauty!!!
I thought it would be criminal for the Maracana not to get more than a mention:
The Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, commonly called Estádio do Maracanã ("Maracanã Stadium")
After winning the right to host the 1950 FIFA World Cup, the Brazilian government sought to build a new stadium for the tournament and in 1948 the first stone was laid and the Estádio do Maracanã was born.
Mainly used for matches between the major football clubs in Rio de Janeiro, including Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama, it also hosts on occasion the national side, numerous domestic football cup finals, and has also hosted a number of concerts and other sporting events.
Although the paid attendance at the final game of the 1950 FIFA World Cup was 199,854 the unofficial attendence was reported to be nearer 210,000 !! The stadium currently seats 90,000 spectators and is the largest stadium in South America. On March 21, 1954 a new official attendance record was set in the game between Brazil and Paraguay, after 183,513 spectators entered the stadium with a ticket.
It is due to host the World Cup Final in the 2014 World Cup, becoming the second stadium to host football's most important match twice after the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
The stadium will also be the centrepiece of the 2016 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Paralympics as the site of ceremonies and the football finals. It hosted the first ever FIFA Club World Cup final match between Vasco da Gama and Corinthians, which Corinthians won on penalties.
Following its 50th anniversary in 2000, the stadium underwent renovations which would increase its full capacity to around 103,000. After years of planning and nine months of closure between 2005 and 2006, the stadium was
reopened in January 2007 with an all-seated capacity of 88,992.
The Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho, commonly called Estádio do Maracanã ("Maracanã Stadium")
After winning the right to host the 1950 FIFA World Cup, the Brazilian government sought to build a new stadium for the tournament and in 1948 the first stone was laid and the Estádio do Maracanã was born.
Mainly used for matches between the major football clubs in Rio de Janeiro, including Botafogo, Flamengo, Fluminense and Vasco da Gama, it also hosts on occasion the national side, numerous domestic football cup finals, and has also hosted a number of concerts and other sporting events.
Although the paid attendance at the final game of the 1950 FIFA World Cup was 199,854 the unofficial attendence was reported to be nearer 210,000 !! The stadium currently seats 90,000 spectators and is the largest stadium in South America. On March 21, 1954 a new official attendance record was set in the game between Brazil and Paraguay, after 183,513 spectators entered the stadium with a ticket.
It is due to host the World Cup Final in the 2014 World Cup, becoming the second stadium to host football's most important match twice after the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
The stadium will also be the centrepiece of the 2016 Summer Olympics and 2016 Summer Paralympics as the site of ceremonies and the football finals. It hosted the first ever FIFA Club World Cup final match between Vasco da Gama and Corinthians, which Corinthians won on penalties.
Following its 50th anniversary in 2000, the stadium underwent renovations which would increase its full capacity to around 103,000. After years of planning and nine months of closure between 2005 and 2006, the stadium was
reopened in January 2007 with an all-seated capacity of 88,992.
I'm a bit shit at writing about stuff but I'm putting forward Windsor Park - Belfast
It may be a shitty little stadium in the middle of Belfast, with a pathetic 14,000 capacity and just about still standing, But when the Green and White Army are in force to watch Northern Ireland, It makes stadia with 4 or 5 times the capacity look pathetic.
"Fortress Windsor" as we like to call it, world heavyweights such and England, Spain and Sweden have came to demolish "minnows" in the International Football scene, but what they didn't expect was the intimidating atmosphere from 14,000 drunk Northern Irish Fans. "We're not Brazil we're Northern Ireland" belts out from the Kop end, and after some of the results that have been gained at this tiny little ground, I can understand why it is sang with such pride.
And remember, one of the best footballers of all time played his international football here.
A few videos
Under The Kop
If you pick this I could get a better write up done
Irish Football Association, Northern Ireland - News - NORTHERN IRELAND FANS ARE OFFICIALLY THE BEST IN EUROPE
It may be a shitty little stadium in the middle of Belfast, with a pathetic 14,000 capacity and just about still standing, But when the Green and White Army are in force to watch Northern Ireland, It makes stadia with 4 or 5 times the capacity look pathetic.
"Fortress Windsor" as we like to call it, world heavyweights such and England, Spain and Sweden have came to demolish "minnows" in the International Football scene, but what they didn't expect was the intimidating atmosphere from 14,000 drunk Northern Irish Fans. "We're not Brazil we're Northern Ireland" belts out from the Kop end, and after some of the results that have been gained at this tiny little ground, I can understand why it is sang with such pride.
And remember, one of the best footballers of all time played his international football here.
A few videos
Under The Kop
If you pick this I could get a better write up done
Irish Football Association, Northern Ireland - News - NORTHERN IRELAND FANS ARE OFFICIALLY THE BEST IN EUROPE
Not really. Bout the same as the Luzhniki but doesn't have to be cut down due to a running track so it can be full width.
Yeah, but some of them are shit. Liking a stadium for 'sentimental reasons' doesn't make it one of the best stadiums in the world.
Quality idea for a thread, some awe inspiring stadiums already in here, but I'm not going to throw in a picture of my local park just because it has sentimental value. I'm here to see pretty pictures of epic stadiums that I might not have seen before.
I'm far from a fat, lazy cnut too, so remove that stick from your shitty little ring piece and feck off starting arguments like a pikey little school girl you clown.
Excellent contribution.
The Melbourne Cricket Ground.
More renowned for its Cricket and AFL, the ground has still hosted more then its fair share of Socceroo matches. A Capacity of just over 100,000 its arguably one of the finest sport stadia in the world, and will host the world cup final should Australia's bid be successful for the 2022 tournament.
It will be held at Stadium Australia (aka ANZ Stadium, aka Olympic Park) in Sydney, it was held for the most significant match in Australian footballing history in 2005 and will be held there again if Australia are succesful in the bid for the World Cup in 2018 or 2022 as the capacity will be increased.
I was there for the 2000 Olympics for many of the events and believe me, it was an incredible stadium with over 100,000 capacity.
The same stadium got 80,000 for the Beckham match when LA Galaxy were here to play Sydney (I was also there), it is far more engrossing in a traditional stadium than an oval is, designed for cricket and Gay-FL with an enormous playing surface meaning a third of the crowd are alienated away from the sidelines.
As was your 'contribution' slating me after stating there has been some really impressive stadiums.
There's been some gash ones, some interesting ones and some truly impressive ones. IMO.
Brad disagrees, fair enough, but he wasn't a flatulent jap-eye about it.
Now lets continue with the thread, which is what would have happened anyway had you not got your flaps in a twist.
My contribution is three researched and typed up articles complete with photos.
In your opinion. Instead of moaning about it, as I stated earlier, you could get off your fat arse and contribute something.
I would imagine Brad disagrees because folks have put their time and effort into contributing valuable pieces whereas you are coming across like a spoilt whiney prick.
Exactly, now let's see you contribute something constructive instead of 'wah wah wah, this is gash' you fecking child.