Every football fan has a bucket list. Stadiums they want to visit, players they want to watch, and derbies they want to experience. Here are ten things we believe should be on everyone’s footballing bucket list.
Visit San Siro
The home of AC Milan and Inter is due to be knocked down and rebuilt by 2027. The San Siro is one of the beautiful game’s most incredible stadiums, it’s seen players like Ronaldo, Paolo Maldini and Marco Van Basten ply their trade on the hallowed turf.
Luckily there is still time. After a few years away, both of the Milan clubs are back at the forefront of Italian and European football, catching a game at the San Siro won’t disappoint in any kind of way.
Go there while you still have the chance!
See the Old Firm derby
The Old Firm derby is arguably the best in world football. Going to see them play each other at either Ibrox or Celtic Park is quite the experience.
Rangers are the most successful club in Scottish football, while Celtic are the only club from their country to win a European Cup, beating Inter Milan in Lisbon in 1967. Each club is just as huge as the other.
Both teams will be playing in the Champions League this year. All you need to do is watch any of those games and multiply that atmosphere by 10. That’s exactly what it’s like to be at an Old Firm Derby.
Watch Ronaldo or Messi play
Having spent most of his career at Barcelona, Lionel Messi is now at PSG. The legendary Argentine is leading the French club’s mission to finally get their hands on the Champions League trophy. With Messi on board, not many will be betting against them to pull it off.
Wherever Ronaldo goes, trophies and goals follow. Starting at Sporting Lisbon, moving onto Manchester United, sealing a record move to Real Madrid and then leaving for Juventus. Ronaldo has played for some of the biggest clubs in the world, winning 5 Ballon D’Ors along the way.
Messi is now 35 years-old and Ronaldo is 37. Only they know how much longer they’ll be playing, but it would be wise to catch them as soon as you possibly can. You won’t regret it.
Shrines for a god
We lost the great Diego Maradona in 2020, but his memory will live on the streets of Naples forever. Murals and shrines to the cities’ greatest player litter the streets.
Many local guides offer tours around the city, showing off local landmarks while reciting memories the city has of Diego.
Maradona’s time at Napoli is one of football’s greatest stories, the stadium is now named after him. Go and learn the amazing history, watch some good football and eat some even better pizza
See El Clasico
Attending football’s most famous rivalry is a must for every football fan. Barcelona and Real Madrid are arguably the biggest clubs in the world, and they hate each other.
Whether you go and see them play at the Santiago Bernabeu or the Camp Nou, you will have the opportunity to see some of the best players around, and the ability to take in so much history.
Both clubs offer stadium tours and have museums unlike any other. The sheer amount of silverware on display will blow your mind.
Attend the FA Cup final
The FA Cup is the oldest club tournament in the world, and it’s also one of the best. Every single season the FA Cup has numerous upsets, twist and turns.
Careers and dreams are made in this tournament. It has everything that makes English football great. While it’s unlikely for a team outside of the Premier League to win it, fans of smaller clubs live for a good cup run.
The final is unlike any other. Over 80,000 fans doing everything they can to help their team win in the cathedral of English football: Wembley Stadium. It’s a football celebration and everybody is invited to the party. What more could you ask for?
Be part of the ‘Yellow Wall’
Dortmund’s fabled ‘Yellow Wall’ is legendary. Twenty-five thousand people crammed into Europe’s largest free standing grand-stand.
These incredibly devoted fans have won games on their own, helping their beloved team by producing one of the best atmospheres in the world.
When Bayern Munich comes to the Westfalenstadion, things get turned up to eleven. Der Klassiker is the biggest game in Germany and the Dortmund fans make sure the players know it.
Sing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ at Anfield
The city of Liverpool lives and breathes football. There are few clubs in the world that represent a city and a community like Liverpool, unless you’re an Everton fan that is.
Before every single home game, Anfield belts out its famous anthem so loud the whole of Merseyside can hear it. It’s the kind of thing that sends shivers down the spine of football fans.
To be a part of the Anfield crowd is to be part of something bigger than football. Turn to your left and turn to your right, you’ll see people who will embrace with you or cry with you for 90 minutes. It’s what makes the beautiful game beautiful. And you shouldn’t miss it.
Catch a Champions league game at a great stadium
Old Trafford, Allianz Arena, Camp Nou or the San Siro. The Champions League is where the Europe’s biggest and best clubs meet. It doesn’t really matter who you go and see a Champions League game is unlike any other. Just hearing the competition’s anthem in a football temple is something you won’t forget.
Current champions Real Madrid look on good form, Bayern Munich are always up there. Liverpool and Man City represent England’s best chance of bringing the trophy home and both Milan sides are back.
It’s impossible to rule out Messi and PSG. Whoever manages to get their hands on the trophy, the journey will be long and hard. Make sure you’re there to witness it.
Have a pint at the Freemasons’ Tavern
Now called the Freemasons’ Arms, this West London pub is the birthplace of football as we know it.
On the 26th October 1863, the first football association was formed and they wrote up the rules for the game. Much has changed since then, but much remains the same.
A cold beer in the building that our beautiful game was born in sounds lovely, and the perfect way of rounding up your football trip to England!
