Stade du Roudourou
Guingamp, France
The pitch sits in the centre of this enclosure. It is flat and true, the grass cut in stripes that catch the light differently depending on the angle. There is nothing artificial about it; the surface has earned its reputation not through marketing, but through years of use. If you look up from the touchline towards the far end, you can see the floodlights towering over the main stand, necessary for the winter nights when the town turns out in numbers.
This is not a stadium that hides its history. The concrete walls are stained in places, and the metal railings show wear. When the French national team played here, it did not transform into a circus; it remained a working ground.