European Championship: The perfect goal anthem for Germany

2024-03-25 13:23:25

Opinion European Championship

The perfect goal anthem for Germany

Status: 25.03.2024 | Reading time: 2 minutes

You should be five friends: Peter Schilling (center) and his band 40 years ago

Quelle: picture alliance / dpa

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For five years, every goal in a home game of the German national team has been celebrated with “Kernkraft 400” by Zombie Nation. Now an initiative with a petition is calling for a more suitable anthem. It comes from the Neue Deutsche Welle – and describes football as it is today.

The German national football team’s recent away win in France with two wonderful goals raises the question of how such goals should be celebrated in their own country during the Euro Championships.

For five years, “Kernkraft 400” by Florian Senfter has been playing in stadiums at home after every German goal. Does the goal anthem still fit a nation that has managed to phase out nuclear power? Especially since your composer performs under the stage name Zombie Nation? One Petition is already collecting votes for the right alternative: “Major Tom” by Peter Schilling. In 1982 the song was a hit with the Neue Deutsche Welle, and Germany became runner-up in Spain.

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Before anyone asks the question again, what is the point of a game in which the goals don’t come every minute, which is why they are celebrated uninhibitedly with beer showers even without music, even if football officials are working feverishly with video evidence to contain the celebration – which is why football needs such anthems ( It doesn’t just exist where there’s little going on, like in Leipzig (“I Feel Good”, James Brown), but even in more atmospheric stadiums like in Bochum (“Cancan”, Jacques Offenbach): The goal anthem is part of the football tradition 21st century.

„Major Tom“ von Peter Schilling would be ideal. It says: “Effectiveness determines your actions / You rely blindly on others / Everyone knows exactly what depends on them.” And: “Experts argue about a few data.” That’s how football works today.

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The initiators of the petition thought even more. With the music of “Major Tom” and the text excerpt “Then he takes off and completely detached” the Adidas outfitters already had one Promotional video for the European Championships in Germany. “Regardless of whether you were enthusiastic about the jersey or not, everyone agreed that the song matched a feeling of new beginnings in the national team,” write the signature collectors.

Without Adi Dassler’s screw studs, the Germans would never have become world champions in 1954. But soon they’ll be wearing Nike. One floats on, as the new anthem will say.