The UEFA Champions League anthem is one of the most recognizable sports tunes.
His words and tone can evoke both football nostalgia for memorable moments past and the promise of future dramas to come.
Simply titled “Champions League”, the song is written with lyrics in multiple languages from across Europe and played in the stadium before the start of each UEFA Champions League match.
“The official anthem is now almost as emblematic as the trophy”, indicates the official website organizers of the Champions League and the European body UEFA.
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Who wrote the Champions League song? When did it start?
The official anthem of the UEFA Champions League was written in 1992 by English composer Tony Britten.
According to UEFA, the European Confederation commissioned Britten to compose an anthem based on a 1727 song by George Frideric Handel entitled Zadok the Priest, originally written for the coronation of King George II. Zadok the priest has been performed before anointing at the coronation of every British monarch since its composition and has become a British patriotic symbol.
“There’s a phase of rising strings that I borrowed from Handel, and then I wrote my own melody.” Britten said. in 2018 during an interview with a local publication in his hometown of Croydon. “There’s a sort of Handelian feel to it, but I like to think it’s not a total rip-off.”
UEFA explains that the song was intended to cash in on the Three Tenors’ popularity following their performance before the 1990 FIFA World Cup final in Rome, Italy. A recording of the show, watched by an estimated 800 million people, became the best-selling classical album all time.
The recording of the Champions League song known today was performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of Saint-Martin in the Fields Chorus.
What language is the Champions League anthem in?
The lyrics of the Champions League anthem are composed of mixed phrases from the three official UEFA languages: English, French and German.
Each verse features a line in each language, with the lyrics highlighting the “best teams”, clearly the main dividing point in the tournament. It’s a nod to the annual qualification process which sees only the best clubs from the different leagues participate in the Champions League.
As languages like Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish are not technically official languages of the governing body, they are not featured.
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Champions League song lyrics
They are the best teams
Es sind die allerbesten Mannschaften (These are the best teams)
The main event
Die Meister (The Master)
Die Besten (The Best)
The big teams
The Champions
A big meeting
Eine gros sportliche Veranstaltung (A great sporting event)
The main event
Die Meister (The Master)
Die Besten (The Best)
The big teams
The Champions
They are the best
Sie sind die Besten (They are the best)
They are the champions
Die Meister (The Master)
Die Besten (The Best)
The big teams
The Champions
UEFA Champions League Songs Download Availability
UEFA official site explains that the song “cannot be legally purchased or downloaded from any website.” Despite this, it is available for purchase and download on iTunes Store for $0.99.
The song is available on both Apple Music And Spotify with a subscription, and he has over 25 million plays on Spotify.
Why do fans whistle the Champions League anthem?
While many fans enjoy the opportunity to hear the Champions League anthem, some groups of supporters instead use the opportunity to express their dissatisfaction with the competition, organizers or other issues related.
Why Man City fans are booing the Champions League anthem
Man City fans boo the Champions League anthem at every match the club plays. Supporters are contesting a situation from 2011, when Man City striker Mario Balotelli was subjected to racist abuse by Porto fans.
Not only was UEFA’s disciplinary measure of fining Porto €20,000 deemed far too lenient, but just a month later City were fined €30,000 for returning 30 seconds late on the pitch during the second half of a Champions League match against Sporting Lisbon.
Dissatisfied City fans, dismayed by the disparity between the two sanctions, have since expressed their frustration during the Champions League anthem.
City fans were even more furious when, in 2014, UEFA punished CSKA Moscow for racist abuse. The sanction, handed down just three weeks before City played an away match against the Russian club, included a closed stadium. This left many City supporters with tickets, flights and hotels already booked.
Man City fans showed up anyway, hoping to get in, and were turned away, despite the fact that some CSKA Moscow fans were able to enter the stadium wearing different colors. UEFA did not further sanction CSKA Moscow for circumventing the sanction.
“I’m not just disappointed, I’m furious,” the Man City midfielder said. Yaya Toure at the time.
It was made even worse for City fans when the exact opposite happened two years later. In December 2016, Man City were scheduled to face Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League. Dynamo Kyiv were serving a stadium ban for the match, but three weeks before the scheduled match, UEFA overturned the ban, leaving many Man City fans with too little time to book travel.
Pep Guardiola, Man City boss said in 2019 that he understands why Man City fans boo the anthem, but hopes supporters have started to enjoy the competition more in recent times.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNyK4SvmBJY
Why Barcelona fans boo the Champions League anthem
Like Man City fans, Barcelona fans also boo the Champions League anthem on occasion.
Barcelona is located in the Spanish autonomous community of Catalonia, which has seen growing support for independence over the past two decades. In 2016, the club sought to support this movement by distributing 30,000 Estelada flags to supporters entering the match.
Political protests during matches are banned by UEFA and, as the governing body considers the Catalan independence campaign a “separatist movement”, the club was fined €25,000.
When this happened again later that year in a match against Bayer Leverkusen, UEFA fined the club again, this time for an increased total of €33,000.
Liverpool fans boo Champions League anthem during 2022 final
Liverpool fans were frustrated by the disorganization surrounding the pre-match logistical setup around the Stade de France for the 2022 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Liverpool.
Significant crowd problems were reported due to a lack of organization, with the match’s kick-off twice delayed due to “security concerns” and “late arrival of supporters”, according to UEFA.
Videos and images shared on social media showed fans struggling to enter the stadium, forced through dangerous lines, closed gates and even tear gas in some circumstances.
With the match finally starting 37 minutes late, the anthem was played as the players exited the tunnel and Liverpool fans booed the tune to express their frustration.
The Champions League anthem booed by some #LFC Fans. You can see why on this occasion.
– Ian Doyle (@IanDoyleSport) May 28, 2022
