10 Toughest Club Football Stadiums in the World to Play 2013
Normally we ranked the top 10 football clubs in the world, but to start the year we decided to look at the 10 most difficult stadiums in the world to at play in 2013. Maybe this will become a new year’s tradition for us. This is not a list of the biggest stadiums, loudest fans or best amenities, it’s a list of most difficult stadiums in the world to play at. Simply put how challenging or impossible is it for an opposing club to win at. We certainly took into consideration how strong the host team is as the most important factor. We covered the globe and here is the top 10 for 2013.
10. Old Trafford
75,811 – Manchester United
It might be the most famous football ground in the world, which sometimes might work against United as teams always bring their top game to play there. With fans so close to the action, it has few rivals. It recent years more points have been been surrender than you would expect, but after 9 wins from 10 Premier Leagues games this season, the fabled ground is back to its best.
9. Santiago Bernabéu
85,454 – Real Madrid
Any stadium that is the home field of a Jose Mourinho sqaud is probably going to be on this list. The Bernabeu is a big stadium with fans close to field and while not known for being extremely loud, the talented Real team is intimidating enough.
8. Etihad Stadium
47,435 – Manchester City
You might be surprised to see this stadium on the list but if you look at the last year and a half City is 25-3-1 at home in Premier League games. Teams are simply not leaving the Etihad with points.
7. Signal Iduna Park
80,645 – Dortmund
The south stand, where 25,000+ fans stand the entire match sort of speaks for itself. It’s one of the most famously intimidating stadium in European Football.
6. Donbass Arena
52,187 – Shakhtar Donsek
It’s a heck of a road trip for European teams to make and Ukraine teams just can’t match up with Shaktar. It’s a beautiful facility and very loud on match day. The builders deserve an A+ for this place.
5. Stamford Bridge
41,827 – Chelsea
The Blues don’t lose many big games at home, and it’s a nightmare for European teams to play there. Until very recently you would never think of leaving the Bridge with maximum points. It also would have made a claim to being the toughest place to play.
4. Turk Telekom Arena
52,652 – Galatasaray
It’s the loudest stadium in the world. They got it right when they built this stadium, and it’s a model other teams should follow. The Galatasaray fans are crazy wild and when it’s rocking, it’s rocking.
3. Camp Nou
98,787 Barcelona
Barcelona is the best team in the world, and their stadium is the biggest club stadium in world. No one wants to go to Barcelona to play, especially a cup game.
2. Estadio do Dragao
52,399 – Porto
Statistically speaking this is the most difficult stadium in Europe to play at. While it’s doesn’t seem physically imposing maybe the unique features of this stadium has some effect. Either way it’s been years since Porto has lost a match here.
1. Juventus Stadium
41,000 – Juventus
Juventus have only lost one time in this building. The black and white seem like they have another gear when playing at home. Don’t be surprised if this stadium propels them to European success in 2013.
If you have a stadium that you think should have made the list, please let us know in the comments. Help us out by retweeting or liking the top 10. Also we’re looking for writers to cover matches in 2013, if you’re interested send us an email. Finally the first club ranking of the new year will be out on January 7, don’t forget to check out those out.
Complied by Michael Rizzo follow him on Twitter.
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