Rio de Janeiro stadiums. The legendary maracana stadium in rio de janeiro How many spectators does the maracana stadium hold

The Maracanã stadium belongs to Brazil. The unique place is equipped with the latest technology; all football teams in the world dream of playing there. What is so special about this stadium?

History of the Maracanã Stadium

Until recently, Maracana was the largest football arena in the world. In Brazil, the stadium is still the largest in the country. On this base, on a permanent basis, the following teams train:

• Flamengo;
• "Fluminense".

The stadium located in Rio has the official name "Mario Filho". This is the name of a journalist and a passionate fan, without whom the stadium would not have been born. Maracana is the name of the river nearby the building. Among the people, this name was attached to the stadium faster than the official version.

In 1950, FIFA decided that the next World Cup would be held in Brazil. For a worthy organization of the event, a new sports arena had to be built. The final arrangement of all areas and infrastructures of Maracana ended in 1965.

The stadium is 317 by 279 meters along the axes, the height of its structures is 32 meters.

The field of Maracana is separated from the stands by a moat. The stadium is endowed with an oval shape, as well as an unusual history of its own development. For example, for Maracana it all started with the fact that the first match there was played by the teams of Rio and Sao Paulo. The second team won with a score of 3:1. The famous football player Didi scored the first goal at the grandiose stadium.

Events and situations in the stadium

In 1950, the opening of the World Cup was announced on Maracana. The Brazilian national team began to smash rivals very famously and cool. So the Brazilians defeated the Spaniards and the Swedes. The excitement associated with tickets for these games was fantastic.

According to official data, 173,000 tickets for the championship were sold, according to an unofficial version, 210,000 fans visited the stadium.

A good start to the world games ended badly for Brazil. When the Brazilian national team met with Uruguay, they started to win from the first minutes, but then they seemed to have been cursed. The Brazilians were unlucky and lost the most important match in their history.

The game ended under the deathly silence of the stands. Team members were escorted out of the stadium under police cover. Several people died of heart attacks right in the stands. After the defeat, Brazil declared official mourning. A wave of suicides even swept across the country, which was expected, since Brazil is considered one of the most football countries on the planet.

Goalkeeper Barbosa, who missed the decisive goal in the Brazilian goal, became an outcast. A few years later, a heartbroken athlete found the gate from that ill-fated match, bought it and burned it..

After that ill-fated game, the country's football association changed its players' uniforms from white to green and yellow. Many believed that Maracanã is a cursed stadium, since one day part of the roof collapsed on the fans there.

Maracana today

After the collapse, the stadium was reconstructed until 2000. Over the long period of existence, many events took place on Maracana, and a huge number of events were held. For example, John Paul II blessed the Brazilians from this arena, and Sinatra and McCartney also performed there.

In 2006, the stadium underwent another reconstruction. They removed the moat between the stands and the field, reduced the number of seats around the arena to 82,000. All seats have been numbered.

Thanks to new safety requirements, several high-speed elevators have been installed on Marakana so that in case of danger, people can leave this place in 12 minutes.

In addition, 396 floodlights and 4 huge screens were installed near the field. Changes have benefited the arena. So in 2016, it was here that the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic competitions took place. All transport stops near Maracana have the same name with the stadium.

Maracana (Maracana) is the largest, most important, in the past the largest stadium in the world. It is often called the heart of Brazil. The full official name of the stadium is the Stadium of the Journalist Mario Filho ( Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho ). Located in the main city of Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. The home stadium of the Flamengo and Flumiense clubs and the Brazilian national team.

The construction of Maracana was started in 1948, it was being prepared for the 1950 FIFA World Cup, but they didn’t make it in time and the first game was played at an unfinished stadium. The main part was ready and the stadium could host games, but there were nuances that took another 15 years to eliminate!

According to various sources, the stadium's capacity ranges from 150 to 200+ thousand spectators, although after reconstruction in 2005-2006, the stadium's capacity was reduced to 88 thousand spectators. According to FIFA requirements, the stadium should have only numbered seats, and after the reconstruction, the “geral” sector was eliminated - the most democratic sector (standing places outside the goal and benches). A ticket to the geral cost only 1 USD, and everyone could attend the match of their favorite team.

