These stadiums are worth a visit!
Football stadiums are the home of the club and its supporters. While that makes everyone one of them special, some stadiums capture the imagination more than others. Our summary of the top-ten most legendary football stadiums presents the cream of the crop: from gigantic arenas steeped in history, to ultra-modern home grounds equipped with unparalleled amenities.
1. Anfield Road
Club: Liverpool
Capacity: 54.074
Respect for history is part of football, which is partly why we’re kicking off at Anfield Road, the Liverpool stadium. Anfield first saw the light of day back in 1884, making it the oldest stadium on this list.
The legendary club song, “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, roars around the four stands at home matches without fail, even causing goosebumps on living room sofas. What’s much less known is that for the first eight years it existed, Anfield was used by Everton; with a lease conflict forcing ‘The Toffees’ to up sticks to Goodison Park. This left owner John Houlding with an empty stadium on his hands, and so he founded a new club: the Liverpool Association Football club; Everton’s biggest rival to this day.
Liverpool has played countless matches at Anfield that have gone down in history. Fresh in the memory is, for instance, the Champions League semi-final against Barcelona on 7 May 2019. Partly thanks to two goals by Georginio Wijnaldum, Liverpool clawed its way back from 0-3 from the first leg, and Anfield was ecstatic.
Winning the Champions League meant Wijnaldum and his teammates were worshipped like heroes. On the watch to the pitch, they were allowed to touch the famous ‘This is Anfield’ sign: something coach Jürgen Klopp only tolerates from players who’ve enhanced Liverpool’s trophy cupboard.
2. Camp Nou
Club: FC Barcelona
Capacity: 99.354
With its nearly 100,000 seats, FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou has the honour of being Europe’s largest football station. It was first opened on 24 September 1954, and that was no coincidence: that’s the day Catalan capital’s festival of La Mercè is celebrated. This means that – just like FC Barcelona – Camp Nou is strongly associated with the city’s cultural identity. This can also be seen in the club’s motto ‘Més que un Club’ – more than a club – which proudly adorns the stands. The name Camp Nou is also Catalan, and simply means ‘new ground’.
The stadium’s colossal size can only really be appreciated once you’re inside for a match or tour. This is because – quite uniquely – planning restrictions meant an additional tier had to be excavated downward, invisible from the outside.
There are further upgrades on the horizon. The aims of the Espai Barça project – set for completion in 2024 – include adding a crowd roof and 360-degree screen, with capacity reaching 105,000.
Among those shining here have been coach Johan Cruijff’s ‘Dream Team’, with players going on to become Barcelona coaches themselves such as Pep Guardiola and Ronald Koeman, and Lionel Messi still thrilling the stands for the time being. Tip: if you’re yearning to see him excelling at Camp Nou, don’t wait too long to plan your visit.
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3. Old Trafford
Club: Manchester United
Capacity: 71.140
Old Trafford is the largest club-football stadium in the United Kingdom. Opened in 1910, the stadium’s wonderful nickname ‘Theatre of Dreams’ was down to club icon Bobby Charlton, referring to club’s dreams becoming reality despite setbacks.
It was along with the club that Charlton experienced the deepest of lows: the 1958 Munich plane disaster, which cost the lives of a large portion of the United team. Charlton and coach Matt Busby survived the catastrophe. You’ll find a memorial at Old Trafford to the late ‘Busby Babes’, who were named after the coach.
Old Trafford was used as an army depot during the Second World War, and so was bombed by the Nazis. The resulting heavy damage led to United playing at Maine Road from 1941 to 1949, back then still the home of rival Manchester City. Partly due to subsequent alterations, only the central tunnel of the original stadium remains.
This does not diminish the respect for the past, as also seen when Cristiano Ronaldo returned to his old haunt with Real Madrid for the Champions League, with home supporters welcoming him back as loud as they could. This is the kind of atmosphere you can expect in the Theatre of Dreams.
