Germany
Olympiastadion Berlin
The Olympiastadion Berlin is a sports stadium in the German capital Berlin, used mostly for football matches. There have been two stadiums on the site: The present facility, and one that was built for the aborted 1916 Summer Olympics. Both were designed by members of the same family, the first by Otto March and the second by his son Werner March. In 1936, the Summer Olympics were officially inaugurated by the Nazi Dictator, Adolf Hitler, and the Olympic Flame was lit by the athlete Fritz Schilgen. The Olympiastadion Berlin was one of the few buildings that survived not just in a recognizable form, but almost untouched after the Second World War. It only suffered the impact of machine gun shots. The most significant battle around the stadium was in April 1945 when the Soviet army fought to capture it. This was during the great final battle of the Second World War in Europe, with the total invasion of Berlin as the Allies' target. Aside from its use as an Olympic stadium, it has a strong footballing tradition. Historically, it's the ground of Hertha BSC Berlin, the main sports club in Berlin. It was also used for several matches in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. It also hosted six matches during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, including the final between France and Italy. It was the last professional football match of Zinedine Zidane. He was sent off in the 110th minute after headbutting the Italian defender Marco Materazzi with the match tied 1-1, and did not participate in the penalty shootout, which Italy won 5-3. Despite his red card and the controversy that followed, Zidane was nonetheless awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the competition.
