STADION Oosterpark has been left to the elements after it was abandoned over 15 years ago.
Located in Groningen, Netherlands, the eerie sports stadium is home to where football legend Johan Cruyff made his debut in 1964.
YouTubeThe once iconic Netherlands stadium has now been left to rot after being abandoned in 2005[/caption]
YouTubeRows of seats have been left blackened with dust and grime[/caption]
YouTubeWeeds have begun sprouting through the cracks in the ground[/caption]
PA:Press AssociationStadion Oostenpark was where Johan Cruyff made his Ajax debut in 1964[/caption]
The stadium was opened in 1933 and was the original home of FC Groningen until the club moved to Stadion Euroborg in 2006.
When it was first opened, the site only consisted of one football pitch and three pitches for field hockey, but there were no stands or changing facilities.
This all changed in 1935 however, when a modest stand with around 500 seats was installed.
A few years on, earth banks were laid around the pitch so that more people could witness the games.
Just after the Second World War, the stadium was in desperate need of expansion as often 4,000 guests would arrive to watch matches.
However, due to limited resources and materials available at the time, it wasn’t until 1948 that the expansion took place.
Suddenly, the site had three concrete terraces which lifted the capacity of the stadium to 15,000.
A new covered seating stand was constructed just a few years later, which can still be seen covered in dust today.
Images of the abandoned stadium show countless rows of plastic red seats eaten away by grime and dirt.
The immense football pitch is overgrown with untrimmed grass and weeds can be seen sprouting from cracks in the concrete flooring.
Once brimming with chanting fans, the empty stands send chills down the spine as the chairs overlook a barren playing field.
After another expansion, by 1960 the stadium was able to seat a staggering 20,000.
Stadion Oosterpark made a name for itself in the football world in 1964 when Johan Cryuff joined Ajax and made his first team debut in the Eredivisie, against GVAV.
The star player scored the only goal for Ajax in a three-to-one defeat.
The former Dutch professional footballer and manager is regarded as one of the greatest players in history and as the greatest Dutch footballer ever.
He won the esteemed Ballon d’Or three times, in 1971, 1973, and 1974.
At club level, Cruyff started his career at Ajax, where he won eight Eredivisie titles, three European Cups, and one Intercontinental Cup, where he had two assists in the final.
In 329 matches for Ajax, he scored 257 goals and provided more than 170 assists.
In 1973, he moved to Barcelona for a world record transfer fee, helping the team win La Liga in his first season and winning the Ballon d’Or.
In 180 official matches for Barcelona, he scored 60 goals and provided 83 assists.
After retiring from playing in 1984, Cruyff became highly successful as manager of Ajax and later Barcelona.
But Stadion Oosterpark was also the site where football icons Arjen Robben and Ronald Koeman made their debuts.
Robben, a former Chelsea player, came through the youth system at FC Groningen and spent two years in the team before being bought by Philips Sport Vereniging.
Koeman, a former Everton manager, is another celebrated Groningen alumni who was on the side that first won entry into European football in 1983.
With its increasing popularity and success, the iconic Oosterpark saw a final set of changes made by the late 1980s as the official capacity hit 22,000.
However, this was never met due to safety requirements and the official record attendance was around 19,500 – achieved during a UEFA Cup match against Swiss side Servette in 1988.
By the 1990s the Dutch Football Association closed down the standing sections and converted the area into seating.
Chilling wooden puppets were put in the standing sections to make the stadium look less empty.
FC Groningen played its last match at the Oosterpark on December 22, 2005.
The cup match against Volendam ended in a 3-0 win for the home side and just one month later the club moved into the new Stadion Euroborg.
The Oosterpark was subsequently demolished, left to rot, and replaced by housing.
The modern houses do hold some remembrance of the old stadium, however, with a mural on the side of a flat that reads “1933-2005”.
All the street names are named after former star players such as Piet Franssen, or named after the original stands, including Langezijde and Parkzijde.
But Stadion Oosterpark is not the only stadium to have been left abandoned.
Casement Park is currently derelict but is amazingly set to host the Euro 2028 games.
A football stadium that hosted Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea superstars in its latter days was also left abandoned before being replaced by a supermarket.
And a forgotten stadium where England once played has now been covered in graffiti as weeds take over the site.
AlamyFC Groningen played its last match at the Oosterpark on December 22, 2005[/caption]
ReutersFormer Everton manager Ronald Koeman made his debut at Stadion Oosterpark[/caption]
Arjen Robben, a former Chelsea player, is FC Groningen alumniNews Group Newspapers Ltd