Die Meister, Die Besten, Les grandes équipes, The champions! The masters, the best, the great teams, the champions! Modern Refinement
The definitive version was recorded at Angel Studios in London by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and sung by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields chorus. Trilingual Lyrics UEFA Champions League Theme Song
The original Handel piece was based on the biblical anointing of King Solomon, traditionally used for the coronation of British monarchs. This regal history gave the new football anthem an immediate sense of grandeur and authority. Die Meister, Die Besten, Les grandes équipes, The champions
The lyrics are unique for their mix of UEFA's three official languages: . Britten used a series of superlatives to reflect the elite nature of the teams involved. Translation French Ce sont les meilleures équipes These are the best teams German Es sind die allerbesten Mannschaften They are the best teams English The main event Chorus Trilingual Lyrics The original Handel piece was based
Britten looked to the baroque era, specifically George Frideric Handel's 1727 coronation anthem, Zadok the Priest . While he "pinched" the iconic rising string phase from Handel, he wrote his own melody for the rest of the piece.
In the early 1990s, UEFA sought a way to elevate the competition's prestige and move football away from its association with hooliganism at the time. Inspired by the "Three Tenors" success at the 1990 World Cup, they commissioned Britten to create a classical, anthemic piece that felt like a "major event".