Santiago Bernabeu is a football stadium located in Madrid (Spain), one of the most famous football arenas in Europa and the entire world, home ground of Spanish club Real Madrid.

Designed by architects Manuel Munoz Monasterio and Luis Alemany Soler, the stadium has a current capacity of f 80,354 spectators, which makes it the second largest in Spain, being surpassed only by Camp Nou from Barcelona, with 98,354. The arena is named in honour of Real Madrid’s former historical chairman Santiago Bernabeu Yeste and was built during 1944 – 1947, being opened on December 14, 1947, with an initial capacity of 75,145 spectators. The first match took place between Real Madrid FC and the Portuguese club Os Belenenses.

Three major renovations occurred since its appearance, in 1954, 1982 (during the preparations for the 1982 FIFA World Cup) and 2001 (which was part of Florentino Perez impressive plan to form the “Galactic” team of Real). On November 14, 2007, UEFA granted Santiago Bernabeu the status of an elite stadium, the highest ranking offered by the administrative and controlling body for European association football. The arena hosted four matches during the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain: three second-round Group 2 matches (West Germany – England, West Germany – Spain, and Spain – England) and the final match that took place between Italy and West Germany. In addition to this, Real Madrid’s legendary home ground has also hosted the UEFA Champions League Final in 2010 and previously the European Cup final on three occasions (in 1957, 1969 and 1980).

Santiago Bernabeu, the stadium on which Real Madrid has become the most successful club in football history, is one of the most modern and impressive arenas in Europa, offering fans the possibility to buy from a huge shop with a wide variety of official merchandise where Real Madrid supporters can always look for the ideal souvenir to commemorate their visit.

Video of Santiago Bernabeu

Pictures of Santiago Bernabeu

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