Estadio Manuel Ferreira
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Estadio Manuel Ferreira | |
Full name | Estadio Manuel Ferreira |
Nickname | El Bosque de Para Uno |
Built | - |
Opened | May, 1964 |
Capacity | 22,000 |
Home of | Club Olimpia |
Pitch size | 104 x 68 m |
The Estadio Manuel Ferreira, is a football stadium in Asunción, Paraguay. It is the home venue of Club Olimpia and is named after former club president Manuel Ferreira.
The stadium was opened in May of 1964 with a friendly match between Olimpia and the powerful Santos FC of Brazil, which had the great Pelé in its team. The excitement to see Pelé playing was so big that the stadium's capacity was exceeded. Because of that during the game one of the fences supporting the crowd in the stands broke and many people got injured. As soon as the incident happened, Pelé ran and jumped over the fence to help the injured people. Fortunately, only minor injuries occurred and the match proceeded, ending in a 2-2 draw.
Even though this is the "home" of Club Olimpia, the Defensore del Chaco stadium is used for important matches such as international matches for Copa Libertadores or derbies against the classic rivals such as Cerro Porteño. This is because the Defensores del Chaco has a greater capacity (48,000).
The nickname of "El Bosque de Para Uno" is because the stadium is surrounded by large tall trees, giving the impression of being in a forest (bosque). The term "Para Uno" comes from the name of a train company that used to pass in the railroads where the stadium is now built.