Santiago Bernabeu

In the early parts of the 20th century, Real Madrid first played at Campo De O’Donnell, but then moved to the larger Campo de Chamartín in 1924.
In 1943, Chamartin had already become too small again, and club-president Santiago Bernabéu decided that Madrid needed a new and modern 100,000-stadium.
This new stadium got built at the same site of Campo de Chamartín. Construction began in 1945, and on the 14th of December 1947 Estadio Santiago Bernabéu officially opened with a match against Portuguese champions OS Belenenses (3-1).
The stadium was initially still called Nuevo Estadio Chamartin, but received the name of the club-president eight years later.
At that time, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu consisted of two uncovered tiers that could hold just over 75,000 spectators. Capacity was further increased to 125,000 in 1954, when one of the long sides got expanded with a third tier.
The Bernabéu was together with Camp Nou playing venue of the Euro 1964 Championships, hosting one of the two semi-finals and the final between Spain and the Soviet Union (2-1).
Towards the end of the 1970s, the stadium had already started to age, and at one time even plans were made to build a new stadium in the north of the city.
However, with the perspective of the 1982 World Cup it was instead decided to renovate the Bernabéu, which included the construction of a roof that covered the three two-tiered stands and the installation of seats in half of the stadium. As a result, capacity was reduced to 90,800 places.
During the 1986 World Cup, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu hosted three matches in the second group stage and the final between Italy and West Germany (3-1).
In the 1990s, UEFA required the stadium to become an all-seater, which would have reduced capacity to 50,000 seats. Club president Mendoza therefore started an extensive redevelopment program that included extending the third tier over the entire stadium, the creation of corporate facilities, and four access towers in each corner of the stadium. Works started in 1992 and were completed two years later.
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu got further refurbished an upgraded between 2001 and 2006. Works most of all focused on improving corporate facilities, and were concluded in 2006 with the construction of a roof over the one remaining uncovered stand.
In its history, Estadio Santiago Bernabéu has hosted four European Cup and Champions League finals. The first final was in 1957 between Real Madrid and Fiorentina (2-0), the second in 1969 between AC Milan and Ajax (4-1), the third in 1980 between Nottingham Forest and Hamburg (1-0), and the last one in 2010 between Internazionale and Bayern Munich (2-0).
Real Madrid recently presented plans to further upgrade the stadium with commercial and corporate facilities, and to increase capacity to over 90,000 seats. This will be done by renovating the stand facing the Paseo de la Castellana avenue. The club hopes to conclude the works in 2015.

The Spirit of Azteca

Estadio Azteca was built in the 1960s to accommodate the growing support of Club América and to provide Mexico with a flagship venue for the upcoming 1970 World Cup.
Estadio Azteca got designed by architect Pedro Ramírez Vázquez after a careful study of the most famous European stadiums of that time. Construction of the stadium, which took a total of 4 years, was not easy due to the hard volcanic rock the land consisted of.
Estadio Azteca officially opened on the 29th of May 1966 with a friendly match between América and Italian side Torino (2-2).
During the 1970 World Cup it hosted a total of 10 matches, among which a semi-final and the final between Brazil and Italy (4-1).
Sixteen years later, Estadio Azteca again hosted a World Cup final, and it has thus far been the only stadium to host two World Cup finals (Maracanã will receive the same honour in 2014).
The stadium had received a small refurbishment before the start of the World Cup, and went on to host 9 matches, among which the famous quarter-final between Argentina and England (2-1), a semi-final, and the final between Argentina and Germany (3-2).
Due to safety measures the capacity of the stadium, which could hold 115,000 spectators in 1986, has been slightly reduced to its current total of 104,000.
Apart from being the home of América, Estadio Azteca is also the standard playing venue for official matches of the Mexican national team. Over the years it has also been the home of various other Mexican clubs, such as Cruz Azul and Necaxa.

