The Four Biggest Soccer Stadiums in the World

Watching a live game in soccer stadiums is really a different feeling than watching in television. The crowd is very intense and it adds up excitement and thrill. With all the cheers, booing and painted faces surely you would feel the crowd’s energy.

If you are a big soccer fan and want to experience the real excitement of game then you should visit one of these biggest soccer stadiums in the world.

The Rungrado May First Stadium
It is known to be the largest stadium capacity of the world, it has a seat 150,000. Structured in Pyongyang, North Korea, and was completed on May 1, 1989. This is one of Pyongyang’s prides. In the 2002 World Cup Korea was chosen as one of the host country and it was held in the stadium.

Salt Lake Stadium
This stadium is the second largest in the world and in the sub-continent of India. It was built in 1984 and seats 120,000. The stadium is based in Salt Lake City, Kolkata India. It is currently used for football and athletics in the country. Home games of India are usually held in this stadium.

The Estadio Azteca
The largest stadium in Mexico and has the seating capacity of 114,465. Mexican is very proud because The Estadio Azteca is the only stadium who hosted the World Cup twice, in 1970 and 1986.

Nou Camp
It is the largest soccer stadiums in Europe which was built in 1957. The stadium cost nearly $3 million and indeed a pride of the Barcelonians. It has the capacity of 120,000 seats. The stadium is the home of FC Barcelona and in 1982 it is where the World Cup was held.

Modern Street Soccer

Modern Street Soccer is a game formulated from the association football. There are many aspects of it that reflects just the same style of play of soccer. This informal game does not formally utilize all the required rules and necessities in a typical association football game. First of all, it was played in the street so the atmosphere and the physical location of the game are much different from the pitch in a usual soccer stadium. There are many aspects that were changed due to its difference from the common football field. Definitely there is a difference in the size of the place, the field markings, the corner flags and goal apparatus. Even the number of players in a team has been changed in order to fit the place and provide a more challenging situation that shall bring excitement to the modified game.

The rules have been slightly modified in order to fit the situation and the needs of the game. But even if with these slight changes, this game has been popular all over the world. It is much easier to set up than to play in a soccer stadium. There are three varieties in playing street soccer. There is the form where just minor adaptations are applied from association football rules. There is also a game that relies on scoring goals and there is also a game that does not rely on it.

This game is a formulation of a sport that has been famous worldwide. This helps as a form of enjoyment especially to those who are passionate about the game but couldn’t play in a soccer field. This game is the one for those who seek fun even with minimal resources.

Indoor Soccer: An Alternative Arena for Soccer

Indoor soccer is becoming a popular sport in the US and other countries. It is adapted to be played indoors with an artificial turf floors with smaller sizes compared to soccer stadiums. Hockey arenas, skating rinks and basketball courts are being used as a place for this indoor game.

Indoor soccer adapts the standard rules with a little modification depending on the place or structure of the indoor game. Most of the soccer arenas are oblong or rectangular in shape. Since the overall size of the arena is smaller than a standard soccer field, goals are also smaller so as the penalty area.

The indoor game’s duration consists of a 1 hour of play time which is divided into four quarters with a 15 minute each quarter. If in case there is a tie, a 15 minute overtime is given until a team scores one goal to break the tie.

The game is played with a total of six players per team. One of them is the goalkeeper. In this game, the ball can be hit the walls without penalty but when the ball hits the ceiling the game is stopped and the opposing team who has made the last contact with the ball is awarded a free kick.

With the indoor game popularity, a lot of high school, universities and colleges have adapted the sport in their own campus. This gives opportunity to its students to play and enjoy the sports even without the use of a standard soccer stadium.

The World Cup 2006 Soccer Stadiums

Germany hosts the World Cup 2006. The Germany’s stadiums were splendid and meet the criteria of FIFA, a governing body for the said event. All in all there are 12 Soccer Stadiums of World Cup 2006. It was the year of Italy wherein they defeat France. Too bad for the host country that landed in the third spot but they got the highest scored player, Miroslav Klose Here is the list of Soccer Stadiums of World Cup 2006.

Olympiastadion
It is located at Berlin, Germany. Considered to be one of the historical stadiums in Germany that host national and international games like 1974 FIFA world cup. It has a capacity of 73,000 seats and cost around 242 million euros. Architect Friedrich Wilhelm Krahe constructed it in 1936. It is also the stadium that Italy won its 4th World Cup Title. Below is the list of games host in World Cup 2006.
Brazil – Croatia (1 – 0)
Sweden – Paraguay (1 – 0)
Ecuador – Germany (0 – 3)
Ukraine – Tunisia (1 – 0)
Germany – Argentina (1 – 1)
ITALY – France (1 – 1)

Allianz Arena
It is the home of the Bayern München soccer club that is located in München, Germany. It has a capacity of 64,700 seats and cost around 340 million euros. It was opened in May 30, 2005 and a year after that host six games for the World Cup 2006. Below is the list of games host in World Cup 2006.
Germany – Costa Rica (4 – 2)
Tunisia – Saudi Arabia (2 – 2)
Brazil – Australia (2 – 0)
Ivory Coast-Serbia/Mont’gro (3 – 2)
Germany – Sweden (2 – 0)
Portugal – France (0 – 1)

