It is now known, and has been repeated in every way. There Champions League will change format starting next season. The tournament will expand to 36 teams and will move to a formula with a single group, eight games per team in the first phase (all with different opponents) and the introduction of a playoff round before the round of 16.
New Champions League anthem – Marchetti’s words
To accompany European clubs and all fans in this new era, UEFA has decided to “review” another cornerstone of the Champions League: the anthem. The deputy secretary of UEFA, the Italian, told it Giorgio Marchettiwho spoke at the first Serie A Festival, which he will also see among the protagonists Football and Finance.
It will not be a real change, but a modification: «Hymn? We don’t change it, but the master did some small rearrangements, those who know the music will notice the changes. A slightly astute ear will perceive it, but that’s the anthem», he underlined.
New Champions League anthem – The history of the anthem
But where does the Champions League anthem come from? The piece was composed by Tony Britten, British musician, in 1992, on the occasion of the birth of the new competition, and was inspired by the coronation hymn Zadok the Priest, a text taken from the King James Bible, by Georg Friedrich Händel. In the official version it is performed by the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London.
There are three languages used for its composition: English, German And French, the three official languages of UEFA. The anthem was played for the first time in the autumn of 1992, at the opening of the group stage of the 1992/93 tournament. Among the stadiums in which the anthem was played for the first time there is also San Siro, scene of the match between Milan and Göteborg which ended 4-0 with poker of Marco Van Basten.
New Champions League anthem – The lyrics
But what is the Champions League anthem about? The lyrics of the famous song that resonates in the stadiums make references to the best clubs, the champions who enhance the competition and the event itself, and culminates with the most famous “The Champions” usually shouted at the top of their lungs by the fans. This is the complete text, sentence by sentence, with the respective translation into Italian:
There are the best teams – These are the best teams
They are the allerbest Mannschaften – These are the best teams
The main event – The main event
The Master – The Champions
Die Besten – The best
The great teams – The great teams
The champions – The Champions
A great reunion – A great meeting
A great sporting reality – A great sporting event
The main event – The main event
They are the best – They are the best
They are the best – They are the best
These are the champions – These are the champions
The Master – The Champions
Die Besten – The best
The great teams – The great teams
The champions – The Champions
The Master – The Champions
Die Besten – The best
The great teams – The great teams
The champions – The Champions
