Three of the best stadiums for kick-ass soccer action

Estadio Do Maracana, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
The cradle of Brazilian soccer wizadry, this large stadium in central Rio hosted the 1950 World Cup. The stadium was supported by journalist M rio Filho to whom it was officially dedicated, in 1964. However, the stadium is nicknamed "Maracan ufffd" from a small river near the stadium, named after a Brazilian parrot. It's high point was the 1950 final between Brazil and Uruguay, where the later defeated the home team in front of
2,00,000 fans. This was the largest crowd to attend a soccer match in history.



Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain
Camp Nou (Catalan for new field) is the official home ground of European giants FC Barcelona and is arguably Europe's largest with a capacity of 98,787. The stadium's facilities include a memorabilia shop, mini pitches for training matches, and a chapel for players. The stadium also houses the most visited museum in Catalonia, El Museu del Bar a, which receives about 1,200,000 visits per year. For a slice of total soccer mania, get a seat for one of Barca's encounters with arch rivals Real Madrid

Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany
While most arenas are draped in history and club culture, the Allianz Arena is a window to futuristic football. Appearing like a cylindrical inflatable space ship, the almost 70,000 capacity stadium is called Schlauchboot (inflatable boat). Made from 2,874 ethylene tetrafloroethylene (EFTE) foil panels that can, at the flick of a switch, glow in shades of red, blue or white, depending on whether it is German champions Bayern Munich,u00a0 TSV 1860 Munich are playing, these panels are self-cleaning and heat-and cold-resistant.