England enter the Azteca - where football kings are crowned

England enter the Azteca - where football kings are crownedImage source, BBC SportByDaniel AustinBBC Sport senior journalistPublished2 minutes agoCommentsAmong world football's great theatres, the Estadio Azteca might be the most majestic stage of all.Sat squat in the south of Mexico City, a sprawling metropolis bubbling atop a high-altitude valley surrounded by mountains, the Azteca is where the colour, noise and energy of football truly come to life, and where the game's most glorious kings have been crowned.Pele and his third World Cup win. Maradona and his goal of the century. The ultimate moments in the careers of two men lauded in every corner of the globe, both bound by the same setting - the Azteca.Now, for the first time since being eliminated from the 1986 World Cup by Maradona's Argentina, England are entering the enormous stadium again.What awaits them is utterly unique.Image source, Getty ImagesImage caption, The Azteca has played host to some of the most memorable matches, moments, and players in football historyBuilt to harness the power of people"There is just something very special about Azteca," recalled Pele later in his life. "You need to be inside it, to feel it, to understand."The stadium's design plays a big part.Though the Azteca has undergone multiple refurbishments since Pele's time, and its capacity has been reduced to 87,500, the core principles of the architecture which have always made it so colossal and uproarious - its steep sides, the proximity of the stands to the pitch, the underground dressing rooms and tunnels - remain.Mexico had considered bidding to host the 1958 World Cup, but in the end didn't press ahead and allowed Sweden to win the rights. Instead, after a few years of deliberation, they set their sights on 1970 and won.The architect Pedro Ramirez Vazquez was tasked with building a venue that could welcome over 100,000 people and rival the enormous spectacle of Rio de Janei...