World Football's Toughest Opposing Stadiums to Play in

There are some stadiums in World Football that are like a fortress for their home team.

Regardless of the stature of the host team, though they are generally the best teams in their respective leagues, these stadiums can be tough for any team to play in.

Now, most folks can name a few of these stadiums off the top of their head. La Bombanera, the Westfalenstadion as well as the Ali Sami Yen stadium (now Turk Telekom Arena) and others come to mind.

Those stadiums are known for the atmosphere created by the crowd, which sometimes has a debilitating effect on their opponents. Some of these stadiums are also the home stadiums for national teams but we are focusing on the club teams that call the venue "home."

What we'll do for this list is look at stadiums that are generally considered the most hostile, intimidating venues to play in, and maybe a few others as well, and judge them by their win percentage*—That is the only factor that matters for this list.

That shows just how good these teams are at home. Of course, we know that the atmosphere of a stadium certainly plays a part but, again, for this article, the home team's ability to win there is what matters.

To do this we'll look at at 100 home games, mostly recent ones, for each of these stadiums. In cases where there is more than one tenant—it's usually only two—the tenants combine to make up the 100 games.

Within those 100 games teams have to have a win percentage of 70 percent or more at their stadium. Draws count as half a win.

In no particular order, here are world football's toughest opposing stadiums to play in.

* All Statistics courtesy of Soccerway.com and ESPNSoccernet.com

Honorable Mentions

Our honorable mentions are here because they failed to get the 70 percent mark. There are few surprises on this list but, again, to beat this point to a pulp, the win percentage trumps everything.

Take, for instance, our first honorable mention—La Bombonera. The stadium is notorious for making similar lists due to the atmosphere created. That atmosphere didn't get Boca Juniors over a win percentage of 70 percent though; the Argentinean club had a 68.5 win percentage at La Bombonera.

Here are the honorable mentions;

La Bombonera

Estadio Governador Magalhaes Pinto (Mineirao)

De Kuip

Estadio Jornalista Mario Filho (Estadio do Maracana)

Estadio Centenario

Estadio Olimpico Joao Havelange

Veltins-Arena

Anfield

Stadio Olimpico

Parc de Princes

The Stade Velodrome

San Siro

Estadio Azteca

Turk Telekom Arena (Ali Sami Yen)

Record: 63 wins, 20 draws(10 wins), 17 losses

Win Percentage: 73 percent

When you step into Galatasaray's stadium you know what you'll get in terms of an atmosphere. It doesn't help that you are usually facing a well-drilled home team.

The 73 percent win percentage backs up claims that Turk Telekom Arena is one of the toughest places to play.

Sukru Saracoglu Stadium

Record: 71 wins, 20 draws(10 wins), 9 losses

Win percentage: 81 percent

Fenerbahce is one of the big three teams in Istanbul and their fans are noted for their passion. This statistic shows that they are a very dominant team at home.

Red Star Stadium (Marakana)

Record: 75 wins, 11 draws(5.5 wins), 14 loss

Win Percentage: 80.5 percent

This Youtube clip showcases just how crazy things can get inside the Marakana. Just as with the other stadiums on this list, the home team—in this case Red Star Belgrade—has an impressive record in their stadium.

Signal Iduna Park (Westfalenstadion)

Record: 61 wins, 26 draws(13 wins), 13 loss

Win Percentage: 74 percent

Borussia Dortmund picked up two Bundesliga titles and a German cup in two years and this was due to the clubs form at home.

It didn't hurt that they also had a vociferous crowd and stars like Mario Gotze on the pitch.

Celtic Park (Parkhead)

Record: 72 wins, 18 draws(9 wins), 10 losses

Win Percentage: 81 percent

It's no great secret that fans at Celtic Park create a great atmosphere for the Hoops. That, and an always strong Celtic team, makes the stadium a tough place to visit.

Ibrox Stadium

Record: 66 wins, 19 draws(9.5 wins), 15 losses

Win Percentage: 75.5 percent

Not to be outdone by the stadium of its major rival, Ibrox stadium also makes an appearance on this list.

It could be down to the level of competition domestically, not that either Celtic or Rangers are slouches on the continent, but teams find it hard to get something positive from a visit at the Ibrox.

