Football
What Is the Best Football Stadium in the World?
Many clubs have wonderful stadiums, with incredible atmospheres, almost holy and otherworldly. What is the best football stadium in the world? Find out here!
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There are dozens of fantastic football stadiums around the world. Modern football grounds have all the technological gadgets and comforts to make the match-day experience better for supporters. However, many are soulless, built in industrial wastelands, or far outside the city of the resident team. Some are old but have lost their lustre; if the club goes into decline, so does the stadium. Stadiums are not great because of their capacity. It's about heart and soul.
Some grounds have had updated developments; a new roof or an extended stand because moving is not an option. This club will not swap their ground for any other, no matter the modern quirks and comforts. Special clubs have special stadiums filled with the best supporters. Something magical can happen at any moment; a place where the opposition fears to tread. SportsBoom has rated the best football stadium in the world: Anfield.
Anfield: The Best Football Stadium in the World
There is no more iconic football stadium in the world than Anfield Road. The ground was built in 1884 and was the original home of Everton Football Club. After a fallout with the landlord, Everton moved across Stanley Park to their new ground Goodison Park (which they leave at the end of the 2024/25 season). The football rivalry has been intense ever since.
Anfield has one of the most famous atmospheres and the mighty Kop End. Singing at football grounds is understood to have started on Merseyside, and fans would sing Beatles songs before, during, and after the game. Liverpool Football Club has one of the best and most original songbooks in sport. Supporters of other clubs use their chants and songs because they lack inspiration. There are few clubs with supporters like Liverpool. They are one of the most popular English Premier League (EPL) clubs.
Rival managers and players have reverence for the ground as if there is some divine enchantment that manifests itself into something ethereal. Camp Nou holds one hundred thousand people, and Barcelona is a special club, but Anfield eclipses the giant bowl. The Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid’s home ground, recently rebuilt and renovated, is stunning. It is a modern ground for a modern club; a palace for European royalty, and the best team in La Liga. But it is not Anfield.
No matter how sleek and bright the redeveloped stadium is; no matter how many scarves or white hankies (depending on the result) the ‘Madridistas’ wave, the atmosphere is more white noise. It’s not emotionally charged with passion like the Scousers singing inside Anfield. Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams is falling apart. Even in its glory days of the late nineties, Manchester United’s ground has never reached anything of the level of mystique and reverence from opposition players and managers.
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Famous Nights at Anfield
Anfield under the lights on a European night is unmatched, and countless miracle comebacks have been forged with the help of the Kop. There have been so many memorable nights in the recent past under former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp. He turned Liverpool into one of the best teams in the world. There was the thrilling comeback against Borussia Dortmund in the 2016 UEFA Europa League semi-final, second leg.
Liverpool won 5-4 on aggregate after trailing 3-1 in the second half. Dejan Lovren’s 91st-minute header sent the Reds to another Europa League final. Roberto Firmino’s last-minute winner against a star-studded Paris Saint Germain was epic. Liverpool’s miraculous 4-0 win over Barcelona in 2019, is without a doubt the most famous non-final match in UEFA Champions League history.
Klopp, without Mohamed Salah and Firmino, two of the best forwards in the world at the time, clawed back a 3-0 first-leg deficit, thrashing the Catalans at Anfield. The victory is the most memorable of Klopp’s reign. It sent the club to another European Cup final, where they beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in Madrid. It is also the biggest comeback win in tournament knock-out history.
Another famous night on the red half of Merseyside was in 2004/05. Liverpool needed to beat Olympiakos to advance to the knock-out stages. They had to win 1-0 or by two clear goals. They had to win 1-0 or by two clear goals if the Greek side scored. Rafael Benitez’s side trailed early in the match. But Liverpool equalised before scoring eight minutes from time to go 2-1 up. Three minutes later, Steven Gerrard rifled a half-volley wide of the goalkeeper to give the Reds an unlikely win: Cue bedlam.
Quotes About Why Anfield Is the Best Stadium in the World
Where to begin? The aura of Anfield is unquantifiable. Every manager privileged to lead a team out onto the hallowed Anfield turf has waxed lyrical about the ground’s atmosphere, and the feeling they get from stepping out under the Anfield lights. European nights are special occasions.
Liverpool’s famous fightbacks were inspired by the crowd, not the stadium, but European games at night hit differently on Merseyside. Pep Guardiola, the best manager in the world has had many chastening experiences at Anfield. “The motto ‘This is Anfield’ is no marketing spin,” he said after Liverpool’s miraculous comeback against his former club Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final, in 2019.
“There’s something about it that you will find in no other stadium in the world. They [Liverpool] score a goal, and over the next five minutes, you feel that you’ll receive another four. You feel small and the rival players seem to be all over you. We’ve all gone through what happened to Barca. They were laughing at me when we were losing 3-0 after the first 15, 20 minutes of the quarter-final. It’s a bugger of a ground.”
Sir Alex Ferguson spoke of Anfield on several occasions. He called Anfield “electric.” Ferguson said: “It’s a marvellous atmosphere. You have to expect that atmosphere even if you’re losing. It was a really volatile atmosphere.” Carlo Ancelotti, the current Real Madrid manager, said “the stadium is special because of the atmosphere” and Anfield is “a special place.”
Johan Cruyff, one of the greatest strikers in football history, said he got “goosebumps” because of the atmosphere and the fans singing. Thierry Henry said: “There is nothing like playing at Liverpool. The fans always sing and hold up their scarves before and after the game – whether they have won or lost. It must be amazing if you are a Liverpool player.”
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Kevin de Bruyne is one of the highest-paid players in the Premier League. He has been the best player in the EPL for years. He also enjoys Anfield. He said: “I like Anfield, I like it a lot. I love people being on you, being noisy, that is what it’s all about. I love the passion of football.” Alvaro Arbeloa, the former Liverpool, Madrid, and Spain defender feels the atmosphere is different to any other ground.
He said: “The Anfield atmosphere is difficult to explain, you just have to experience it. Every player should try it at least once in his career.” Finally, ahead of the 2019 Champions League final between Liverpool and Spurs, Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho, two of Liverpool’s greatest rival coaches, hold Anfield in high regard.
They were in awe when the Liverpool supporters sang “You’ll Never Walk Alone” before the game. Mourinho gushed: “This is more beautiful than what we can say!” Wenger added that Liverpool is “unique” among football clubs. Diego Maradona, one of Argentina’s greatest football players, and famous for describing himself as a “God-like” figure could not believe how the Reds fans support their team.
Speaking about Liverpool’s incredible comeback from 3-0 down against AC Milan to win on penalties. “The English club proved that miracles really do exist,” he said after the “Miracle of Istanbul.” He added: “I’ve now made Liverpool my English team. They showed that football is the most beautiful sport of all. The Liverpool supporters didn’t let me go to sleep the night before, there were 10 of them to every three Milan supporters.
“They showed their unconditional support at half-time when they were losing 3-0, and still they didn’t stop singing.” With evidence of several miracle comebacks, venerated supporters, and the positive endorsements of many of the greatest players and managers, Anfield is the best football stadium in the world.
Kaylan Geekie is a sports fanatic. He attended Durban High School before moving to Scotland, where he lived for 15 years. During his time in the United Kingdom, Kaylan graduated with a first-class BA Honours Degree in Sports Journalism at the University of the West of Scotland. Kaylan worked for nine years as the Match-Day Editor of SuperXV.com, reporting on Super Rugby, The Rugby Championship, the 2015 Men's Rugby World Cup and the 2017 British & Irish Lions series for the website.