The Estadio Centenario is a stadium in Montevideo, Uruguay and was constructed between 1929 and 1930 to host the 1930 FIFA World Cup. It was also to commemorate the centennial of Uruguay’s first Constitution.
It is one of the most famous football stadiums in the world and matches the likes of the Maracana Stadium, Wembley, the San Siro and Santiago Bernabeu. It is the only stadium of its kind and was declared by FIFA as the only historical monument of World Football and the stadium has lived up to its name.
Estadio Centenario Stadium Capacity
It is also listed by FIFA as one of football worlds classic stadiums. It is the primary home of the Uruguay national football team and boasts a capacity of 60,235. The stadium has also seen numerous number of concerts by international artists such as Aerosmith, Eric Clapton, Guns N’ Roses, Enrique Iglesias, etc.
History
The Estadio Centenario is one of the oldest football stadiums and its construction is said to be pivotal in the development of sports in South America and also in the world.
The main purpose for the construction was to host the 1930 FIFA World Cup and was built by immigrant workers in a quick nine months. The name of the stadium has been taken from the celebration of 100 years of Uruguay’s constitution ratification.
Major Matches
Since the stadium was built mainly for international football matches, it has witnessed a lot of competitive matches. It hosted the first match between Uruguay and Peru, which the visitors lost 1-0.
The final match of the 1930 World Cup was also held here, where Uruguay became eventual champions with a 4-2 win over Argentina. Since then, the stadium has been the choice for many other tournaments such as the Copa America (1942, 1956, 1967, 1995) and the South American Youth Championship (1997, 2003).
The stadium can also be rented by local clubs. Penarol is one such club which has rented the stadium for almost all their home games in the past years. The stadium achieved its record attendance of 79,867 in Uruguay’s tie against Yugoslavia in 1930.
Controversies
The stadium holds a sacred place and has rarely seen controversies that have a big effect on future matches. Uruguay’s matches always have a stadium that is full and buzzing throughout the matches.
Recently, Argentine striker Mauro Icardi’s wife Wanda Icardi reportedly caused a controversy by stating that she had been treated indifferently by having to go through a rigorous security system in order to get to her seat. She complained of discrimination by the authorities present there at the stadium.
Another famous instance was a Luis Suarez dive in a match in 2013 in the Centenario. Uruguay had to win in order to qualify and Luis Suarez seemed to have dived to give his side a winning penalty. The stadium has not seen much trouble in its existence and holds a high place among the world’s football stadiums.
Recent Matches
All of Uruguay’s home games are held in the Centenario and the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers were also held here. The Round 1 matches involved Uruguay winning six out of seven matches, losing 4-1 to Brazil in the last match held on 23 March 2017.
