Since 2019, Zombie Nation’s song “Kernkraft 400” has been the German national team’s goal anthem at home games. A petition is now in favor of another cult song, but UEFA has something against it.
By Chris Lugert
Will the German national soccer team soon have a new goal anthem? Since 2019, players and fans in the stadiums have been cheering to the song “Kernkraft 400” by Zombie Nation when the DFB team scores, but that could soon change.
One Petition on the change.org platform is now calling for Peter Schilling’s classic “Major Tom” to be named the new goal music. This is the stumbling block official clip from Adidas, in which the new European Championship jersey is presented and which was very well received due to its integrative message. “Major Tom” plays a central role in this video.
“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 and videos soon made the rounds that used the same song as the goal anthem,” it says of the petition. More than 35,000 signatures have already been submitted.
In response to a request from the “t-online” portal, the DFB announced that at least in the international match against the Netherlands on Tuesday (8:45 p.m. in the live ticker) nothing would change in the goal music. If a goal is scored, “Kernkraft 400” will also be heard from the loudspeakers.
It is still unclear what the final two preparatory games before the European Championship will look like against Ukraine (June 3) and Greece (June 7). At the tournament itself, UEFA decides whether and, if so, which goal anthems will be played in the stadiums.
The most important thing about the DFB team
Schilling’s “Major Tom” will not be playing in the stadiums at the upcoming home European Championship either – at least not after goals from the DFB team.
As UEFA told “Sportschau” upon request, “the goal jingles at the EURO are the same for all teams and are part of the official song of the UEFA EURO 2024.” In this way, the organizing association immediately puts a stop to fan demands.
At least, according to the report, the participating national associations can “submit suggestions for songs for the warm-up and after the final whistle.” So there is at least a small hope that the astronaut song will be played in the stadiums – even if not during the games.
Nagelsmann about Major Tom
Julian Nagelsmann has no particular preferences in the goal anthem discussion about the 80s global hit “Major Tom”.
“I’ll be honest: I always scream so loudly when I score my own goal that I always notice the music very late,” he said before the classic against the Netherlands on Tuesday (from 8:45 p.m. in the live ticker). ran): “I high-five 30 people and then it’s always over.”
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Major Tom as an anthem? For Schilling “a dream of mine”
Peter Schilling actually wants his global hit “Major Tom” to be the goal anthem for the German national soccer team – and sees it as perfect for that.
“I played football myself and can roughly imagine how a professional feels when he has just scored a goal,” the singer, who lives in Munich, told the SID: “This attitude to life is conveyed by the line ‘completely detached’ for the players themselves and In my opinion, it is also best described for the audience.”
Just the thought gives the 68-year-old goosebumps. “To see a song that was written, composed, lyriced and produced by me 42 years ago today that fans would like to have it as a goal anthem is a dynamic that I really didn’t expect,” he said . Does he feel honored? “A resounding yes!”
Major Tom as an unofficial tournament hit?
Schilling reported that he was astonished to find that a corresponding online petition had gone through the roof with “over 35,000 signatures within 24 hours (…). And of course I’m very happy about that.” Now it remains to be seen whether “this dream of many fans, including me, can actually be fulfilled.”
Due to the UEFA ban, “Major Tom” should become an unofficial tournament super hit. Schilling would enjoy it, for him the song speaks an international language: “Major Tom or the English version is a success throughout Europe, worldwide and has been known in countries like Spain, England and Italy for forty years,” he said. It was only last year that he “re-sung” the song in Spanish.