Every four years the World Cup illusion is renewed, the great dream of the soccer nations to lift the World Cup. And in this sense, there are longings that are accompanied by music. They are those official songs that each organization creates to give an identity to their party. Throughout history there were better, worse, forgotten and remembered. They are without turns, one of the trademarks of each World Cup. This is a review of some of them, while the ball is already rolling in Qatar 2022 and time will tell how far and how much its soundtrack plays.
Different shirts, stadiums and the color of the public will shape a different atmosphere in the ecumenical event in whose inauguration and for almost a month (ends on December 18) the “Hayya, Hayya” will sound in full, the theme of this edition. It will be there, at the opening, when he becomes one of the main dishes, when he will try his luck before the fans.
As there are iconic moments around the presentation, there are also those that passed without pain or glory, which highlights the lack of organization and the little research regarding the idiosyncrasy of the organizing country.
A rock band created the first official song
The 1962 World Cup, organized by Chile, brought a novelty that differentiated it from all the previous ones: the creation of an official song. “El Rock del Mundial”, a musical piece created by the local band called The Ramblers, went down in history. Composed by the musician Jorge Rojas Astorga, this single revolutionized the trans-Andean country, to the point of holding a record that is still valid to this day.
After marking a different path in terms of the inauguration of a World Cup event, the theme of the Chilean band reached two million copies sold and put it at the top of the music industry, until they were recognized worldwide.
“To the foreign teams we will show good humor, like good Chileans, chivalry and correctness and even in defeat, we will dance rock and roll”, reads one of its verses.
As for soccer, the World Cup title stayed in South America due to the conquest of Brazil, who beat the Czech Republic in the final. For its part, Argentina said goodbye in the group stage.
“El Mundial”, the song that accompanied Argentina in 1978
With a fashion imposed on the songs that give rise to the openings of the World Cups, Argentina led the 1978 World Cup -which ended up winning- in the midst of a society convulsed by the Military Juntas, which had carried out the coup d’état in 1976 .
From the start, the composition of this official march brought some confusion as it was starred by the Italian artist named Ennio Morricone and performed by the Municipal Symphonic Band of the City of Buenos Aires.
Author of sound pieces for movies and television, Morricone’s work quickly became blurred as the dates of the matches passed, to the point that his symphony did not leave any mark on the Argentine public that celebrated his first World.
“Un estate italiano”, the song that brings back the memory of Diego Maradona
In 1990, Italy took charge of the organization of a new World Cup and left in memory a song that still resonates in the ears of football fans. An Italian estate, the single composed by Edoardo Bennato and Gianna Nannini, became an emblem for the Argentine public, who transformed it into a way to evoke Diego Maradona.
At the same time as the Italian creation, there was also an English version led by the Giorgio Moroder Project band, which tried to transcend in various parts of the world, but even so, it did not achieve the desired impact, as it did in the Argentine territory.
To the beat of the stanza that begins with the legend “notti magiche”, which translated into Spanish means “magic night”, memories begin to surface and goalkeeper Sergio Goycoechea appears flying from one post to another in the penalty shootout against the host team, which fell to the Argentines in the semifinal of the competition. Finally, Germany, with a controversial arbitration by Edgardo Codesal, brought down the national dream. It was a 1-0 loss.
The theme composed by the footballers of the German national team
Germany took over the organization of the 1974 World Cup and had to organize not only the logistics of a massive event, but also a healthy custom: the official song of their World Cup date.
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To add a curious item to the question, the Teutons decided to put together a theme that symbolizes their homeland and that, in addition, was carried out by the players.
“Fußball ist unser Leben”, composed by the artist Jack White in 1973, featured the participation of renowned players such as Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Jupp Heynckes, Paul Breitner, among others.
“Waka Waka”, a song that made the African continent beat
With a catchy rhythm, wrapped in a choreography that required played movements to follow the rhythm, the Colombian artist Shakira caused a stir with the song “Waka Waka”. From the start, the World Cup in South Africa, played in 2010, targeted the local public and the appointment of the native of Barranquilla aroused some complaints.
Under the well-known figure of her, Shakira devised a theme that became a Platinum Disc, but had some tweaks in the middle of its formation. One of them, the most significant, was the inclusion of the local band Freshly Ground, who joined the final version of the song.
As for the audience, this song transcended this appointment of selections under its catchy phrase “because this is Africa” and managed to sell 10 million units between 2010 and 2014.