Maracana Stadium

The Maracana was built for the 1950 World Cup and the final played in it on 16 July that year is the reason it matters: Brazil needed only a draw against Uruguay, the crowd was recorded at just under one hundred and seventy-four thousand with unofficial estimates far higher, and Uruguay won 2-1. The defeat entered the language as the Maracanazo and shaped Brazilian football's account of itself for generations. Pele scored his thousandth goal here in 1969. The stadium was rebuilt for the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, with capacity now around seventy-eight thousand and all-seated. Tours cover the stands, dressing rooms, tunnel and pitch side, with a display of shirts and the footprint casts of famous players.

History

Built for the 1950 World Cup, the stadium was put out to competition in 1947, its first stone was laid on 2 August 1948, and as work fell behind FIFA sent Ottorino Barassi, organiser of the 1934 World Cup, to help, with 1,500 workers and another 2,000 in the last months. It opened on 16 June 1950 still looking like a building site, when Rio's All-Stars beat São Paulo's 3-1 and Didi scored its first goal, overtaking Hampden Park as the largest stadium in the world; Brazil beat Mexico 4-0 in its first World Cup match on 24 June, lost the deciding game to Uruguay 2-1 on 16 July before a record 173,850 people, and the stadium was fully completed only in 1965 (Wikipedia, Maracanã Stadium).

The main sights

• The 1950 final ground - where the Maracanazo defeat happened.
• A rebuilt bowl - reduced to around seventy-eight thousand all-seated.
• The tunnel and dressing rooms - included on the standard tour.
• Player footprint casts - the walk of the game's names outside.

When to go

All year; a Flamengo or Fluminense match for the real thing. Two hours for a tour.

Things to know

Tours do not run on match days and are often shortened around events. The rebuild removed most of the original fabric, so this is a modern stadium with a famous history rather than a historic building. The district needs normal caution around fixtures.

Nearby

Quinta da Boa Vista park is close; the Centro is south-east.

Key facts