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Five curiosities about the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid

The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is a Spanish football venue in Madrid. Owned by Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, it has hosted the home matches of its first team since 1947.

The Madrid stadium is one of the most famous, prestigious and important in the world. An ovation at the Bernabeu can be worth a career, and few players have received it (Ronaldinho and Del Piero two at random, just to make the point). Every player in the world dreams of setting foot in this stadium at least once.

With almost a century of history, there are many curiosities that the general public may not know about this wonderful facility.

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Five things you may not know about the Santiago Bernabeu
The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is a Spanish football venue in Madrid. Owned by Real Madrid Club de Fútbol, it has hosted the home matches of its first team since 1947. The Madrid stadium is one of the most famous, prestigious and important in the world. An ovation at the Bernabeu can be worth a career, and few players have received it (Ronaldinho and Del Piero two at random, just to make the point). Every player in the world dreams of setting foot in this stadium at least once. With almost a century of history, there are many curiosities that the general public may not know about this wonderful facility.
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The name
The stadium is named after Santiago Bernabéu de Yeste, one of the most influential and charismatic presidents in the history of Real Madrid. Bernabéu was president of the club from 1943 until his death in 1978.
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The highest stadium in Europe
Compared to all other top club stadiums, the Santiago Bernabéu is the highest in Europe: think of it touching 70 metres in height! In 2006, it also became the first centrally controlled stadium in the world. Being almost 700 metres above sea level, it is also the highest in this respect.
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It has undergone as many as six renovations
Over the years, the Santiago Bernabéu has undergone several renovations to adapt it to modern standards. In 1982, the infrastructure was expanded and modernised for the FIFA World Cup. Further major renovations took place in 2001, 2006 and 2011. However, it had already been renovated in the 1950s (it was inaugurated in 1947) and also in the 1990s.
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It is an active stadium for 300 days a year
In such a facility, of course, not only Real Madrid's home matches are played. In fact, the ownership has decided to make it a reference point for the Madrid population. In addition to football, there are also shows, fairs and congresses throughout the year. This increase was desired after the Covid-19 pandemic, when the stadium was used much less.
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Largest attendance at the Santiago Bernabeu
The match with the largest number of spectators recorded at the Santiago Bernabéu was in 1957, when some 124,000 people attended the match between Real Madrid and AC Milan in the European Champions Cup.
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