| | |  Americas & Beyond | December 2009 
Top 10 Intimidating International Stadiums
 Malcolm MacMillan - AskMen.com
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December 02, 2009
Recently, we counted down the Top 10: Most Intimidating Stadiums in North America, looking at buildings new and old that place fear in the hearts of visiting teams and opposing fans alike. We didn’t open up the list to any global sports stadiums because, quite simply, we were focused on looking in our own backyard.
However, because you, our beloved readers demanded it, and because you can’t really define an intimidating sporting venue without looking at examples of soccer and cricket fields in places such as Asia, Europe and South America, we decided to dedicate an entire list to these frightful fields of fury.
Here are the top 10 most intimidating international sports stadiums.
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No.10 - Rungrado May Day Stadium, North Korea
With a capacity of 150,000, North Korea’s Rungrado May Day Stadium is the largest non-auto racing venue in the world. Home to North Korea’s national soccer team, as well as many gymnastic-type productions, it will forever be tied in with a chilling political event in the 1990s. After a botched assassination attempt of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, the conspirators were captured and burned alive in the stadium. Try playing soccer with that image running through your head.
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No.9 - Estadio Centenario, Uruguay
Its 80-year history and the historical success of the home team make Uruguay’s Estadio Centenario a tough visit for any opposing soccer club. Once capable of cramming 100,000 screaming fans into its bleachers, the stadium has been downsized to now fit 65,000 spectators. Though Uruguay isn’t exactly a global soccer powerhouse, it has an uncanny ability to avoid losses when it plays here. In 20 visits, Brazil’s national team had beaten Uruguay just three times. Stats like that are hard for opposing players to ignore when they set foot on Centenario’s pitch.
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No.8 - Camp Nou, Spain
Spaniards are serious about their soccer, and things are most serious at Camp Nou, home to the celebrated FC Barcelona. With a capacity of 98,772, this stadium is the largest soccer stadium in Europe, and is especially packed to the brim when rival Real Madrid comes to town. The masses are so wild that there’s always a chance that tempers will flare - just as they did in 1972 in an ugly riot against the Glasgow Rangers. This black eye on the soccer community is just one of many examples of hooliganism in and around Camp Nou.
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No.7 - Estadio Azteca, Mexico
More than 100,000 fans cram Mexico City’s famed Azteca, which booms loudest when the Mexican national team is on the pitch. Some sports venues just feel special because of their storied histories, and this stadium is definitely on that list. Its grass field has played host to several of soccer’s landmark moments since opening in 1966. In addition to hosting a Summer Olympics and two FIFA World Cup finals, it was also the setting for Diego Maradona’s infamous Hand of God goal, his Goal of the Century and soccer’s so-called Game of the Century between Italy and West Germany in 1970.
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No.6 - Estadio do Maracana, Brazil
A giant (88,238 capacity) stadium in the heart of soccer-crazed Brazil, Maracana has played host to some of that country’s most memorable soccer moments in its storied history. The stadium has three home teams - Botafogo, Fluminense and Flamengo - meaning there’s more than just one rivalry housed in the grandstands of Maracana. Noise and heat in the stadium notwithstanding, the stadium’s history makes it hard to be an opponent on the pitch; the great Pele made his international debut in this stadium and, years later, scored his 1,000th career goal here.
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No.5 - Azadi Stadium, Iran
Politics is serious business in Iran, but soccer might be a close second. Goal.com ranks Iran’s Azadi Stadium as the most intimidating soccer venue in Asia, and we can’t disagree. This stadium holds 98,000 spectators, but because Iran doesn’t allow women to attend matches, the stands are packed with men, making this a testosterone-fueled experience. Goal.com wrote that if an Asian-based team were to play a crucial game, it should be held in Azadi Stadium for the ultimate home-field advantage.
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No.4 - Stadion Maksimir, Croatia
Home to the celebrated soccer club Dinamo Zagreb, Maksimir has been in business for nearly a century. Though its attendance limit of just fewer than 40,000 is small by soccer standards, the mass of passionate supporters makes this stadium seem as though it’s seating twice its limit. (And the stands include a separate, segregated area for opposing fans.) Like many international stadiums, Maksimir’s history will forever be tarnished by an incredible riot in 1990 between Croatian fans and supporters of rival Red Star Belgrade. The brawl got so nasty that the Dinamo team captain attacked a police officer who was beating a home team fan.
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No.3 - Eden Gardens, India
Cricket matches can go on for hours on end, and nowhere are these matches more impassioned than at India’s Eden Gardens. Nearly 100,000 cricket-crazed fans descend on Eden Gardens when either of its two tenants hit the field, and the stadium also regularly hosts one-day international tournaments. The Gardens has been home to several memorable events in cricket’s history, but it will also be remembered for its dangerous riots in the 1960s, 1970s and 1990s.
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No.2 - Ali Sami Yen Stadium, Turkey
Any stadium nicknamed “Hell” by its resident fans is sure to deserve a spot on this list. Home to Turkey’s Galatasaray SK soccer club, Ali Sami Yen Stadium is intimidating because of its rabid fans who will stop at nothing to throw opponents off their game. Local fans often light torches and create giant smoke clouds, all of which makes this field look more like a war zone than a sporting venue. After a Turkish fan stabbed and killed a Leeds supporter prior to the teams’ encounter in 2000, Leeds fans were cordoned off and protected by police during the game.
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No.1 - La Bombonera (Estadio Alberto J. Armando), Argentina
If you ever want to make a true soccer fan’s pilgrimage, visit Buenos Aires’ La Bombonera at some point in your life. And if you’re really brave, take in a game between the home side Boca Juniors and archrival River Plate. (When we say “archrival,” it’s because this rivalry makes the Red Sox/Yankees relationship look loving.) Heat, intense noise and perhaps the most passionate fans in the world make La Bombonera as wild as it gets. The stadium actually trembles as fans pound their feet and jump together. Boca Juniors’ fans are so passionate that La Bombonera features an on-site graveyard where die-hard fans can be buried. Just imagine the horror of entering this stadium as an opposing player or fan.
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