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March 19th, 2008

What’s your least favourite stadium?

Posted by: Mark Meadows

New Wembley

Juventus have decided to redevelop the moth-balled Stadio delle Alpi, one of the most unloved stadiums in the world.

Built for the 1990 World Cup, most Juve fans have always hated the Turin stadium because a running track kept them too far from the pitch and the acoustics were terrible. The 69,000 capacity ground was also hardly ever full. The Serie A side are currently sharing the smaller Stadio Olimpico with Torino.

What’s your least favourite stadium? The old Wembley had history, but that was part of the problem as it decayed before our eyes. The new version is great, but the trip home through congested north London remains a pain.

Barcelona’s Nou Camp is special, but I once watched a boring 2-0 win over Alaves from the very top tier in January. I could hardly tell which player was which and I was freezing cold. You also wouldn’t believe how uncomfortable the ’seats’ are at Milan’s San Siro.

The new breed of stadiums in England, like Middlesbrough’s Riverside and Derby’s Pride Park, are clean and well-planned but they all look exactly the same and lack soul. I guess they are better than the cow sheds of the lower divisions, though.

Let us know your views in the comments.

Mark Meadows, Milan

PHOTO: The new Wembley is turned into a motor sport track for the Race of the Champions, Dec. 16 2007 REUTERS/Stephen Hird