FRANCE'S most widely-read football magazine has listed its top 30 venues around the world, which include two in Spain – but, perhaps surprisingly, neither of them are those of FC Barcelona or Real Madrid.
According to France Football, it's the atmosphere that counts, not the élite nature of the stadium or how much has been invested in building, designing and maintaining it.
At Barça's Camp Nou, Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabéu and Manchester United's Old Trafford, 'the quality of the fan base is not up to the level you would expect from the grounds', meaning they have been 'deliberately left out'; Arsenal and other UK Premier League teams have lost their 'passion' and the Wanda Metropolitano of Atlético de Madrid, as well as the grounds for Tottenham and West Ham, have 'diminished in excitement' after 'losing their homes', or moving to other sites.
France Football says larger teams no longer have such an atmosphere because of the presence of 'tourists' who are not really fans, or of supporters who are not local to the team.
“Finding Boca Junior and its Bombonera, Liverpool and Anfield, or Dortmund and its yellow wall on the podium won't shock anyone as going to a match at these legendary sites is an unforgettable experience,” France Football says.
“You also need to have watched the derbies at Alger, Casa, Istanbul and Athens to understand how much the football 'show' needs its faithful followers; the recent Dortmund matches at Schalke 04 and Bayern, its eternal rivals, played in an empty stadium, are the best examples.”
Boca Junior's La Bombonera, 'where every match is a party', comes first, followed by Liverpool's Anfield Road, Borussia Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park, Belgrade Red Star's Rajko Mitic Stadium, and Celtic Park make up the top five.
One Spanish stadium has made it into the top 10 – San Mamés, home of Athletic de Bilbao and arguably one of the best football grounds in the country, is in ninth place.
Valencia's Mestalla stadium comes about midway through the list, at number 18, based upon its 'great atmosphere'.
The full list can only be obtained by paid-up subscribers to France Football – but at least fans of the sport now know where to head for if what they're looking for is a great time and a celebration, and this type of atmosphere is the best to take non-fans to as they can enjoy the euphoria and suspense without having to care too much about following the actual game.
At the moment, all matches are behind closed doors, and Real Madrid's Toni Kroos – in a recent interview – says the most successful teams over the remainder of the LaLiga Santander (Spanish premier league) season will be those who 'are best able to adapt to playing without their fans'.
According to the German ace, “for the 11 matches we've got left, we're going to win if we adapt well to the situation. It's the first time we've had to play without our fans being there, so we'll see how that goes. The team that best adapts to this situation is the one that will win.”
The Real Madrid midfielder says he is 'thrilled' that the team can finally start to train all together again.
Meanwhile, Health Emergencies and Alerts Coordination Centre leader Fernando Simón has not ruled out that, once Spain or several of its regions are on 'Phase 3', football teams may be able to allow the public to watch them on site again.
Given that professional footballers are used to playing to the crowds, the loss of this immediate incentive, excitement and drive to please paying spectators may, or may not, affect their performance and see some of the weaker ones rising to the occasion at the expense of the stronger teams – something that will gradually become apparent over the 11 remaining matches of the LaLiga season.
Photograph 1: Athletic Club Bilbao's San Mamés stadium (Euskaldunaa/Wikimedia Commons)
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