All about Maracanã Stadium

This is one of the largest soccer stadiums in the world.  This stadium will host the World Cup 2014 final match and the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics.
 The heart of soccer in Brazil is the Maracanã stadium, the largest soccer stadium in the country.
Construction of the stadium began in 1948 and the first match was in 1950 with Rio de Janeiro playing Sao Paulo . Unfortunately, Rio de Janeiro lost to Sao Paulo by 3 to 1. The 1950 World Cup was held in 1950 and Brazil lost 2-1 to Uruguay. Brazil has called this match the Maracanazo and it is still fresh in the local's minds.
After the World Cup the stadium was used for football club matches. It has also hosted local football cup finals. The stadium was christened a national landmark in 1998. In 2000, the stadium was renovated to increase capacity to 103,000. It was re-opened in 2007 with a seating capacity of 82,238.