Feyenoord - Manchester City

De Kuip, officially called Stadion Feijenoord, was built in the 1930s to provide Feyenoord with a new world-class stadium.

Inspiration for the new stadium came from then club-president Van Zandvliet, whose ambitions for the club involved a new 65,000-stadium.

Construction of De Kuip, Dutch for tub or bowl, started in 1935 and finished only 10 months later. The stadium was ready in July 1936, however the Rotterdam government had failed to upgrade the infrastructure around the stadium and a first match had to get postponed.

Half a year later, on the 27th of March 1937, De Kuip finally opened with a match between Feyenoord and Belgian side Beerschot (5-2). A month later the Dutch national team played its first international at the stadium against Belgium.

In the next decades, De Kuip turned into one of the prime venues of Europe and hosted various European cup finals.

In 2002, the final of the UEFA Cup was played at De Kuip, which saw home side Feyenoord beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2.

By then, De Kuip had already undergone an extensive redevelopment. In the early 1990s, the state of De Kuip had deteriorated to the extent that it could hardly meet safety requirements, and works included a thorough refurbishment of the stands, the creation of new corporate facilities, and the installation of a roof over the previously uncovered stands.

De Kuip was chosen to host the final of the Euro 2000 championships, receiving preference over the newer and slightly bigger Amsterdam ArenA. During the tournament, the stadium hosted three group matches, the quarter-final between Holland and Yugoslavia (6-1), and the final between France and Italy (2-1).

Feyenoord have long been contemplating either renovating De Kuip or building a completely new stadium. The decision finally fell in favour of building a new 63,000-seater stadium next to De Kuip, though the club still needs to obtain planning permission and arrange funding, and realisation is therefore far from guaranteed.

How to get to the De Kuip

De Kuip is located on the south bank of the river Meuse, just a few hundred metres away from the river, but about 4.5 kilometres from Rotterdam’s city centre and more than 5.5 kilometres from the central rail station.

If coming by car, the stadium is best reached from the A16 motorway. Take exit 24 Feijenoord (if coming from the north the first after the Van Brienenoord bridge). Follow the Stadionweg west until reaching the stadium.

If using public transport, take tram 23 from Rotterdam’s central rail station. After a 20-minute journey get off at stop Stadion Feijenoord. On matchdays one can also take tram 29.

An alternative is taking a train to rail station Lombardijen, also on the south bank, and continue with tram 2 in the direction of Charlois. After a 6-minute journey get off at either station Beukendaal or Breeplein. The stadium is a further 10-minute walk away. Both trams run at least once every 10 minutes.

On matchdays it is also possible to catch a train from Rotterdam Central Station (or Dordrecht) to station Stadion Feijenoord, which lies adjacent to the stadium. On non-matchdays there is no train service to this station.