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Estádio do Dragão is the name of FC Porto’s home ground which was built to host matches of the Euro 2004 tournament, replacing the club’s former 1952 built home, Estádio das Antas. Known as the Stadium of the Dragon in English after the club’s nickname of Dragões which stems from the mythical creature appearing on the club’s badge, the inaugural match was held against Barcelona on the 16th November 2003. This fixture attracted a record crowd of 52,000 although the official capacity currently sits at 50,431. During the Portuguese hosted Euros, Estádio do Dragão hosted five matches including the curtain raising match between hosts and eventual winners Greece. Portugal lost the opening fixture 2-1 but had the chance to avenge the defeat against the Greek underdogs in the final but lost 1 nil at Estadio Da Luz. Designed by Portuguese architect Manuel Salgado, Estádio do Dragão cost a reported €98 million euros with the government subsiding around 1/5th of this with a contribution of €18.5 million. With the club opting to sell the naming rights of the stands to help cover the costs of construction, many believe Porto would sell the naming rights to the stadium but as of today this is yet to transpire in a move which has pleased ultra fan groups. After the first friendly match was saw 16 year old wonderkid Lionel Messi’s European début, the club were forced to temporarily relocate back to their old home, Estádio do Futebol Clube do Porto, as the new stadium suffered severe pitch problems with the turf replanted and nurtured back to health by February 2004.

DRIVING The address for satnav is as follows: Via Futebol Clube do Porto, 4350-415 Porto, Portugal Car parks There are a few private car parks within a 5-10 minute radius of the ground, however they usually fill up fast so make sure that you get there early. TRAIN Porto is served by two railway stations known as Estação de São Bento in the city centre, and Porto-Campanhã station which sits east of the city. Both serve a mixture of commuter routes, direct services to Spanish cities such as Madrid. METRO The stadium has its very own metro station known as Estadio do Dragao, and is is the last stop on lines A (Blue), B (Red) and E (Purple). It is also reachable from the orange line F which makes it highly accessible from almost anywhere in the city. AIRPORTS The closest airport Francisco Sa Carneiro is 15km north-west from the city centre. Sometimes referred to as just Aeroporto do Porto once you have landed you can catch Metro Line E to the city centre, and even the stadium itself for a few euros.