TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2015 SPORTS Europe resonates to Champions League anthem LONDON: For fans of European football, it is a sound but also for lots of players who’ve never even played in He added: “It was not long after the Three Tenors it’s a hymn in the first sense of the term: there’s a war- that has become as synonymous with autumn’s arrival the competition.” thing at the (1990) World Cup and so suddenly ‘classi- rior-like, religious aspect. “Furthermore, musically, it’s as the turning of the leaves or the drawing in of the For Laurent Cochini, consulting director at Paris- cal music’ was a big deal. “So they wanted something not linked to the period in which it was composed. nights. Every autumn since November 1992 the based audio brand experts Sixieme Son, the like that, but they knew they didn’t want soloists. They Musical tastes change all the time, so it’s difficult to world’s leading players have assembled beneath the Champions League music is “THE reference in terms of wanted a choir. “We had to offer them something to have continuity. floodlights at the continent’s grandest stadiums and music in the world of sport”. narrow it down and they heard the beginning of “But this is classical music, so it’s neither in fashion the Champions League theme music has filled the The swelling crescendo and rousing melody are the ‘Zadok the Priest’ by George Frideric Handel and said, or out of fashion.” The music cannot be bought or evening air. The stirring, trilingual hymn, performed by creations of Briton Tony Britten, who composed the ‘That’s what we’d like.’ legally downloaded, according to UEFA, but the royal- London’s Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and the choir anthem in 1992 at the request of UEFA’s marketing “There’s a rising string phrase that you hear in the ties have enabled Britton to set up his own film pro- of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields, has become department to mark the competition’s re-branding. Champions League anthem, which is taken from duction company, Capriol Films. irrevocably linked with the world’s premier club tour- “Football had a pretty tawdry name back in the late Handel. And then I wrote words and the music kind of Britten considered the brief to be “just one of those nament and has been taken to heart by fans and play- 80s, early 90s,” Britten told AFP in a telephone inter- in the style of Handel, although the chords are much jobs” at the time and admits that he was “more of a ers alike. Cristiano Ronaldo practically sang it, almost view. “There’d been Hillsborough, and that was just the more modern.” rugby fan than a football fan”. like a national anthem, before facing Atletico Madrid tip of the iceberg. There was a lot of terrible stuff going The lyrics, which Britten wrote in “a few days”, are in Hailing from Croydon in south London, he supports in the quarter-finals of last season’s tournament. on-inadequately equipped stadia, appalling hooligan- English, French and German, UEFA’s three official lan- Crystal Palace and with Alan Pardew’s side currently Mamadou Sakho, meanwhile, admitted to using it ism. It was horrible. “And UEFA, to their eternal credit, guages, and one of the quirks of the music’s popularity riding high in the Premier League, the thought of as his mobile ringtone to mark Paris Saint-Germain’s said that the Champions League needed to reflect all is that few people know what they are singing. “These hearing the Champions League music ring out at return to the competition in 2012. that was best in this wonderful game. “Part of the are the best teams / The big teams / The main event,” Selhurst Park has crossed his mind. “I hear the Champions League music on my phone music brief was that it needed to have gravitas. It go the words, before the unmistakeable, lingering “That would be the ultimate,” he says. “Brian Clough and my friends wake me up with it,” said the France mustn’t feel like it was cheap pop music. It had to feel pay-off: “The chaaaampions!” took Nottingham Forest from nowhere to win the international, now of Liverpool. “It’s magical for me, like it had substance.” Cochini says: “From a strictly musical point of view, European Cup. It can be done!” — AFP Man City target fast start against ailing Juventus LONDON: Manchester City embark on a wore a frown after the 1-0 win at Palace, fifth Champions League campaign buoyant with striker Sergio Aguero having limped after a perfect start to their domestic sea- off. “It’s very difficult to answer now. It’s son but still searching for the secret