The Maracanã Stadium has produced such world football legends as Wagner Love, Ronaldo, Pele and other Brazilian football stars.

In addition to football, concerts of famous singers were held on Maracana. Over the years, Maracana has become a stage for: Kiss, Sting, Tina Turner, Paul McCartney, Madonna and the Rolling Stones. Music stars liked to feel the spirit of a huge crowd, so the concerts were always held with a special mood. Football at this time faded into the background.

Maracana Stadium- a historic building, immortal in every sense. The stadium has been officially a historical monument since 1998 and cannot be seriously modified. All reconstruction and modernization projects can only be associated with improving the safety and comfort of spectators.

As a tourist attraction, not only the stadium building is interesting, but if possible, it is advisable to attend the game inside there.

How to get to the Maracanã stadium

The easiest way to get to the stadium is on. You need to get to the Maracana station, when you exit you will see the stadium.

You can get there, it's not very expensive, a taxi from Copacabana will cost about 20 R $ (7 USD)

It is unfortunate that Maracana has already lost the status of the largest stadium in the world. What will happen next, only time will tell. In 2016, Maracanã will become a sports arena where the Summer Olympic Games will solemnly open.

On July 13, 2014, the legendary Maracana experienced a triumph: 80,000 people filled the stands, and another billion viewers were on TV screens. More than 400 million euros were spent on the reconstruction. The result - the final of the World Cup, the highest point in the existence of the stadium. In the summer of 2016, the holiday resumed. The arena hosted the football matches of the Olympics, and the opening and closing ceremonies gathered an even larger audience (the stands were expanded) than the matches of the World Cup. The spectacle was grandiose.

Now Maracana looks different.

Something went wrong? All. The problems began with a conflict between the state and private business. Since 2013, Maracana has been privately owned by the Brazilian giant Odebrecht. After the end of the World Cup, the Odebrecht concern continued to operate the arena in working mode, it played the home matches of Flamengo and Fluminense, held rock concerts (in particular, Foo Fighters) - everything is as it should be. Despite this, the stadium was unprofitable. Maintenance costs exceeded operating income by almost 50 million euros (according to Folha). The concern had previously tried to legally terminate the contract and return the stadium to the state, but the authorities of the state of Rio de Janeiro refused to accept it: why do they need such a burden on the municipal budget, which is already bursting threateningly? The Brazilian economy has been shrinking for the third year in a row, and the authorities have no money to maintain the stadium.

Maracanã's owner, Odebrecht, refuses to take over the stadium after the Olympics because it is being returned in poor condition.

Nevertheless, for the duration of the Olympics, the stadium came under the control of the state committee. After the games were over, the committee was to return the Maracana to Odebrecht. Six months passed, but this did not happen. Odebrecht simply refuses to accept the stadium back because it is returned in poor condition. The company calculated that returning the Maracana to, let's say, a functional state would cost about 20 million euros. And demanded them from the local authorities. We received a counterclaim for non-fulfillment of obligations to care for the stadium after the Olympics.

When you leave, turn off the light

The trial has dragged on for several months. State structures immediately after the Olympics stopped caring for the arena, and Odebrecht does not begin to do this until it receives the object in the same form in which it handed over. Meanwhile, hell is happening on the Maracan. The stadium is empty. Symbolic protection does not prevent to take out everything of value (monitors, bronze busts) and break the rest.

Whoever wins the case will now have to spend more on recovery. Just to re-lay the lawn, it will take about 1 million euros (if there is control over the targeted spending of funds). To invest huge sums of money in a deliberately unprofitable project in order to incur further losses - it is not surprising that both the state committee and the private company stand to their deaths. . Nobody pays the bills since the fall.

While the court decides who should pay for the restoration of Maracana, the stadium is empty and destroyed.

The most recent court ruling obliges Odebrecht to return to his duties of maintaining the stadium. However, it does not take into account the possible compensation that the company requires from the authorities. In addition, an appeal has already been filed. In general, nothing is over yet.

Flamengo and Fluminense play wherever they have to. From Das Dunas to Laranjeira and Julite Coutinho. Both clubs wouldn't mind a return to the iconic stadium, but admit it's unlikely. Flamengo is acting more decisively: negotiations are underway to reconstruct the old Gavea arena in order to increase its capacity to 25,000 spectators and make it the main one.

