Lionel Messi named one of the stands after him.
Lionel Messi’s place in the footballing pantheon of fame is unquestioned, but this week, the great Argentine’s status has only been reinforced. On the striker’s 38th birthday, his hometown club, Newells Old Boys, announced that they had named one of the stands after Messi.
Almost every corner of the stadium, known as El Koloso, is adorned with signs paying tribute to the club’s legends. In 2009, the entire arena was named “Estadio Marcelus” in honor of one of the club’s most successful coaches, who helped the team win the league in 1991.
Herardo Martino named the west side of the stadium after the former Newells player and manager. There’s also a section of the arena named after former Atletico and Liverpool midfielder Maxi Rodriguez, who turned 40 in 2021. And then they made such a gift. He spent a total of nine years at Newells.
Of course, it wasn’t without the legendary Diego Maradona. A season dedicated to him at Newells in the early 1990s was enough for the Southern Tribune to be renamed in his honor. Incidentally, Messi’s longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo has to be content with the fact that his name is displayed above the gate of the sports training complex and at the Naconal Academy.
However, one thing is certain: sooner or later, something bigger will be called in Ronaldo’s honor. In the meantime, let’s see what company Messi joined.
Diego Maradona
In addition to the Newells Stadium, not one, but two stadiums are named after Maradona. His first name was given to the Arkhangelsk Home Arena, where Maradona made his professional debut in 1979. And relatively recently, his name was given to Napoli’s original San Paolo Arena, where Diego Armando achieved European fame after spending the most brilliant part of his career.
Pele
His name is associated with football. And even if a person is extremely far from the game, they know who Pelé is from childhood. Therefore, it is not surprising that a stadium is named in honor of the legendary Brazilian. Moreover, it has a very “modest” name – “Real Ray Pele,” which means “King Pelé’s Stadium.” However, its location is truly modest. It is located in Masiao and serves as the home arena for two local teams in the Serie A and Serie B.
Ferenz Pushkash The award for the best goal of the year is named after Pushkash. But we’re talking about stadiums here. His name is Hungary’s main arena—the 67,000th stadium in Budapest. Its construction was completed in 2019. They erected the structure on the site of an obsolete national team home. This approach to naming makes sense when you have a football hero who is clearly visible to an entire country. Johan Kroof
The decision in 2018 to rename the Amsterdam Aren to the Johan Kroif Arena is no less logical—it’s Ayax’s home stadium. It got its name two years after the death of Kroif, who arguably did more than anyone to ensure that modern football is known as what we see on pitches around the world. His contribution to the development of the game is invaluable. And the decision to name the stadium after Kroif was an obvious one.
Arsen Wenger
Until now, Arsenal have been content to call various parts of their rather boring “Emirates” stadium, like “North” or “Eastern,” while their main legend was honored to have the entire stadium named elsewhere. There is, however, one nuance—this was done by a small regional team from France—”Yusl Dupingheim.” They remembered that Wenger grew up in a nearby area, so they named their arena after him. Calling it that, of course, is overly optimistic, as it only has 500 seats. And they built it on the site of the old potato field in 2016.
Alex Ferguson and Bobby Charleton
While Manchester United draws up plans for a new stadium, Old Trafford has half of its stands named after major legends. In 2011, the Northern Stand was named after Alex Ferguson—then it marked 25 years since the Scot led the team. A statue was also installed in the concourse. And the grand opening of the Sir Bobby Charlton Rostrum (formerly the South Stand) took place in 2016, the 60th anniversary of the legend’s professional debut in Manchester United.
Kenny Dalglish Didier Drogba
The 15-year-old Ivoarian Drogba played for the French amateur club Levalloha. For obvious reasons, he was deeply moved when the club decided to name its stadium in Didier’s honor in 2010. The former Chelsea player spent four years at Levallois-Perret before moving to Le Mans, where he made his professional debut in 1998. He then moved to Marseille and went on to Chelsea, winning four league titles and the Champions League.
Fernando Torres
Born and raised in the suburbs of Madrid, Torres made a splash in the Atlético youth team, where he earned the nickname that stuck with him for the rest of his career. To mark his hometown hero’s rise to greatness, local club Fuenlabrada renamed their stadium in Fernando’s honor in 2011. Torres’s parents were invited to the opening, by the way.
Dwait York
When Trinidad and Tobago needed a new stadium for the World Youth Championship in 2001, they built one near the capital. And who should it be named after, if not the most famous local footballer? The arena was named after Dwight York, who later played for Manchester United. He still plays for an amateur team.
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