5 football stadiums with the best atmosphere in Europe

There’s something about football that it continuously gets to keep the title ‘the beautiful game’ even though the prices of tickets amongst other factors have gone up drastically in only the last decade. Yet, it pulls in crowds by the thousands who are willing to sacrifice a lot if it means they’re able to come to the stadium and support their favourite team every week. And when such passionate fans come to the stadia, they’re able to create a kind of atmosphere that makes players enjoy on the field. As a professional player, when you walk out to a series of chants and when they applaud your every move, it boosts your morale and lifts you to perform at a higher level. There are only a few stadia in the world who create incredible atmospheres. Here’s looking at five of the best stadiums in Europe in terms of the atmosphere: Westfalenstadion Famous world-wide for the exquisite ‘Yellow Wall’, the Westfalenstadion is home to Borussia Dortmund and one of the best – if not the best – football stadiums in the world in terms of atmosphere. Borussia Dortmund are one of the biggest clubs in Europe and often play some of biggest names in world football at their home and when they do, their fans get behind the team with insane chants, people-oriented murals and an overall atmosphere that can’t be matched by anyone. The Ruhr stadium seats 80,720 people and boasts of an average attendance of 99.6% making it one of the most incredible sights in world football. And it doesn’t matter if Dortmund are losing or winning, their fans are roaring all-game long and make the place a genuine mess if you’re from the opposition team. Polish Army Stadium The Polish Army Stadium is home to Polish giants Legia Warsaw in the middle of the Polish capital city of Warsaw. And boy, is it one of the most hellish ones in the world. The fans of Legia are one of the most passionate fans in the world and they’ll brave any weather to witness their teams play in the stadium. They’re also one of the loudest and brash-est fans who often resort to halting games just to ensure their team have an advantage of a sort. Legia Warsaw are huge champions in Poland and their stadium play a huge part in their winning. Turk Telekom Stadium The Turk Telecom Stadium is officially the loudest stadium in the world – thanks to a record it set back in 2011. Home to Turkish giants Galatasaray, the 52,000+ seater is often described as the ‘stadium closest to hell.’ Even Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs admitted it’s one hell of a stadium. “I’ve never experienced anything like Galatasaray,” he said when his Manchester United side travelled to take on the home side in the UEFA Champions League. If you really want to witness the true atmosphere of the Turk Telecom stadium, you must visit it during one of the local derbies: Galatasaray vs Fenerbahce or Galatasaray vs Besiktas. During both the matches, the crowds aren’t standing still for a second but instead choose to sing, light flares and pick up fights with the opposition fans. The stadium is famous for inciting tonnes of riots on the streets post games thanks to the kind of hatred that spills out of its walls. Anfield It is extremely surprising people don’t mention about Anfield enough when talking about Stadium atmosphere. The Liverpool stadium continues to set a benchmark in the kind of way football fans must behave when their favourite team is playing. Anfield has since been renovated and upgraded but the atmosphere continues to be one the defining factors in how Liverpool have made their home a fortress rarely losing to anyone. Liverpool’s fans however are famous for their chants and their famous ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ song that is sung at the start of every single game before kick-off – the kind of ominous welcome you want opposition football teams to feel walking out to face one of England’s most successful teams. Celtic Park The famed Celtic Park is the stadium of one of Scotland’s most successful teams, Celtic. The green-and-white striped army are known for their chants and their pure love of their team irrespective of result and circumstances. “I’ve been fortunate to play in some great stadiums in Europe with Barcelona but none compare to Celtic,” said a shocked Lionel Messi when his side travelled to take on the Scottish giants in the UEFA Champions League. They’re loud, they’ll pick opposition teams apart when one of their players are fouled and they’ll just about create a very difficult atmosphere for anyone to succeed in bar their own. It’s no wonder Celtic pulled off an incredible win against Barcelona in Europe’s top competition. You don’t hear a result like that very often. And its party, and hugely, down to the quality of the crowd at Celtic Park.