30 most famous football stadiums

20) Estadio Da Luz (Lisbon, Portugal)

Capacity: 64,642

Opened: 2003

Tennant(s): SL Benfica

No pillars, a rounded and sound-retaining roof and a spider web of red girders supporting the whole thing and it’s clear the designers didn’t skimp on the aesthetics of SL Benfica’s home – the Estadio Da Luz. With the club symbol of an Eagle guarding the stadium entrance and the statue of club legend Eusébio outside the ground, it is designed to utilise as much natural light as possible, hence the English translation ‘The Stadium of Light’ and ranks as a UEFA category four ground.

Portugal’s infamous UEFA Euro 2004 final defeat to Greece is one of the more memorable match-ups to have been played here, while Real Madrid’s eventual 4-1 demolition of neighbours and rivals Atletico in the 2014 Champions League final also bolstered the Estadio Da Luz’s fame.

19) Estadio Centenario (Montevideo, Uruguay)

Capacity: 76,609

Opened: 1930

Tennant(s): Uruguay National Team, Peñarol

Few stadiums on this list are more traditional than Uruguay’s largest footballing venue. Essentially the same design as the model built for the first ever World Cup in 1930, the Estadio Centenario originally had a capacity of approximately 100,000 and workers had to bust a gut every hour of the day to get it finished, only to fail.

Still, after an impressive nine months, completion came to fruition and it managed to host ten games at said tournament. From that moment onwards, the Centenario became the home of football in its nation.

Having opened its doors to performances from legends like Luciano Pavarotti and the Rolling Stones, the Centenario was constructed a century after Uruguay secured independence and such a sentiment is no better encapsulated than by the implementation of the 100m tower above the Tribuna Olimpica which beholds nine windows, each representing a stripe on the Uruguayan flag.