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4. Santiago Bernabéu
Club: Real Madrid
Capacity: 81.044
Although constructed in 1947, the name Estadio Santiago Bernabéu only officially dates back to 1955. Santiago Bernabéu de Yeste was a key figure in Real Madrid achieving its current status. He was the club’s captain, coach as well as its president. Bernabéu was also partly behind what would go on to become the Champions League, in which Real Madrid would shine so brightly.
Various European cup finals have been played out at Real Madrid’s home ground, including the Champions League 2010 final, when Wesley Sneijder won with Inter. The 1964 European Cup final and the 1982 World Cup Final also took place here, making Santiago Bernabéu the first stadium to host both title games.
Extensive renovation – set for completion in 2023 – is currently underway. The updated Bernabéu is getting a retractable roof, and is being enlarged and equipped with restaurants, shopping centres and even a hotel with rooms overlooking the pitch.
The stadium’s exterior is going futuristic, with the walls able to display moving images. Comfort inside is being enhanced, with a 360-degree screen set to appear over the stadium entire tier.
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5. San Siro / Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
Clubs: AC Milan & Inter Milan
Capacity: 75.923
Unique to the San Siro is that it has not one but two fixed home teams – AC and Inter Milan – that also happen to be each other’s main rivals. The official name is Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, named after a player who had been on both clubs’ teams. However, since Giuseppe Meazza played with Inter for longer and was also its coach three times, this name is mostly popular among Inter fans, with Milan fans opting for San Siro: a reference to the district the stadium occupies.
The stadium has had several facelifts, the last time being for the 1990 World Cup. This final revamp saw the characteristic eleven cylindrical towers being added, for supporting the new third tier.
Feyenoord clinched the European Cup I Final here in 1970. Celtic was beat 2-1 thanks to goals from Rinus Israël and Ove Kindvall. During the 1990 World Cup, San Siro was also the scene of the spitting incident between Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Völler, during the Netherlands – West Germany game. Matches were also already being held in San Siro during the 1934 World Cup, when Italy first become world champions.
If you’ve ever dreamed of taking a football trip to San Siro, time is now of the essence. AC Milan and Inter have reached an agreement on a new stadium, set to be erected somewhere in the next few years. There are now two designs in the running: The Cathedral and Rings of Milano.
Although the old San Siro will then be partly demolished, certain features are set to stay standing, surrounded by a green area set dedicated to sport, culture and leisure.
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6. Signal Iduna Park / Westfalenstadion
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Capacity: 81.365
The Westfalen Stadium, for sponsorship reasons also known as Signual Iduna Park, is Germany’s largest stadium and – after Camp Nou and San Siro – Europe’s third largest club-football stadium. However, it outstrips those other two on a different front, since it holds the European record for the highest average number of visitors per match: 80,588 in the 2011–12 season.
This means that the venue renowned for its intense atmosphere, which is largely fuelled by the fanatical supporters on the South Stand, also known as the Gelbe Wand (Yellow Wall). With a capacity of nearly 25,000, this is the largest terrace in Europe.
The Signual Iduna Park is next to the lively Kreuzviertel district, with Dortmund supporters packing out the countless pubs on match days. Incidentally, this district had to be evacuated during renovations in 2006, when an unexploded, Second World War 450-kg bomb was discovered near the centre line.
Believe it or not: when the stadium was opened in 1974 – in part due to the World Cup in West Germany that year – Dortmund ended up in the second Bundesliga division. It was only in 1976, following promotion, that the club played its first home game in the Bundesliga: which is these days impossible to imagine without Dortmund, let alone Signual Iduna Park.
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7. Etihad Stadium
Club: Manchester City
Capacity: 55.017
For sponsorship reasons, we mainly know the City of Manchester Stadium as Etihad Stadium. It underwent its baptism of fire in 2002, hosting the Commonwealth Games; after which Manchester City started leasing it from the city of Manchester. The athletics track vanished, and a third tier was created in 2015, meaning the current capacity was reached.
