“We Are Certainly Among the Leading Stadiums in Europe”

In an interview with stadiaworld, Jürgen Muth, Managing Director of Allianz Arena München Stadion GmbH, looks back on 20 years since the “Sommermärchen 2006” (the summer fairy-tale), the German stadium landscape, and the most important developments.

stadiaworld: Looking back today – from a professional perspective – on the World Cup and on your stadium in 2006, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

Jürgen Muth
Jürgen Muth Image: Allianz Arena
Muth: That we were of course a little more nervous than we are today when hosting a major event such as a Champions League final or a EURO. It was, after all, our first major event. The second thing that has stayed clearly in my memory is that, with the Allianz Arena, we had the advantage of being able to build a completely new stadium on an unused site in accordance with World Cup requirements. My colleagues had a somewhat harder time, as they had to adapt. And the third point is that, looking back, you definitely get the feeling that a great deal has happened in the stadium landscape over the past twenty years ...