5 stadiums that are shared by rival teams

To many football fans, the home stadium of their team represents sacred ground, something special and unique to be cherished about their club.

From the clock that adorns Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in tribute to their old home at Highbury to the iconic Esplanade that sprawls out in front of Manchester United’s Old Trafford home, these are instantly recognisable landmarks that can be readily and instantly associated with the clubs.

Some supporters, though, are not quite so lucky. In mainland Europe, where the grounds are typically rented to their teams by the city councils, it would be unwieldy and inefficient to have multiple giant stadiums in such close proximity, so the issue is regularly resolved by use of a ground share.

Indeed, many of Europe’s biggest and most storied clubs do not have a home to call their own, and yet they play at some of the grandest venues around.

Here are some of the most prominent teams who are forced to share:

#5 Stadio Olimpico (Lazio & AS Roma)

Italy is king when it comes to ground sharing between rival clubs, with Lazio and Roma splitting the rights to play in the capital’s Stadio Olimpico since its renovation in 1953.

It has not brought great success for either of its tenants, though. Between them, the two great capital clubs have won only five Scudetti, and the first of these was claimed by Roma before they moved into their current home.

In any case, the Stadio Olimpico is a giant bowl of a venue that holds upwards of 70,000 spectators, albeit distant from the action due to an athletics track that hints at its multi-sport capacity and history of hosting athletic events.

To complicate matters further in the stadium, not only is it used by the Italy national football team, but since 2012 it has also been used by the rugby team, bringing additional pressure to the pitch in the fragile spring months.

The stadium itself is rather antiquated, with solid plastic seats on hard concrete bases making for an uncomfortable experience, and highlighting the investment needed in grounds generally in Italy to reach what many spectators feel is a modern standard.

Nevertheless, this does not appear to concern the ultras of the two clubs, who can still generate quite an atmosphere given the distance from the pitch to the stands.

#4 San Siro (AC Milan & Inter)

FC Internazionale Milano v FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk - UEFA Europa League

Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, better know as San Siro for the region of Milan it is located, is arguably the world’s most famous shared venue. Teams do not come much bigger than AC Milan and Inter, between them having lifted 36 Serie A titles and 10 European Cups, and yet they have coexisted at this iconic ground since 1947.

Milan moved into the 80,000 all-seater stadium first, when it was first built in 1926, though of course it has been renovated on multiple occasions since then, most recently in 2016. The first match that was played at the stadium was a Milan derby, which the Rossoneri claimed by a 6-3.

At that time, Inter were playing in the crumbling Arena Civica, which is still used today for athletics. While it is an arena that offers history and character – it was built in 1807 – it is entirely unsuitable for modern top-flight football. The Nerazzurri soon realised this and following the conclusion of World War 2 moved in with their neighbours.

Since then, San Siro has become one of the most fabled grounds in the game. It has notably hosted four European Cup finals, most recent the 2016 showcase between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, while it was also the venue for six matches at the 1990 World Cup.

Along with Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, it is one of only two venues shared by club sides to reach the prestigious UEFA Category 4 stadium classification.

#3 Stadio Luigi Ferraris (Sampdoria & Genoa)

UC Sampdoria v

Spal

- Serie A

Opened in 1911, the Stadio Luigi Ferraris is one of the oldest stadiums still in use in Italy, though it was largely reconstructed for World Cup Italia 90, where it played host to four games.

It is shared by Sampdoria and Genoa, two clubs of an even size, who typically trade bragging rights as being the best supported in the northern city. Of late, it has been Samp who hold the upper hand in this domain, though Genoa are the more storied of the two clubs, has been a forerunner in the development of the game in Italy.

Indeed, Genoa have nine national league titles to their name, although the latest of these arrived in 1923-24, indicating the history of the team but also their lack of recent success.

Sampdoria have also typically been middleweights in Italy’s top flight, and were relative latecomers, having only been founded after World War II, when Sampierdarenese and Andrea Doria were the subject of a merger.

Since then, it has been Samp who have been the more successful team, winning four Coppa Italia, though none since 1994, as well as the Scudetto in 1990-91. Indeed, they came close to becoming champions of Europe the following season but were defeated by Barcelona at Wembley.

This season, in common with many in the recent past, Samp hold the upper hand and are fighting to qualify for Europe next season along with AC Milan. Meanwhile, Genoa are in a relatively safe mid-table position.

#2 Stade Charlety (Paris FC & Paris Saint-Germain Feminines)

Ivory Coast v Senegal - International Friendly

Paris Saint-Germain dominate the footballing landscape of the French capital, yet there are other clubs in the city that should not be overlooked – most notably their female team, who have come close to winning the women’s Champions League than their more illustrious male counterparts have the men’s.

Twice PSG have fallen at the final hurdle, including a heart-breaking 7-6 loss to Lyon on penalties in last season’s competition.

They call Stade Charlety home along with Paris FC, a professional side that plays in French football’s second tier. Despite only being promoted to Ligue 2 last season on a technicality as Bastia failed financially, they have established themselves impressively and are floating around on the outskirts of a promotion playoff place, which may yet yield a dream derby next season.

But Paris FC are nothing like the size of PSG. Stade Charlety, which holds 20,000 spectators, is typically sparsely populated when they play at home, with the focus of the whole city on Neymar & Co. at Parc des Princes.

Situated in the south of the city, the two grounds may be separated by only around eight kilometres, but there is a world of difference between the two teams.

Indeed, Stade Charlety is next liable to come into the spotlight in 2020, when it will host the European athletics championships.

#1 Maracana (Botafogo, Vasco de Gama, Flamengo, Fluminense)

General Views of Maracana Stadium - FIFA World Cup Venues Brazil 2013

Estadio do Maracana sits in the centre of the middle-class neighbourhood in which it is located in Rio and is regarded as one of the great footballing theatres in the world. At its peak, over 200,000 people crammed into this ground, although the official attendance record stands at 199,854 when Uruguay stunned Brazil in the final of the 1950 World Cup.

Now, of course, it can hold only 78,000 fans but is still used for a myriad of top fixtures, with Brazil’s national team notably calling it home since the ground was built for the aforementioned competition.

In the 2014 Olympics, it played host to Brazil claiming gold, defeating Germany on penalties, and thereby lifting one of the great curses of the modern game, as that was the only major tournament the South American nation had failed to win previously.

But while the Selecao may be the only full-time residents of the ground, it is still regularly used for local matches, with Botafogo, Vasco da Gama, Flamengo and Fluminense all calling the grand old ground home at various times.

Of course, these sides also have their own, genuine, home grounds, though they are all far smaller and typically hold around 20,000. For the high-demand games, then, it makes sense to have a ground that they can all share, and the Maracana, which is owned by the city, fits the bill perfectly.