Top Grounds to Visit

Living as I do away for the heartlands of football, most of my consumption of the game is through television. And whilst the spread of football’s popularity is such that today it is practically possible to watch any game that takes you fancy, it is still merely a shadow to the experience that is seeing a game with the fans who are there in the ground.

This thought has been gnawing away at me over recent months, which is what first brought me to draw up a list of grounds that I would like to watch a game in. And seeing that most self-help manuals suggest that the best way of making sure you follow through with your goals is to share them with people you know, I’ve decided to publish my list here.

Excluded, for obvious reasons, is Anfield: there is no need to state the desire to watch every Liverpool game in the flesh. Similarly, the choice of stadia does not take into consideration the size and stature of the club but rather the passion of its fans. It is why some of the world’s best known football chatedrals have been excluded.

For this reason, some of the choices might surprise as will some of the omissions. It is not my intent to be controversial but rather to be honest to myself for it would be impossible to get through this list if I were to do otherwise.

San Mames (Atletico Bilbao)
Part of the attraction here is down to Atletico Bilbao’s insistence on having only Basque players. This has undoubtedly hampered their progress and is a policy that will come under increasing stress the more they fall back in Spanish football but it is impossible not to admire given the current climate where there regularly are games with no home born players on either side on the pitch. Other than that, the San Mames is a fantastic little stadium with, as you would expect, a seriously passionate set of fans.

Stadio Marassi (Genoa / Sampdoria)
For the most part Italian stadia are huge, soul-less bowls where athletics tracks impose barriers between the fans and the players. Whilst the exterior to some might be impressive – the San Siro – and fans might still manage to light others up with their passion – Napoli and Roma spring to mind – there is no Italian stadium that can match the attraction of Stadio Marassi.

With Genoa proud to be considered a club with British roots – despite Benito Mussolini’s best attempts to eradicate this – it is hardly surprising that its ground has a distinct British flavour to it. It is this, and the resulting relationship that is fostered with the players, that makes it so alluring. Both Genoa and Sampdoria have endured some tough times in recent years but the hardcore elements of fans always stood by them and the Marassi was still regularly filled up. Is there a better sign of loyalty than that?

Bombonera (Boca Juniors)
There is something special about Argentine football. Despite the fact that European clubs are increasingly depriving the local clubs of their talents, the passion of the fans remains undiminished. The name of the ground – which means fruit bowl – is part of the fascination here but in reality it is largely down to the atmosphere that the fans create on a weekly basis that spikes my desire to see a game here.

Stade Velodrome (Olympic Marseilles)
As with Feyenoord, Olympic Marseilles fans don’t really have a reputation for being among the more friendly but, given what they’ve had to endure over the past couple of decades, a certain degree of mistrust for outsiders is perhaps understandable. With Marseilles being a port, there is a lot of resonsance with Liverpool since the fans hail from similar background and that, if I’m being honest, is probably why I’d like to go there. Not to mention that they can make a fair bit of noise as well.

Celtic Park (Celtic)
Perhaps the only ground on this list that would make it into most conventional top ten lists, the soft spot that I, as most Liverpool fans, have for Celtic plays a significant role. But, aside from that, this truly is a fantastic stadium.

Gelsenkirchen (Schalke 04)
My admiration of Schalke 04 began in 1997 when they managed to win the UEFA Cup final against Inter. Hearing about the history of the club and what it meant to the people of a city that is largely working class – mining being the main industry – again struck a chord given the similarity to Liverpool. The arena itself, a huge bowl that is regularly packed with fans who have witnessed their side snatch defeat from the jaws of victory on countless occasion but who keep going on nevertheless.

De Kuip (Feyenoord)This is a highly personal choice. Feyenoord fans do not exactly have the best reputation and the sort of antics that they get to normally are a trigger to loathe rather than respect. The thing is, however, that when I was much younger I had a Dutch pen-pal who was a mad Feyenoord fan who would regularly write to me about his club and their games, something that left me with a soft spot for them. Much as I try, I cannot remember his name yet to this day every weekend I still make it a point to try and find out how they are doing. Watching them play at home would very much be the fulfilment of a childhood dream.

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