Stadio San Paolo

Record: 60 wins, 27 draws(13.5 wins), 13 loss

Win Percentage: 73.5 percent

Fans can provide an electrifying atmosphere at Napoli's San Paolo stadium. The team's recent resurgence has been helped by that and it shows in the results.

Olympic Stadium (Athens)

Panathinaikos Record (50 Games):  33 wins, 9 draws(4.5 wins), 8 losses

Win Percentage: 75 percent

AEK Athens Record (50 Games): 27 wins, 13 draws(6.5 wins), 10 losses

AEK Athens Win Percentage: 67 percent

Combined Win Percentage: 71 percent

The combined records of AEK Athens and Panathinakos over 100 games shows how tough it is to play in in the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

Panathinaikos has the better record but a 67 percent win percentage for AEK Athens isn't too far off the target number.

Toumba Stadium

Record: 66 wins, 14 draws(7 wins), 20 losses

Win Percentage: 73 percent

PAOK is usually behind their Greek rivals in the league but their good record at home ensures that they stay in a pretty good position in the league.

Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium

Record: 79 wins, 11 draws(5.5 wins), 10 losses

Win Percentage: 84.5 percent

Olympiakos has a fortress in the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium. Opponents have to come up against a fantastic atmosphere and a solid team when they enter the stadium and as you can see in the results above, they don't have many positive moments.

Amsterdam ArenA

Record: 71 wins, 18 draws(9 wins), 11 losses

Win Percentage: 80 percent

Ajax will continue to be one of the top teams in the Eredivisie as long as they produce the football and the talents that they usually do.

Those two factors make them a tough team to beat at home.

Philips Stadion

Record: 75 wins, 18 draws(9 wins), 7 losses

Win Percentage: 84 percent

PSV is usually one of the top teams in the Netherlands and an impressive home record is the reason why.

Allianz Arena

Record: 78 wins, 11 draws(5.5 wins), 11 losses

Win Percentage: 83.5 percent

Bayern Munich's dominance in German football has waned in recent seasons but that's not because of any bad results at the Allianz Arena.

White Hart Lane

Record: 63 wins, 26 draws(13 wins), 11 losses

Win Percentage: 76 percent

Surprised? Tottenham has been really good at home over the last few years and that indicates that, should they get better away from home, they may start winning trophies.

Whether or not that happens, the Hotspur faithful and their team ensure that White Hart Lane is a tough place to play.

Stamford Bridge

Record: 73 wins, 14 draws(7 wins), 13 losses

Win Percentage: 80 percent

Chelsea's impressive home record at Stamford Bridge that started under Jose Mourinho's reign has been maintained thanks to the efforts of the teams and fans throughout the years.

Old Trafford

Record: 79 wins, 11 draws(5.5 wins), 10 losses

Win Percentage: 84.5 percent

With these statistics in hand it's easy to see why Manchester United is a perennial title-contender. Even if we were to increase the number of games played it would be unlikely that United suffered a serious drop in win percentage.

The Red Devils just know how to get it done at home.

Camp Nou

Record: 83 wins, 11 draws(5.5 wins), 6 losses

Win Percentage: 88.5 percent

Here's another reason why Barcelona is considered the best club team in the world right now. Folks may say there is no atmosphere in the Camp Nou at times but the statistics don't lie. In recent times teams have rarely come out of the Camp Nou with anything to show for their efforts.

Estadio Santiago Bernabeu

Record: 82 wins, 6 draws(3 wins), 12 losses

Win Percentage: 85 percent

A stadium with rich history like the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu had to be on this list. When Los Merengues are at home, few can get the better of them and that 82 wins out of 100 at home ensures that the Santiago Bernabeu is a tough place to play.

Emirates Stadium

Record: 71 wins, 16 draws(8 wins), 13 losses

Win Percentage: 79 percent

Arsenal's dominance at the Emirates shouldn't come as too much of a surprise. The atmosphere in the stadium can be good on its day, though not quite as good as some of the other stadiums on this list, but the Gunners usually get it done at home.

Judging by this you could speculate that the club's away performances are a big reason for their current trophy drought.