Signal Iduna Park
It is located at Dortmund, Germany that has a seating capacity of 63,700 seats. It is considered as the “Opera House of German Football”. It was constructed in 1974 and remodeled for the 3rd time in 2006 to meet the standards of FIFA regulations. It is estimated to cost around 35 million deutsche mark. Below is the list of games host in World Cup 2006.
Trinidad/Tobago – Sweden (0 – 0)
Germany – Poland (1 – 0)
Togo – Switzerland (0 – 2)
Japan – Brazil (1 – 4)
Brazil – Ghana (3 – 0)
Germany – Italy (0 – 2)

Veltins Arena
The Veltins Arena is one of the most modern stadiums in the world because of its facilities and its retractable roof. Veltins Arena is the home of the FC Schalke 04 soccer club and is located at Gelsenkirchen, Germany. It has 52,500 seats and was constructed in the year of 2001. Below is the list of games host in World Cup 2006.
Poland – Ecuador (0 – 2)
United States – Czech Republic (0 – 3)
Argentina – Serbia/Mont’gro (6 – 0)
Portugal – Mexico (2 – 1)
England – Portugal (0 – 0)

Gottlieb Daimler Stadion
In 1993, this stadium was named Neckarstadion, simply because of the nearby river “Neckar”. In 2008, it will be named Mercedes Benz Arena because of it is financed by Daimler Benz. It was constructed in the year 1933 and has a seating capacity of 51,500 seats. It hosts 6 games for World Cup 2006. Below is the list of games host in World Cup 2006.
France – Switzerland (0 – 0)
Netherlands – Ivory Coast (2 – 1)
Spain – Tunisia (3 – 1)
Croatia – Australia (2 – 2)
England – Ecuador (1 – 0)
Germany – Portugal (3 – 1)

AOL Arena
It is located at Hamburg, Germany. In 1953 to 2001, it is named Volksparkstadion, but in 2001, it was renamed AOL arena. It has 49,700 seating capacity and home ground of Hamburger SV Football team. It hosts 5 games for World Cup 2006. Below is the list of games host in World Cup 2006.
Argentina – Ivory Coast (2 – 1)
Ecuador – Costa Rica (3 – 0)
Saudi Arabia – Ukraine (0 – 4)
Czech Republic – Italy (0 – 2)
Ukraine – Italy (0 – 3)

Commerzbank-Arena

Formerly known as Waldstadion, that was used in political events for Nazi party. This stadium has a seating capacity of 48,900 seats and located at Frankfurt, Germany. It was constructed in 1925 and has an estimated worth of 126 million euro. It hosts 5 games for World Cup 2006. Below is the list of games host in World Cup 2006.
England – Paraguay (1 – 0)
South Korea – Togo (2 – 1)
Portugal – Iran (2 – 0)
Netherlands – Argentina (0 – 0)
Brazil – France (0 – 1)

Fritz Walter Stadion
Located in Kaiserslautern, Germany, this stadium is named after Fritz Walter. Fritz Walter is the captain of the Germany National Football Team that won FIFA World Cup in 1954. It has a seating capacity of 45,800 seats and was constructed in 1920. It hosts 5 games for World Cup 2006. Below is the list of games host in World Cup 2006.
Australia – Japan (3 – 1)
Italy – United States (1 – 1)
Paraguay – Trinidad/Tobago (2 – 0)
Saudi Arabia – Spain (0 – 1)
Italy – Australia (1 – 0)

Rhein Energy Stadion

The name of this stadium comes from a local power company RheinEnergie AG. It will expire in 2009. The stadium is located at Cologne, Germany that has a seating capacity of 44,700 seats. It was constructed in 2004 and has an estimated worth of 47.4 million deutsche mark. It hosts 5 games for World Cup 2006. Below is the list of games host in World Cup 2006.
Angola – Portugal (0 – 1)
Czech Republic – Ghana (0 – 2)
Sweden – England (2 – 2)
Togo – France (0 – 2)
Switzerland – Ukraine (0 – 0)

AWD Arena
Formerly named as Niedersachsenstadion, this stadium has a 43,200 seating capacity and is located at Hannover, Germany. It has a sponsor in 2002 Allgemeiner Wirtschaftsdienst (AWD). It hosts 5 games for World Cup 2006. Below is the list of games host in World Cup 2006.
Italy – Ghana (2 – 0)
Mexico – Angola (0 – 0)
Costa Rica – Poland (1 – 2)
Switzerland – South Korea (2 – 0)
Spain – France (1 – 3)

Zentralstadion
Located at Leipzig, Germany, Zentralstadion has a seating capacity of 42,900 seats. It was constructed in 2003. It hosts 5 games for World Cup 2006. Below is the list of games host in World Cup 2006.
Serbia-Mont’gro – Netherlands (0 – 1)
Spain – Ukraine (4 – 0)
France – South Korea (1 – 1)
Iran – Angola (1 – 1)
Argentina – Mexico (2 – 1)

Easy Credit-Stadion

Located at Nürnberg, Germany, this stadium has a seating capacity of 42,600 seats and was constructed in 1923. It hosts 5 games for World Cup 2006. Below is the list of games host in World Cup 2006.
Mexico – Iran (3 – 1)
England – Trinidad/Tobago (2 – 0)
Japan – Croatia (0 – 0)
Ghana – United States (2 – 1)
Portugal – Netherlands (1 – 0)