"Nou Camp is not just a football stadium but a focal point of Catalan pride and nationalism and the centrepiece of a vast sporting empire of which Barcelona FC is just one part. But what a part. With 115,000 members, Barcelona is the biggest football club in the world, and it regularly attracts crowds of 100,000-plus for League matches. The stadium is like a sporting canyon, with the pitch actually some 25 feet (8m) below street level and the tiers of seats seemingly rising to the heavens. Like the Santiago Bernabeu, Nou Camp was modernized for the 1982 World Cup; it staged the opening game between Belgium and Argentina (1-0). Curiously, the memorable second-round match between Italy and Brazil (3-2) was instead held at Espanol's much smaller Sarria Stadium; however, Italy qualified here on their way to gaining a 2-0 win over Poland in the semi-finals. Only one European Cup Final has been staged here, AC Milan's 4-0 win over Steaua Bucharest in 1989."
