Product Description

In a large format (each double page spread is over two feet square), this book covers all the major European football grounds, including all 12 of the German grounds which will be used in the 2006 World Cup finals. There is no doubt that these grounds hold a fascination for football fans outside the fact that they are the stage on which their heroes play the beautiful game. There is a depth of feeling for these theatres of dreams that goes further than what happens on the pitch. They change regularly, sprouting new stands and new facilities (seemingly) every season. But they remain filled with the memories of past successes and failures that are brought to life each time the crowds file in. This book combines historic photographs with modern views that showcase the most important football grounds in Europe - including all those used in the current Champions League. Each entry has a short statistical section and an introduction that examines both the ground and its home team. A full list of grounds covered is attached. The grounds covered are: German venues for 2006 World Cup: Berlin; Dortmund; Frankfurt; Gelsenkirchen; Hamburg; Hannover; Kaiserslautern; Koln; Leipzig; Munich; Nurnberg; and Stuttgart. Champions League Stadiums: Belgium; Anderlecht; Czech Republic; Sparta Prague; France; Lyon; Monaco; PS Germain; Greece; Olympiacos; Panathinaikos; Holland; Ajax; PSV; Israel; M. Tel-Aviv; Italy; AC Milan; Internazionale; Juventus; Roma; Norway; Rosenborg; Portugal; Porto; Russia; CSKA; Moskva; Scotland; Celtic; Spain; Barcelona; Deportivo; Real Madrid; Valencia; Turkey; Fenerbahce; UK; Arsenal; Chelsea; Liverpool; Man. United; Ukraine; Dynamo Kyiv; Shakhtar; and Donetsk. Others include: Austria; Rapid Wien; Sturm Graz; Belgium; Brugge; Liege; France; Marseille; Holland; Feyenoord; Hungary; Ferencvaros; Portugal; Benfica; Romania; Steaua Bucharest; Scotland; Rangers; Switzerland; Basel Grasshoppers; Turkey; Galatasaray; UK; Newcastle; and one each from: Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Yugoslavia.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #148673 in Books
• Published on: 2006-04-30
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

About the Author
Michael Heatley went freelance in 1988 after three years running the one-shots division of Dennis Publishing. He has written over 100 TV, music and sport books including a much-praised biography of John Peel, "The Great Derbies" series, History of Boxing, European Football Superstars and A History of Football (in conjunction with Alan Green). He was the editor of the Virgin Ultimate Rock Encyclopedia, has contributed interviews to FA Cup Final programmes, and edited The Footballer, magazine of soccer history, 1990-91, and Matchday, the official magazine of the Endsleigh Insurance League 1992-95.

Customer Reviews

Good section on German stadiums but overall disappointing
This is predominantly a photographic book with most of the photos either whole page or double spread printed on glossy paper. It is a large, hardback book that is split into 2 sections. Section 1 covers the 2006 German World Cup Stadiums with Section 2 covering other selected European stadiums.
Section 1 is by far the better of the 2 sections. Each World Cup stadium is allocated 6 pages with the first containing a brief description followed by 5 pages of photos. There are some excellent photos included in this section but there are also a few poor quality ones included as well.
Section 2 is very disappointing. Most stadiums have either 2 or 4 pages allocated with the first being a brief description of the stadium. The descriptions are nowhere near as informative as in Simon Inglis's excellent, if now out of date, "The Football Grounds of Europe" book and, therefore, this book should not be regarded as an up to date replacement. There is at least 1 full page photograph included for each stadium although in some photos this just shows action on the pitch with very little or even none of the stands even visable. Also many of the photos are taken during evening matches and suffer from floodlight glare with the stands in darkness. Although the photos used are generally disappointing there are a few very good photos to compensate but unfortunately not enough.
I have awarded 3 stars overall (4 stars for Section 1 and 2 stars for Section 2 ).

So So
This may be the best of the few football stadium books on the market at the moment, and it is a good book information wise, however the quality of many of the photos let this book down not to mention a lack of research by the looks of things. The book is split into two sections, the German 2006 FIFA World Cup stadiums, the book having been published before the finals and also a second section which features a collection of the rest of Europe's finest stadiums. The first section is very good with recently taken photos, due to the recent construction of the German stadiums and the information on them is also top notch. However the second section although it featured lots of stadiums, a plus for me, the pictures are really quite poor for some of the clubs and look like they have been taken decades ago. For being published only last year, the book lacks a modern feel to it, and it's appearance and layout somewhat frustrates me. Saying this though, it is a good edition to any football fan's collection, but perhaps you should wait for the price to drop down a little before you purchase it yourself, if you are anywhere as near fussy as me.

Excellent Stadium photos
It has been quite a while since a book featuring European Stadiums has been published, and at last this book fills that void.
This book features all the Germany 2006 world cup grounds, and all the best from other European leagues, including English and Scottish grounds.
If you are a fan of football grounds in general, then this book is a must have.