The Champions League is back and before the football begins our excitement will be pricked when that iconic Champions League anthem booms out from the TV.
Every football fan and player knows the song and the unmistakable tune that makes the hairs stand up on the back of the neck. But what’s it all about? What are the singers saying? What are the Champions League Anthem lyrics?
Well, way back in 1992, before the Champions League had been launched, UEFA asked British composer Tony Britten, who had previously conducted the musical score for the original Robocop movie, to come up with a song to be used as the official UEFA Champions League Anthem.
His composition was a classical piece following a style similar to some of George Frideric Händel’s works and influenced by his Zadok the Priest.
Everybody knows the unmistakable sound of the #UCL anthem…
Here’s the story behind it: https://t.co/DhJe3MVC4lhttps://t.co/buFWt9Boum
— #UCL (@ChampionsLeague) March 8, 2016
“When UEFA said the wanted music that would reflect the gravitas and importance of this new competition that they were launching, it was very useful to have a reference,” said Britten, who also worked for Cameron Mackintosh as music supervisor on many shows including Godspell, The Rocky Horror Show and Oliver!.
“Händel’s Zadok the Priest is such an affirmation of power, success, grandure, it was written for King George’s coronation.
“Every Champions League game is a big event. They all line up at exactly the same time across Europe. I don’t think I or anyone else on the creative team quite knew how big it would be.”
For the recording used in television broadcasts of matches, the Champions League Anthem was performed by London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields Chorus. The chorus is sung in UEFA’s three official languages of English, French and German.
But what are the Champions League anthem lyrics?
Ce sont les meilleures équipes
Es sind die allerbesten Mannschaften
The main event
Die Meister
Die Besten
Les grandes équipes
The champions
Une grande réunion
Eine grosse sportliche Veranstaltung
The main event
Die Meister
Die Besten
Les grandes équipes
The champions
Ils sont les meilleurs
Sie sind die Besten
These are the champions
Die Meister
Die Besten
Les grandes équipes
The champions
And here are the Champions League anthem lyrics in English…
They are the best teams
They are the best teams
The main event
The master
The best
The great teams
The champions
A big meeting
A great sporting event
The main event
The master
The best
The great teams
The champions
They are the best
They are the best
These are the champions
The master
The best
The champions
Watch the full video of the Story of the Champions League Anthem here