Lesson for everyone

The current story with Maracana cannot be compared with the situation, for example, in South Africa, where no one needed stadiums after the World Cup. Rio de Janeiro is home to Vasco, Botafogo, Flamengo and Fluminense, four clubs with history and a large following. The stadium could be in demand. The problem of "Marakana" is in the initially high cost, which cannot be beaten off by any demand. And in a conflict of interest with a complex scheme of distribution of responsibility, which, due to the intransigence of the parties, led to an unforeseen increase in costs. This experience is worth exploring.

Flamengo are in talks to refurbish their old arena to make it their main arena.

Theoretically, such a situation can be simulated. For example, to imagine that the functional state in which the Krestovsky stadium will be commissioned will not suit Zenith. The club will demand that the missing work be carried out, and the municipality and the contractor will begin to find out in court whether the authorities are obliged to finance these works or whether they relate to the unfulfilled obligations of the contractor. Or is it generally the cost of "Zenith"? The Maracana example should discipline everyone.

Test. Construction of a stadium in St. Petersburg: where is the truth, where is the joke?

The construction of "Krestovsky" is one continuous anecdote. So many ridiculous things happened there that it is very difficult to distinguish truth from fiction.

History of the Maracana Stadium

"Maracana" - the official name of Estádio Mario Filho, was built to be the central venue for the 1950 World Cup. As conceived by the architects, the arena was to become the largest football stadium in the world.

In 1950, Brazil becomes the host country of the football championship. For this grand event, the government of a poor South American country made a fateful decision - to build a huge stadium, which in the end was destined to become not only the largest in the world in size, but also the most spacious.

For a long time, the total capacity of the Maracana was considered equal to 200 thousand people. Although in fact, the exact capacity of the stadium is still not known. Even in Brazil itself, it is believed that the giant could accommodate more than two hundred thousand. The Guinness Book of Records recorded a mark of 180 thousand, but other sources lower the bar to 155,000 fans.

August 2, 1948 - this day becomes the beginning of the history of the stadium, the date when the first stone was laid in the foundation of the future giant. The name of the stadium comes from the residential area of ​​the same name. The quarter itself got its name because of the river, on the site of which it was built at one time, and the river was named after a large parrot.

The current official name - Mario Filho, was assigned to the stadium in the early 60s of the last century. This is how the Brazilians paid tribute to the then mayor of Rio de Janeiro, thanks in large part to which the football Mecca was built.

"Maracana" had an oval shape, the roof of the building was attached with large consoles, and the football field was separated from the stands by a real moat with water. The entrance to the stadium is decorated with a bronze statue of a football player, which was cast in honor of the triumph of the Brazilian national team at the World Cup in 1958. On the podium proudly placed the names of the then national team players, who remain true legends of world football to this day.

Everything is sacred on the Maracana: the couch, on which Garrinchi stretched his muscles, and the stupas, where the legendary Pele himself once changed, and the hot tub of the unsurpassed Zico, there is also a sign made in honor of the thousandth goal. The walls of the stadium are decorated with photographs of football players who brought fame to Brazil: Pele, Junior, Zico, Romario, Garrinchi, Rivelino and Ronaldo.

"Marakana" is an immortal historical building, in every sense. Officially, the stadium has been a historical monument since 1998. Just for this reason, it could not be seriously modified. All work related to the modernization was carried out only for the reason of increasing the comfort and safety of the fans.

The concrete structure of the stadium, due to the huge number of visitors, needed a serious reconstruction, which took place in 2000, when the Maracana turned 50 years old. Upon its completion, the capacity of the arena was reduced to 103,045 people.

At the newly rebuilt stadium, in accordance with the FIFA requirements for the presence of only numbered seats, the famous “geral” sector was eliminated - these are the places behind the goals and benches, which accommodated only poor spectators. A ticket to the "geral" sector cost a symbolic price - only one dollar, which allowed almost every fan to attend the game of their favorite team. The geral was considered by many to be the most democratic sector of the stadium and an integral part of Brazil's football culture.

