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Thursday, July 08, 2010

Chp 305. Best FIFA World Cup Anthem / Song

FIFA has its own official anthem/song every World Cup. And such songs are all about the “spirit of the game”, regardless of whether you win or lose. And listening to them usually pumps you up before any game.

For this 2010 World Cup, the official song is Shakira’s “Waka waka”, which was a real let down for me because I like K’naan’s “Wavin’ flag” so much better. But then again, Ricky Martin’s “La Copa de Vida” was the official World Cup song of 1998 and Anastacia’s “Boom” was for 2002 World Cup. Not surprising that Shakira's song was chosen, if you look at the past official songs

As my wise friend once told me, “World Cup songs must appeal to the masses, and not just football fans.”

Touché. Here, you be the judge. Purely from a football perspective (forget the oh so curved dancers and bootie shakers), which song do you think should be the official 2010 World Cup song?


SHAKIRA – Waka waka.




K’NAAN – Wavin’ flag.




To me, Wavin’ Flag is still the song I play every day the moment I reach office. The song has so much depth and intensity, coupled with emotion and passion. Plus, it really does inspire me, especially if you had listened to the original version before.


Which World Cup song/anthem is your favorite?

Mine is definitely this…

To be number one… running like the wind
Playing hard but always playing fair.

To be number one… winning again and again
Reaching higher through Italian sky.



Yup. World Cup 1990. Italia '90.

Here is the song “To be number one” by Giorgio Moroder. This is the best World Cup song in my book. I still remember listening and singing it so many times when I was in hostel during this World Cup at St. Thomas Boy’s School, Calcutta (I used to sing it as “reaching high, the BLUE Italian sky” ). Even in Mizoram, many artists sang this song before football tournaments etc. This was a very popular song back home, and it still is.



The 1990 World Cup was the World Cup my team Netherlands was eliminated in the first round of the knock-out stage by West Germany, who later moved on to win the title, defeating Argentina in the Finals.

Yup, this was what I meant by the “Dutch disaster” in my previous post. Because the Dutch had just won the UEFA European Football Championship ’88 before this World Cup, beating West Germany 2-1 in the semi-finals. That particular Dutch team was declared by many football pundits as the best Dutch team so far. They had the likes of Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Ronald Koeman and Frank Rijkaard in their roster, while W.Germany had the legends Lothar Matthaeus, Juergen Klinsmann and Rudi Voller. When the two teams met in the '90 Italia World Cup two years after that, W.Germany won 2-1.

I managed to dig out this archive from FIFA. Italia '90 Germany FR vs Netherlands. Frank Rijkaard and Rudi Voller were both shown the red card in the 22nd minute. Rijkaard spat on Rudi, making it one of those “unforgettable moments” of Italia '90

Rijkaard spitting on Voller

Tonight, 20 years later, Netherlands will be facing either Germany or Spain in the Finals of World Cup 2010. I really hope Germany win this match against Spain, so that they will face Netherlands in the Finals - the Oranje can finally take revenge then. Match has just started, so I will stop here.

One last point before I start watching this semi-finals (which I predict is going to be boring). Did you know that the 1990 World Cup where “To be number 1” was sang, was considered to be one of the most boring World Cups ever? It had the lowest goals scored so far, because most of the teams were playing defensively and passing back to their goal-keeper to waste time. Because of this FIFA introduced the “back-pass” rule in 1992, hence disallowing goal-keepers from catching the ball if his own team-mate had passed the ball to him. That definitely made the game more interesting and faster.

Here, enjoy one more version of this Italia '90 World Cup official song. This was performed LIVE during the opening ceremony of the 1990 World Cup twenty years ago (so don't laugh at their clothes). Cheers.





26 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like the waving flag song much better. AND I also hope Germany wins.

BTW, after the spit landed, did the guy kick his ass?

~grail

Irene said...

To Be Number One kha ka duh ber mai kei pawh hian.

Spain tan teh ang final chu...

KymBawi Khuptong said...

Spain played it very well. I like the technic they played which suites them with their height :P..hehe.. small but effective..

Lucy In The Sky said...

Ha! I knew you were gonna say "To be number one" even before I saw the line :P

Hmanni ah ka lo sawi a..."Wavin flag" kha maw offical anthem ka lo tia. A engapawh chu lo nise, A thu hi thra ka tih tehlul nen a thluk mawlh hi a Hamara desh TV commercial hla ka ti tawps...Sachin Tendulkar leh a pawl ten an sak duh hmel hehehe

Anonymous said...

