Maracana Stadium

Are you a soccer fan? If you really enjoy watching, cheering or playing soccer then Maracana Stadium is the place to go. Maracana is the largest Stadium in the world and it's located in Rio de Janeiro. The official name of the Stadium is Mário Filho, named after a famous sports journalist from the 1950s. Who's been honored with the naming of the most famous soccer stadium in Brazil.

The capacity of this Stadium is 140,000 people, and when Brazilian soccer teams are playing, the stadium fills up. In August 31st 1969, Maracana beat the record for capacity, reaching 183,341 people. This was during the game between Brazil and Paraguay in which Brazil won 1-0. Today the capacity is limited to 105,000 for security and safety reasons.

Many Brazilians are very loyal to their favorite soccer teams, so on game days they bring huge flags and paint their faces and bodies to show how fanatic they really are. These flags are very large and make the stadium look amazing - full of color and enthusiasm!

The Hall of Fame in Maracana is still relatively new. It was introduced in June 16, 2000 when Maracana celebrated its 50th birthday. There are 40 famous soccer players that have their foot mark imprinted into the floor in the Maracana Hall of Fame, including Carlos Alberto Torres, Pelé, Pepe Renato Gaúcho, Rivelino, Tele and Zagallo. Brazil has won the World Cup Championships 5 times, and Maracana is where many of these famous players got their start.

I decided to take my shoes off and stand right in the footprints of Pele, a world famous soccer player who started out in Brazil.

Hotels in Rio de Janeiro        Rio de Janeiro Hotels Rio de Janeiro is located in the south-eastern corner of Brazil, just east of Sao Paulo. It's the most famous tourist destination in Brazil because of it's amazing beaches, historic monuments, and many other attractions such as Rio Carnival. Search for Brazil Hotels