With a new edition of the UEFA Champions League about to start in this 2024/25 season, Europe’s top tournament decided to update its format and not only that, they also innovated in their anthem, a musical piece that has accompanied the tournament since 1992, although these modifications did not entirely please some fans.
The Champions League anthem, better known as “Zadok the Priest” composed by George Frideric Handel in 1727 and adapted by Tony Britten for the top European football tournament, will undergo changes in its wind arrangements, and a trumpet solo was added at the end of the song.
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Although the essence of the famous Champions League tone and its old anthem have been maintained, for some fans this is a notable change that does not necessarily favor the musical composition and what the Champions League anthem represents, which is why the topic quickly began to be discussed on social networks.
Now in the first leg of the playoffs for a place in the Group Stage, this new anthem will be premiered before the public, who, although their anthem and the entire brand image do generate high expectations, should pay more attention to the performance of the footballers on the field, with or without the anthem.
Even so, we cannot ignore the reactions that these changes to the anthem generated, as some fans classified it as “horrible” while others mentioned on social media “It has lost its aura” and “Tell me this is an April Fool’s joke.”
It is recognized as the Champions League anthem, but now, thanks to subtle changes, such as the trumpet solo, this musical piece has been in the eye of the hurricane of controversy generating divided opinions.
New anthem and new format for the UEFA Champions League
The launch of this new anthem comes hand in hand with the change in the format of the competition in an effort by UEFA to modernize and update its image and its way of competing, focusing on the delight and excitement of the public.
The Group Stage as we knew it will no longer exist, and will be replaced by an eight-match ‘mini-league’, where 36 teams will play six matches against each other, without any matches being repeated. “This will give clubs the opportunity to compete against a wider range of rivals and fans will be able to see the best teams face each other more often and earlier in the competition,” UEFA explained in a statement.
With this new Group Stage concluded, the best eight teams in the general table advance, and the Round of 16 would automatically be defined by their position in the table and their rivals will be defined in a playoff that will be played by the clubs that finish from ninth to 24th position, so we also say goodbye to the draws.
So the 25th to 36th places in the general table would be eliminated from the new Champions League and something that characterizes the changes made now is that those clubs that lose first in this tournament would no longer have a ‘second chance’ in the Europa League, as used to happen in the traditional format.
From the Round of 16 onwards, everything returns to normal, to the system we have known in recent decades, with the games being played in a home-and-away format and the classic Grand Final being played in a neutral venue.
