Abandoned stadium which hosted some of world football's biggest names is now completely unrecognisable

A stadium which once hosted some of the biggest names in world football is now completely abandoned - and unrecognisable from its former glories.

The stadium was multi-purpose when it was opened in 1959, subsequently going on to host not only football but rugby union, music concerts and even Olympics events.

The stadium in question is the Stadio Flaminio, which was originally opened in time for the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome.

It was renovated in 2008, and would go on to become the home of the Italian men's rugby union team up until 2011 - and has been largely abandoned ever since.

Parts of the stadium's stands have crumbled, while the pitch and other structures are in disrepair.

There have been widespread calls to once again reprise the stadium to its former glory from football fans, as the ground was formerly operated by the Italian Football Federation.

In the 1989/90 season, the stadium was jointly used by Roma and Lazio as their temporary home, with the Stadio Olimpico being renovated before the 1990 World Cup.

As a result, Italian football's biggest stars of the time played at the ground, including Roberto Baggio, Marco van Basten, Lothar Matthaus and Diego Maradona.

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The long-term future of the stadium has recently received a timely boost, however.

Earlier in July, Lazio announced that they were exploring plans to renovate the venue, including doubling its capacity from 25,000 to 50,000, with a view to potentially making it their home venue.

Other plans include adding a new roof and improving parking.

Lazio president Claudio Lotito told Gazzetta dello Sport that the club had given the Mayor of Rome a deadline of October to 'better select the technical aspects' of the renovation plan.

He said: "I think the municipal adminstration understood the seriousness and meticulousness with which we addressed the problem, trying to safeguard the regulatory aspects and the entire architectural aspect of the Flaminio stadium.

"The mayor was pleasantly surprised with this point of view. He said that he appreciated the work we have carried out, which is to protect both its safeguarding of the architectural spirit and of the future perspective."