San Siro From Italy

Stadio San Siro was a project of AC Milan president Piero Pirelli. In the first two decades of the 20th century, Milan had already occupied various grounds and by the early 1920s played at a ground at the Viale Lombardia.
Though a perfectly fine ground, it soon turned out to be too small for the club’s growing number of fans, and therefore architect Stacchini, also responsible for Milan’s central station, was hired to design a complete new stadium.
Stadio San Siro officially opened on the 19th of September 1926 with a friendly between Milan and Inter (3-6). The stadium initially consisted of four separate stands and could hold 35,000 spectators.
San Siro was first owned by AC Milan, but was sold to the city of Milan in 1935, who were soon forced too enlarge the stadium due to the club’s increasing popularity.
Plans were made for a massive stadium for 150,000 spectators, but were in the end significantly scaled down. The redeveloped San Siro opened in 1939, and consisted of one fully enclosed tier.
Until 1945, Milan had been the sole occupant of San Siro, but were then joined by Inter, who had before played at the Arena Civica.
San Siro got further expanded in 1955 when a second tier got built on top of the first one, which resulted in a capacity of about 85,000 places.
In the following decades, San Siro hosted two European Cup finals, the first in 1965 between Inter and Benfica (1-0), and the second in 1970 between Feyenoord and Celtic (2-1).
The stadium had earlier gotten ignored as a playing venue for Euro 1968, but did get selected as a venue for Euro 1980. At the same time it got officially renamed Stadio Guiseppe Meazza, in honour of the ex-player of Inter as well as AC Milan.
During the 1980 European championships, San Siro hosted three first round group matches.
Soon after, Italy got awarded the 1990 World Cup, and it became clear that a major upgrade was needed. For a moment, the option of building a new stadium was contemplated, but the architects Giancarlo Ragazzi, Enrico Hoffer, and Leo Finzi instead chose for an ambitious redevelopment plan.
Works included the construction of a third tier, a roof that would cover all seats, and eleven cylindrical concrete towers around the stadium to support the extra tier and roof structure. The resulting capacity was 85,700 seats.
During the World Cup, San Siro hosted the opening match between Argentina and Cameroon (0-1), three further group matches, a round of 16 match, and the quarter-final between Germany FR and Czechoslovakia (1-0).
The stadium got further refurbished in later years, and capacity reduced slightly due to UEFA safety requirements. In 2001, it hosted the Champions League final between FC Bayern and Valencia (1-1).
In early 2012, Inter announced the intention to build a new club-owned stadium, which they hope to move into in 2016. Further details are expected later in 2012. AC Milan is likely to stay at San Siro.

Luzhniki From Russia

Luzhniki Stadium, earlier called Central Lenin Stadium, was built between 1955 and 1956. It was the result of the ambition of the Soviet leadership to upgrade the country’s sports facilities after the Soviet Union had tasted its first post-war successes at the 1952 Olympics.
Works on the Luzhniki Olympic complex started in 1954 and construction of its centrepiece stadium, also called the Grand Sports Arena, in 1955. The stadium got finished in just 450 days and officially opened on the 31st of July 1956.
Luzhniki Stadium served as the centrepiece stadium of the 1980 Olympics, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies, athletics events, football finals, and equestrian programme.
In 1982, a stadium disaster took place at the stadium during a second round UEFA Cup match between FC Spartak and Dutch side HFC Haarlem. In the dying seconds of the match people started rushing for the exits to make it to the metro before the rest of the crowd. When someone fell at the icy staircases, chaos ensued, and the resulting crush and domino effect killed 66 people.
Until the 1990s the roofless stadium could hold just over 100,000 spectators. In 1996, the stadium got extensively renovated, which included the construction of a roof over the stands and the refurbishment of the seating areas, which resulted in a decrease of capacity.
In 1999 Luzhniki Stadium hosted the UEFA Cup final between Parma and Marseille (3-0), and in 2008 the Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea (1-1).
The stadium is currently the regular home by FC Spartak, but also occasionally used by PFC CSKA. Spartak is currently building a new club-owned stadium that is expected to open in 2014.
Luzhniki Stadium is set to be the playing venue of the 2018 World Cup. It is likely to get thoroughly renovated for the event, though concrete plans have not yet been presented.