When Brazil became the host of the 2014 World Cup in 2007, there was no doubt that the Maracana, which should host the finals, required a massive redevelopment. The stadium is scheduled to host a total of seven matches during the 2014 World Cup.

Construction work on the reconstruction began in 2010 and ended three years later. June 2, 2013 became a new starting point in the history of the legendary "Maracana" as the opening date of the reconstructed stadium. Symbolically on this day, the national team of Brazil played a friendly match against England, which ended peacefully - 2:2.

Little is left of the good old Maracana, no more than 15 percent, but it should be noted about the new one - a wonderful stadium, comfortable, modern, safe and beautiful.

Maracana (port. Estádio do Maracanã) is not just the largest on the continent and one of the most famous sports arenas in the world, it is the real heart of all Brazilian football. All the most important football events in the country take place here. Therefore, the stadium is rightfully considered one of the main attractions of the "city of happy dreams" Rio.

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According to statistics, every fifth football fan, answering the question about the most spacious stadium in the world, names Maracana. In fact, they are wrong, although in the past this was indeed the case. The exact figure is unknown, but according to some reports, 180 thousand spectators came here to cheer for their favorite team. This allowed Marakana to get into the Guinness Book of Records for this indicator. However, theorists are skeptical about this figure, arguing that more than 155 thousand people could not fit in this arena. Even despite the fact that the famous sector (port. “Geral”) used to be here - standing places outside the goal for low-income fans.

One thing is known: today stadium capacity is 78,838 people. It is the home arena for local football clubs, principal rivals Flamengo and Fluminense. During the derby between these teams, which the locals like to call "Fla Flu", the Maracana turns into a "hell's mouth", tens of thousands of fans chant various chants, beat drums and rattle maracas, driving their team forward.

World Championship 2014

In connection with the rules of FIFA on the rotation of the continents hosting the main football tournament, the 2014 Mundial was supposed to go to South America.

Because all countries, except, refused to claim to host the championship, and the Colombian bid was very weak due to the lack of infrastructure and stadiums - Brazil once again became the host of the upcoming World Cup and began preparations for receiving guests.

Maracana naturally became the main arena of the tournament. And although out of 48 matches, only 5 were held here - the final was held here.

By the way, the hosts of the tournament could not reach the finals, having lost with a bang in the semi-finals of the German national team with a score of 1:7. To justify Brazil, we can say that the Germans have become the champions this year.

How to get there

Maracana is located in the eastern part of Rio de Janeiro, 5 km. east of the central zone and 12 km. north of the beaches and .

The most convenient way to get here is by metro.

Scheme of Maracana

• In order to get to the western side of the arena (the entrance to sectors A, B, C), you need to get to the metro station " Maracana» on line 2.
• To the east side (entrance to sectors D, E, F) - to the metro station " São Cristóvao» on line 1.

Tickets for Maracana

Tickets can be purchased at the box office at the stadium, as well as online via the Internet. It must be borne in mind that, when buying an electronic ticket, it still needs to be printed out at one of the stadium ticket offices. To do this, you need to have an identity card and a photo of the QR code of the purchased ticket with you.

• Tickets for Flamengo matches can also be bought at the club kiosk on Avenida Borges de Medeiros 997 in the Ipanema area.
• Tickets for Fluminense matches can also be bought at the club kiosk on Rua Álvaro Chaves 41.

Ticket prices need to be confirmed.

Excursions

Every day from 9.00 to 17.00 the doors of the stadium are open for anyone who wants to take a tour of this temple of Brazilian football.

There is an alley of fame with footprints of legendary Brazilian football players such as Pelé, Zico, Roberto Rivelino, Roberto Dynamite, Jairzinho, Ideraldo Bellini, Mario Zagallo, Romario, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Kaka, etc., as well as a museum football, opened in 2006, where
you can get acquainted with the history of the stadium and the achievements of Brazilian football players. You can also see many interesting exhibits in the museum: busts, photographs and personal belongings of famous football players.

During the tour, you will be offered to visit the football players' locker room, and then go out through the under-tribune corridor to the football field, just as football players did and still do during matches.

Tour prices:

IMPORTANT A: Payment is accepted by cash and credit cards. Children, students, pensioners and the disabled must have an original supporting document with a notarized translation in Portuguese in order to receive a discount.