I think Germany team will win the FIFA world cup 2010 final because over all performance is very good than other team.

Auto Insurance Companies said...

May be Netherlands beat Germany.

Auto Insurance Companies

Alejendro said...

To Be Number One tluk kha chu a la awm lo a ni, ka bengah chuan.

Mizohican said...

Damn.... so Germany's out :( Netherlands will have to wait another four years before we can take revenge :)

This Sunday, there will only be one "TO BE NUMBER ONE" and that is the Oranje!!!!!

Hup Holland Hup!

Mizohican said...

@ Grail: lolz. Well, Voller showed the ref Rijkaard's spit and after that the two clashed many times, finally leading to a near fist fight and they were both sent off by the ref. It seems they continued fighting and punching each other even in the tunnel after leaving the ground :)

@ Irene: Likewise. It is the bestest anthem ever! :)

@ Kym: but it was so boring... :D

@ Lucy: Of course my dear. There is no greater anthem than this one :)

@ Anonymous: :( Spain won. I really wanted Germany to win so that Netherlands can beat them in the Finals :(

@ Insurance guy: Aha. Yeah :)

@ Alejandro: I'll drink to that. :)

KymBawi Khuptong said...

Yes it was boring until I realise their(Spain) heights. Germanese were big and tall.

Will love to watch them against Holland on Sunday hehe..:P

mangbuhril said...

good post once again, thanks for bringing out all those all nostalgic world cup songs of old...
yelp, to be number one
is the best so far

dr_feelgood said...

Holland chu an va chak thei tak tak mai awm ve.

Anonymous said...

My ultimate fav is Helele

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFZjRwmr8fg

Instant stress buster!

-pi bmw

Dr. Chandana Shekar said...

at the moment, i like waka waka :)

Mizohican said...

@ Kym: Well, at least with the Dutch, they will be the same height. It will be an interesting match :)

@ mangbuhril: I totally agree with you :)

@ dr_feelgood: Chak dawn chiang emssss! :D

@ pi bmw: I love it!!!!! Mahse ka va hre ngai lo ve? Its so inspiring, but I had to use google translate a lot :)

@ Dr. Chanadan: bleh :P heheheh... waka waka is good at parties and discotheques, but I still fail to see the connect between this song and the spirit of the game.

KymBawi Khuptong said...

Yes way to go...I am all set to watch with my mohawk wig..B)...

Anonymous said...

To Be Number one kha ka la duh ber mai. Tunlai chu i pawlte Final an lut bawk a; i phur hle mai maw, Boss:-)

Varte said...

To be number One a nalh ber ka tih ka tih kha, ti nge min zawh leh thin lolzzz..

Buata Bawihtlung said...

"To be number one" kha a nalhin a ropui a, W.Cup hla ah chuan a daih rei ber bawk ka ring..
Mahse,, Waving Flag by K'naan hi kei leh ka chhungte chuan bawppui phu aih aih a kan entlan(ngaihthlak) theih hla tlemte zinga mi a ni...

Mizohican said...

@ Kym: Duplicate watch. Not very expensive :P

@ Seki: Phur bawn tawp e boss :)

@ Varte: lolz. nalh chu i ti tih kan hria. Midang ngaihdan hi ka hre chak ve mai mai a hotunu :)

@ b-buata: A dik chiah. :)

Anonymous said...

methinks spain is the better team but my heart is with holland. hup holland!

keimah said...

Definitely mine too is "To be number one" (WC90). This anthem stands tall above the rest!! No doubt about it!

Eveline said...

Of all the World Cup songs so far (I'm looking at, Weezer and Shakira) K'naan is by far the best. It really inspires the shit out of you. I would know. I've been able to stretch my running time on the treadmill with that song. :P

Anonymous said...

I waited till the last moment of the closing ceremony for Wavin Flag. :(
P.S. Still can't believe Pele got his prediction right this year. Guess even a Pele prediction can't hold down Spain this WC.

Unknown said...

Lung iva han ti leng em2 ve.. Italia '90 song 'To Be No. 1' aia mizo rilrem hi world cup hla ah a awm tawh dawn lo tih ka chiang.

I hate Dutch game in the final against Spanish. But i'm still on their side... :D

RTPA said...

Bro ka fapa chuan waka waka, wavin flag leh owl city fireflies tih hla te kan play choh in cho ei tha duh a:) to b no. 1 ngai thla se chuan cho lam belh ang ka ring:) dos St. Thomas days:) my aunty take all my trunk, Bachel also know tih hunlai te kha:)