Features
VIE 24.07.2015
- It was officially opened on the 17th of March of 1929 with the celebration of a match between Spain and Portugal. The match ended in a 5-0 victory for Spain.
- Over the years it has been through several name changes, from Estadio de la Exposicion to Estadio de Heliopolis and also Estadio Manuel Ruiz de Lopera.
- Benito Villamarin was an official host for the FIFA 1982 World Cup. Two encounters took place there, between Brazil-Scotland and Brazil-New Zealand.
- The legendary game between Spain and Malta, that ended in a 12-1 win and resulted in the Spanish team's classification for the 1984 Eurocopa, was played in the stadium.
- With a capacity for 52,500 spectators it is the ninth-largest stadium in all of Spain and the second-largest in Andalusia, just behind the Olimpico de La Cartuja stadium.
- Betis played the first game in their history here as competitors in the UEFA Champions League in August 2005. In the third round of classification they contested a game against AS Monaco, winning 1-0 thanks to a goal from Edu.
- On the 9th of August in 2007, Betis celebrated the centenary of their club with a game against AC Milan. The Andalusian team won the match 1-0 with a goal from Mark Gonzalez in penalties.
- Finidi, the mythical Betis forward, received a Cordoba-style hat from the stands after marking one of his goals, and immediately put it on. Since that time, every time the Nigerian striker scores a goal he runs to the stands to don the hat again.
- Big musical events have also taken place in the Benito Villamarin over the years. Artists and groups such as Elton John, Guns N’Roses or Mecano have set the Sevillan public humming in Villamarin.
- The stadium was the setting for the ice-skating show 'Holiday on Ice' in 1962. According to reports from the time, the show was a huge hit.
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