formu- important to see how he recovers in the la against Europe’s top brass. next few hours,” Pellegrini, who is also Manuel Pellegrini’s side have again been sweating on the fitness of Raheem Sterling handed a tough group and the visit of last and David Silva, said of his Argentine year’s runners-up Juventus to the Etihad goalscorer. With Spanish club Sevilla and today will provide an early Litmus test for Bundesliga side Borussia their hopes of going past the last 16 for the Moenchengladbach also in Group D, quali- first time. fication could be complicated for City, but Not that the form of the Italian champi- Aguero believes the way they have started ons should be causing Pellegrini and his the season augurs well. “We had an excel- players much loss of sleep. While City have lent pre-season and we have opened the 15 points from five Premier League games, Premier League with great momentum their latest win coming at Crystal Palace too,” he said. “I think you will see a very on Saturday, Juventus needed a late good season for Manchester City.” penalty from Paulo Dybala to draw 1-1 Juventus, who will be without injured draw with Chievo and avoid a third midfielder Claudio Marchisio for Tuesday’s straight Serie A defeat. clash after he sustained a muscle injury It should be the ideal time to play a Juve against Chievo, have yet to spark at all this side still coming to terms with the summer season, although coach Massimiliano exits of Arturo Vidal and Carlos Tevez, but Allegri is not panicking. City will be wary of the kind of home slip- “We need to focus on the positives: this ups that have undermined their previous team has plenty of young players and these Champions League campaigns. things take time,” he said. “We knew that Their last three home games against this season would be a lot tougher. We Italian clubs, including last September’s need to keep working because we’ve got meeting with AS Roma, ended 1-1 while our first Champions League game today.” last season they won just one of their four Mario Mandzukic, a summer signing from SPAIN: Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo (centre left) and Real Madrid’s Marcelo react during a training session in Madrid. Real Madrid will play home fixtures, a fortunate defeat of already Atletico Madrid, could return to the starting Shakhtar Donetsk today in a Group A Champions League soccer match. —AP qualified Bayern Munich, as they scrambled lineup after being left on the bench against into the last 16 where Barcelona proved too Chievo when Dybala and Alvaro Morata good. Despite his side’s form Pellegrini formed a two-man attack. — Reuters Ronaldo takes aim at Shakhtar MADRID: Cristiano Ronaldo has more goalscor- ers and I hope Cristiano continues adding to his Another flood of goals could be on the cards ing records in his sights when Real Madrid get tally for his good and the good of the team.” at the Bernabeu against a Shakhtar side weak- their Champions League campaign underway at The thrashing of Espanyol means Benitez’s ened by the ongoing unstable political situation home to Shakhtar Donetsk today. men have scored 11 times in their last two in Ukraine. Ronaldo became Los Blancos’ all-time top matches, dispelling pre-season fears that the for- Mircea Lucescu’s side have played their home goalscorer in La Liga on Saturday with five goals mer Liverpool and Chelsea manager would insist fixtures in Lviv, over 600 miles from Donetsk for in a 6-0 rout of Espanyol to move ahead of club on a more defensive approach this season. more than a season. A run to the last 16 of last legends Raul and Alfredo di Stefano. One of Benitez’s biggest tasks when he was season’s Champions League also provided a The World Player of the Year is now just five handed the job was to get the best out of Gareth shop window for many of their best players to adrift of also surpassing Raul’s record as Madrid’s Bale after a disappointing second season at the secure lucrative moves to top clubs around top scorer in all competitions having played Bernabeu. Europe as Douglas Costa joined Bayern Munich, more than 400 games fewer than the Spaniard in The Welshman has flourished in a more cen- whilst Luiz Adriano was snapped up by AC a Madrid shirt. Moreover, he has the chance to tral role so far this season and was involved in Milan. However, despite the difficulties faced by edge ahead of Lionel Messi as the top scorer in five of Madrid’s six goals at the weekend despite Shakhtar, midfielder Viktor Kovalenko believes the history of the Champions League with the failing to get on the scoresheet himself.