Estadio Do Dragao

Estádio do Dragão was built to provide FC Porto with a modern home and Euro 2004 with one of its flagship venues. It replaced FC Porto’s old Estádio das Antas.
Estádio do Dragão is estimated to have cost €98 million. It officially opened on the 16th of November 2003 with a friendly between FC Porto and Barcelona (2-0), which was the debut of Lionel Messi in Barcelona’s first team.
During the Euro 2004 tournament, Estádio do Dragão hosted, among others, the opening match, another two group matches, a quarter-final, and the semi-final between Greece and the Czech Republic (1-0).

Estádio do Dragão is located just under 4 kilometres north-east of Porto’s historic centre.
It sits directly adjacent to the motorway that circles the heart of the city (Via de Cintura Interna). Take the exit that is marked with the sign Estádio.
If using public transport, the stadium can be easily reached by metro. The stadium is served by line A, B, E and F, which can all be boarded just north of the historic centre, for example at stop Trindade or Bolhão.
One can also first get on line D at one of the city centre stops (or train station São Bento), and then transfer to one of the above lines at Trindade. Get off at station Estádio do Dragão, which for most lines is also the last one.

Maracana Stadium, Brazil

The gigantic Maracanã Stadium was built to open the 1950 World Cup.  It holds the record for the largest attendance at a World cup final as 199,854 paying spectators crammed into the stadium and many more besides.
If you’re after the intense Brazilian football experience complete with the drums, flares, and chanting, then get to a game; otherwise the sports museum inside the stadium with photographs, cups, and Pele’s famous no. 10 jersey is a more sedate experience (enter at Gate 18).
Its official name is 'Mário Filho Stadium' but it's called 'Maracanã' after the small river that runs alongside. In the 1990s it was modified to become an all-seated stadium and now holds under 100,000.
The four main teams of the city play here and it will host the opening of the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies. It is being renovated for these events (scheduled to reopen in 2012) and will finally hold around 103,000 spectators.

Boca Juniors, La Bombonera

The Boca Juniors’ Club soccer stadium, popularly known as “La Bombonera”, is with no doubt the most popular one in the country and the one that has more fanatics throughout the world. Its supporters called themselves "La Mitad Más Uno", in reference to the proportion of fans with regard to the total quantity of the country (in fact, the porcentage is a bit lower than 50 %). Boca obtained national and international triumphs throughout history and it is the winnest of South America of the last decade. It is this way, Boca Juniors has turned an international brand and a lot of foreign tourists arrive in Argentina just to see the team in action in this mithycal stadium, where the extreme support of the fans is the biggest attraction. The Club has the pride to have been one of the teams where Diego Armando Maradona played. Maradona is considered vy the specalists as the best soccer player ever in the planet. Maradona is the fan number one of Boca and it is possible to see him in his box seat in almost every game. He has or maybe because it gave birth to famous soccer players who obtained national and international triumphs throughout history. It has a superimposed floor structure that resembles a “box of chocolates” which gave origin to its popular name. Here, while in a full house match, specially when the Boca-River Super Classic is played, the song from the tribunes becomes deafening sounds. It is not a myth the fact that every time the fans jump in the unison to support the team, "The Bombonera shakes". To this, owes its fame of being one of the most difficult stadiums for the visitors teams due to the pressure exerted by the supporters during the match. Blue and yellow, the colours that represent the team, have their own history. It is said that the group of young founders of the club, when they had to choose the colors that would identify the institution, they decided to take the colours from the first boat passing by the Riachuelo. It turned out to be a Swedish boat (which has a blue and yellowed flag). The stadium was inaugurated in 1940 and it has a seating capacity of 40,000 people. Nowadays it can contain up to 60,000 people. In its outer façade, a mural by the famous painter Pérez Celis can be observed and it has a representation of the typical life and characters of La Boca. The facilities of the staduim include since a few years ago a museum that preseerves the memory of the great glories of the club´s history.