The stadium has received much praise for its splendid design. The roof is in fact detached from the stadium bowl, and is supported by a structure of twelve external masts and cables. Their work earned the architects multiple prestigious awards.
Without a doubt, the most legendary match ever in the Etihad Stadium was played on the last day of the 2011–12 season. City became national champions at their home ground for the first time since 1968, turning things around from trailing in injury time.
A football trip to the Etihad Stadium is also a visit to the most successful English club in the last few years. Manchester City have won the Premier League four times since 2012, more often than any other club.
8. Allianz Arena
Club: Bayern München
Capacity: 75.024
The outside of the Allianz Arena, which opened in 2005, consists of 2,874 plastic air cushions, each in a different size. These provide the arena not only with a futuristic appearance, but also a special feature: this is the first stadium the exterior of which can totally change its colour: such as red for Bayern matches.
On clear evenings, this dazzling illumination means the Allianz Arena can be spotted from Austrian mountain peaks, 80 km away.
In its first few years the stadium was shared with 1860 München, but that came to an end when this club was relegated to the amateur league in 2017. The stands were then entirely decked out in Bayern colours.
It’s possible you’ll have trouble finding your car on a visit to the Alliance Arena, owing to the stadium boasting the largest parking garage in Europe, with almost 9,800 parking spaces.
Allianz Arena was the proud organiser of the Champions League final in 2012. It was the first time in the tournament’s history that one of the finalists was able to play in their own stadium: Bayern Munich. Nevertheless, that didn’t mean the home advantage they’d hoped for. Chelsea won the final on penalties.
After previously having hosted during the 2006 World Cup, matches are once again scheduled at the Allianz Area in June 2021 for the postponed 2020 UEFA Cup, including the France – Germany and Portugal – Germany play-offs.
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9. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Club: Tottenham Hotspur
Capacity: 62.850
The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium opened its turnstiles in 2019, making it one of the youngest stadiums on this list. You obviously come here for the football of Kane, Son and company; but this stadium is nevertheless also worth visiting for its impressive design and certain very special facilities.
This is the third-biggest stadium in England, and London’s largest. With a height of 34 metres, its South stand is the largest in England, comprising one tier with 17,500 seats. On top of this South Stand is also a replica of the original golden cockerel, the club’s mascot. This even includes dents once caused in the original when Paul Gascoigne shot at it with an air gun.
The stadium also is also home to the Goal Line Bar which – at 65 metres in length – is the longest bar in Europe. This venue has a special quick-pour system, with beer glasses being filled from underneath. This means 65,000 (!) pints can easily be poured during matches: and from its own brewery, no less; located in the stadium itself.
Designed to serve not only as a football stadium, but also as the first NFL stadium outside North America. The football pitch is fully retractable and when that happens, a complete NFL pitch is appears. The first ever NFL London Games were held in 2019, with several games seeing a full stadium.
As a spectator, you can’t get any closer to the pitch in England: the shortest distance between seats and the turf in Tottenham stadium is a mere five metres, and nowhere is it more than eight.
10. Wembley
Capacity: 90.000
There are two stadiums named Wembley. The original Wembley Stadium was in the same spot in London from 1923 to 2003. At one time it had capacity for 127,000 spectators, and was the scene of fabled matches, such as the 1966 World Cup final. England won their first and, as yet, only world title ever by beating West Germany in the final; and for this reason alone, the stadium has a special place in many English people’s hearts.
Rather than belonging to a club, Wembley is the official stadium of the English Football Association, which is also headquartered there. It is frequently used by the English national squad. The finals of the FA Cup, League Cup and other cup tournaments are also played here. Wembley also sets the stage for promotion and delegation play-offs, as well as for matches in countless other sports and events.
There’s no need to worry if nature calls during a visit to Wembley: this station boasts 2,618 toilets: more than any other building in the world.
Pelé once said that Wembley stadium is the capital, the cathedral, and the heart of football. Wembley – the old and new stadium alike – is a global icon in football. This definitely makes it onto the bucket list of plenty of football fans around the world.