Braga vs Real Madrid in the Champions League: why does the stadium only have two stands?

Real Madrid have made a perfect start to the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League group stage, posting narrow victories over Union Berlin and Napoli in their opening two fixtures. Carlo Ancelotti’s side will expect to make a hat-trick of wins on Tuesday night against Portuguese side Braga, who casual fans may be more familiar because of their iconic home stadium rather than their on-field success.

A brief history of Braga

Nicknamed Os Arsenalistas (The Arsenalists) because of their home shirt’s resemblance to that of the Premier League side, Braga have never won a league title, although they have won domestic silverware on seven occasions, three times in the Taça de Portugal (the Portuguese Cup) and twice in the Taça da Liga (the Portuguese League Cup). In fact, they won both competitions recently (the former in 2020-21 and the latter in 2019-20).

In Europe, they were the last ever winners in 2008 of the now defunct Intertoto Cup (which few took seriously, if we’re being honest), although they are better remembered for reaching the final of the 2010-11 Europa League, which they lost to compatriots Porto.

Braga’s Champions League story

Earlier that season, they made their first ever appearance in the Champions League group stage, finishing third in a section containing Arsenal (an unfortunate kit clash), Shakhtar Donetsk and Partizan Belgrade. Until this season, their most recent participation in the competition came in 2012-13, when they finished last in a group with Manchester United, Galatasaray and Romanian side Cluj.

Estadio Municipal de Braga: an iconic stadium

But it is the Estadio Municipal de Braga they are perhaps best known for. The stadium, which has a capacity of just over 30,000, is the seventh biggest in Portugal but is without doubt the most unique.

Built in 2003 ahead of the 2004 European Championship, hosted by Portugal, the venue sits high above the city of Braga on Monte do Castro and has just two huge stands which run along the sides of the field, one of which is carved into a rock on the terrain of an old limestone quarry (the stadium is often referred to as A Pedreira (The Quarry) in Portugal).

Why are there cables hanging over the field?

The ends behind either goal are both open, in the sense that there are no stands for supporters to sit in. On one side, there is nothing but empty space and spectacular views of the city, and beyond, down below. On the other, a granite embankment which was part of the disused quarry could almost act as a makeshift ballboy or girl.

As if that weren’t enough, steel cables stretch across the field to connect, and support, two concrete slabs which cover the two stands.

Who designed the stadium in Braga?

Eduardo Souto de Moura, one of Portugal’s most renowned architects, was the brains behind the project, whose main goal was to integrate the stadium into the environment and regenerate an area of the town that had stopped being used.

Speaking to The Athletic, Souto de Moura explains: “The Braga stadium might be the most difficult project I ever did. And perhaps for that very reason, the one I enjoyed the most.

“They had found a plot of land for a stadium, in a valley with a waterway. They thought the stands could follow the curves of the valley. I visited and fell in love with it. I still have the photos I took at the time. Above the land was this old quarry. I started to visualise the stadium below, enclosed by the rock. I told the council I wanted to build it there with a 15,000-capacity stand carved into the rock and then do the same on the other side.”

In 2011, Souto de Moura and the Estadio Municipal de Braga won the Pritzker Architecture Prize, seen as the Nobel Prize of architecture. For the home team, defeating Real Madrid on Wednesday would probably be an even bigger achievement.