Inauguration: 23 April, 1923

Football¡¯s field of dreams

[AFP]

There are few places more deserving of the words ¡°hallowed ground¡± to a football fan than Wembley Stadium. Demolished in 2003, it was a veritable Museum of British sporting history and famous football moments. And, more than any other stadium in the world, to play at ¡°Wembley¡± was understood to be something special -- the pinnacle of being a footballer was to perform your trade beneath its majestic Twin Towers.

For the rest of the world, playing in the Empire Stadium, as it was originally known, symbolised being closer to where the game was created. And, for the English of course an inordinate number of memories took place on that expansive Wembley pitch. It has housed the Three Lions at their best and worst and has been their face to the world at least since 1966. That was the year of course that England joined the ranks of the select few nations to have won the FIFA World Cup.

Famous faces and a shattering 6-3 defeat

The man who famously lifted the cup that celebrated 30th of July, 1966 was Bobby Moore, who did more than his fare share of winning at the old ground. The great England defender also won the 1964 FA Cup and 1965 European Cup Winners Cup at Wembley, though in 1971 he was on the losing side for Fulham against his former side West Ham.

Fellow 1996 star Bobby Charlton did at least as well as his captain, winning the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the FA Cup in 1963 and the European Cup with the outstanding Manchester United team of 1968. Also in that side was Northern Ireland¡¯s greatest ever player George Best and Scottish marksman Dennis Law. On the other half of the pitch with Benfica was Wembley-unlucky Eusebio, who lost not only the 1968 final there but also the 1963 one, not to mention the England 66 semi-final against the hosts.

Dutch legend Johan Cruyff thrilled and stunned the over 90,000 supporters in Wembley at a 1977 friendly, which the Netherlands won 2-0. He also lifted a European Cup in the stadium as a player (with Ajax in 1971) and a coach with Barcelona in 1992. Another fantastic foreigner to light up the Wembley pitch was ¡°The Galloping Major,¡± Ferenc Puskas, who led Hungary in their 6-3 drubbing of England in what is surely one of the most celebrated and important friendly matches of all time. If one wanted to make a statement about football, Wembley was the best place to do it, and the ¡°Magical Magyars¡± of 1953 made claim both of their greatness and England¡¯s lacking at the time.

Defeats - from Scotland to Germany

The auld enemies to the north, Scotland, were actually the first to get the better of England at Wembley, which they did the second time the two teams met there in 1928. It was a rather notorious 5-1 hammering in fact, though England got their revenge two years later under the same towers with a 5-2 win of their own.

Wembley itself was almost as celebrated as the national team it housed, however, and domestic and European cups of all kinds also played out in the ground. The Stadium hosted every FA Cup final from 1923 to 2000, every League Cup from 1967 to 2000, as well as seven European finals (five in the European Cup and two in the Cup Winners Cup).

A White Horse and Sir Stanley

Of all the great and glorious FA Cup finals, two that stand out prominently are the debut, the ¡°White Horse¡± final in 1923, as well as the ¡°Matthews¡± final of 1953.

Built to accommodate 125,000 people, the first FA Cup final reportedly saw more than 200,000 cram into the ground. Kick-off was delayed for 45 minutes as the pitch had to be cleared of supporters there to see Bolton take on West Ham. Most distinctive of those restoring order was a mounted police officer and his legendary white horse, ¡°Billy,¡± who stood out in the throng.

Three decades later, one of England¡¯s most respected athletes, Sir Stanley Matthews was the star of the show in another match featuring Bolton. Wanderers seemed to have spoiled all of England¡¯s celebration of Stan¡¯s first FA Cup-winners medal when they were ahead 3-1 in the famous final. However, the ¡°Wizard of the Dribble¡± proceeded to tear apart the opposition, and those in Wembley on that historic day have never stopped talking about the way that Matthews¡¯ Blackpool came back to win 4-3.

Those sorts of defining national recollections flood from Wembley unlike any other ground in the world, and because of England¡¯s significant place in the development of the beautiful game, their football memories have a collective magnetism for everyone else.

Hosted

1966 FIFA World Cup final (England 4:2 Germany)

1966 FIFA World Cup third-place match (Portugal 2: 1 Russia)

1966 FIFA World Cup semi-final (England 2:1 Portugal)

1966 FIFA World Cup quarter-final (England 1:0 Argentina)

1966 FIFA World Cup group matches (5)

European Championship 1996

Olympic Football Tournament 1948