Any list on football stadiums treads on dangerous ground. Real fans of the beautiful game are a fickle, hard-to-please bunch, no more so than when it comes to arena, stadium or pitch greatness. Certainly, we can almost all agree on some of the venerable, legendary stadiums of world football. But to define the “best” is a tricky endeavor indeed.
Well, Michel Platini and his team at UEFA have their own criteria for what constitutes a tournament worthy and “best” stadium. What was once a star system, with five the most a stadium could hope to attain, is now broken down in more simple language: elite. UEFA Elite stadia in other words, are the cream of the European crop, at least in their ability to host Champions League action. What makes a UEFA Elite stadium? Well, the official UEFA document runs well over a dozen pages long and contains such fine, humdrum details as number of showers for officials and the like. Minimum capacity must exceed 30,000 though in truth, most break the 60,000 mark.
With all that in mind, here are some of the most notable UEFA Elite Stadia.
Though supporters of Football Club Internazionale Milano, or Inter, may call it Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, San Siro resonates with most people. The historic stadium in Milan broke ground in 1925 and went through extensive renovations some sixty years later. Today, the home of A.C. Milan and Inter, two of the best clubs in Europe, can hold over 85,000 people.
A thoroughly modern facility with design aesthetics one would expect of the Netherlands, the home of AFC Ajax provides Amsterdam with a world class stadium. Real grass and a retractable roof highlight the UEFA Euro 2000 host facility.
Sir Bobby Charlton’s “Theatre of Dreams” is above hyperbole and needs no introduction. The home of Manchester United has been a football mecca for over a century.
Germany’s second city has a world class facility in HSH Nordbank Arena. The name may not evoke romance but nonetheless, the home of Hamburger SV and 2006 World Cup host facility is UEFA Elite and dates back over half a century.
Home of glory, triumph and tragedy, Ibrox Stadium has a special place in the hearts of Rangers F.C. supporters. The Scottish Premier League facility, still known as Ibrox Park to many, drew a record crowd of 118,567 for a league match with Celtic in 1939. Home to one of the best match day atmospheres in world football, bar none.
The home of historic S.L. Benfica is one of two Elite stadia in the capital of Portugal. Built for UEFA Euro 2004, the Lisbon stadium was host of the final between Portugal and Greece – a tragic loss for the home side of course.
The gritty, North Rhine-Westphalia city of Gelsenkirchen may not be a mainstream tourist destination in Germany. However, the industrial city of well over 250,000 people has a gem of a football stadium in Veltins-Arena. Home of Bundesliga club FC Schalke 04 since 2001, the facility hosted the 2004 UEFA Champions League final and five 2006 FIFA World Cup matches.
FC Porto has been one of the best and most consistent clubs in European football for the past decade or so. Built for Euro 2004, the Estadio do Dragao provides the pride of Porto and multiple cup and championship winners with a suitable home.
Synonymous with club football glory, Camp Nou is holy ground for fans of FC Barcelona. The massive facility has a capacity of over 98,000, a record in Europe.
Built in the years before the Second World War, Olympiastadion Berlin is a massive facility that underwent considerable upgrades in 1974 and most notably, in 2006 for the FIFA World Cup. With some pre-war architecture intact, the stadium is well worth a visit to watch Hertha BSC compete in Bundesliga action. Only Westfalenstadion in Dortmund, another Elite stadium in Germany, seats more.
More commonly known as De Kuip, or The Tub, than Feijenoord Stadion, Rotterdam has a superb Elite stadium, no matter what you call it. Home to Big Three Dutch side Feyenoord, the 50,000 plus capacity stadium will actually make way for De Nieuwe Kuip sometime in the next decade.
Wembley. The most iconic stadium in the world, while not home to a specific Premier League club, is nonetheless elite. With the peerless ability to hold 90,000 spectators under one roof, where else would you rather watch the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final?
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