Match Of The Day Theme Song
“Der der der der der der der der der…”
The football equivalent of lighting the fires of Gondor, one blast of this beauty and footy fans come crawling out of the woodwork. It doesn’t matter if we already know the results or if we’ve already watched a couple of the matches, sitting down on a Saturday night to watch Match Of The Day is tradition for millions of football fans throughout the UK. The Match Of The Day theme is one of the most recognisable TV theme songs of all time and it is almost impossible to not hum or “sing” along to it. It’s back on Saturday. It’s back!
Eye Of the Tiger – Survivor
“The teams are out. Kick off is approaching. And it’s liveeeeee”
That opening riff. Instantly recognisable around any football ground in the country, you couldn’t get away from ‘Eye Of The Tiger’ back in the day when Coca Cola sponsored the EFL. A song about redemption and facing up to insurmountable odds in a quest for glory, legend has it one blast of this tune in the dressing room and your fat, hungover centre half turns from Phil Jones into Virgil van Dijk. Unless you’re Man Utd, then you’re stuck with Phil Jones.
Club Foot – Kasabian
“Imagine being the guy that makes the FIFA soundtrack, what a job.”
How can we have a list of football related songs and not mention Kasabian? The Leicester lovers have a knack for making tracks that oscillate with matchday adrenaline. They have had their fair share of terrace classics and are a permanent fixture on matchday playlists. As well as being one of the most prominently featured artists on FIFA, we all have at least one Kasabian track we like, right?
Red Morning Light – Kings of Leon
“Winner stays on right lads?”
Ahh the good old days. Thierry Henry way still making spaghetti out of premier league defender’s legs and Arjen Robben was a bald 19 year old. But who can forget the soundtrack of FIFA 04. ‘Red Morning Light’ plays as Del Piero, Ronaldinho and Henry have a kick about in a helicopter-lit stadium.
Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) – Shakira
“It’s Tshabalala. Goal for Bafana Bafana. Goal for South Africa. Goal for ALL of Africa!”
Admittedly music associated with football is often white, male and of the rock variety. But in 2010 Shakira released one of the best World Cup songs of all time. Combining pop with elements of samba and elements of percussion frequently found within African music. Then Tshabalala scored and everyone started dancing and suddenly we forgot how fuckin’ annoying vuvuzelas are.
Champions League Anthem – Tony Britten
‘The Champiooooooooooons”
You probably haven’t heard of Tony Britten, but you’ve definitely heard the anthem that he composed for the Champions League. A song that rallies people and raises them from their seats more often than our own national anthem, it could easily bring a tear to your eye. And you’d be lying if you hadn’t admitted to belting out, “The CHAMPIOOOOONS” at least once in your life.
Beautiful Day – U2
You’re 9 years old. You’ve just recovered from yesterday’s spanking at 5-a-side and you’ve had a lie in, only waking up at 7AM today compared to yesterday’s parent-enraging 6AM. They stick you in front of the footy highlights to steal another hour of sleep, only to be kept awake by you belting this absolute anthem out for the next 5 hours.
