What is the Europa League anthem and does it have lyrics? Composer and previous version of football music

The Europa League is set to resume today after the group stage kicked off with a win for Arsenal and a controversial defeat for Manchester United.

The Red Devils face what should be a slightly easier test of Sheriff Tiraspol this time around, though the Moldovan side are not to be underestimated after they enjoyed a shock victory over Real Madrid in last season’s Champions League.

Meanwhile, the Gunners are absent from tonight’s round of fixtures after their clash with PSV was postponed due to the lack of police ahead of the Queen’s funeral.

Last year’s Europa League tournament saw Eintracht Frankfurt lift the trophy for the second time as they beat Rangers on penalties, while both teams have taken their place in the Champions League this season.

While the top flight of European football has a much higher demand and is of course seen as the more important of the two competitions, fans still feel the buzz of the Europa League and will also continue to get goosebumps as the anthem is played ahead of the all-important finale come the end of the campaign.

The music across European competitions has become easily recognised and plays a huge part in the build up to games - but what is the Europa League theme?

What is the Europa League anthem?

Recorded in Berlin, the Europa League anthem was composed by former hip-hop producer Michael Kadelbach.

After releasing the tune, Kadelbach said: “I wanted this music to capture all the emotion and energy I felt as a youngster standing side by side with my friends as we all loudly clapped and cheered on our team, win or lose.”

The German is a die-hard Eintracht Frankfurt fan and will have no doubt be overcome with emotion watching his side reach a final as his anthem was played on the television.

Are there lyrics in the Europa League anthem?

The Europa League has no lyrics but the rhythm is instead made up of fans clapping - used to represent the support of teams in the competition.

How to listen to the Europa League anthem

You can listen to the anthem on the Europa League’s Twitter page or on YouTube.

The tune is also available to listen on Spotify.

What was the Europa League’s previous anthem?

The Europa League has had two anthems, with the current one composed for the 2015/16 season.

The previous anthem was composed by Frenchman Yohann Zveig and recorded by the orchestra of the Paris Opera in 2009 for the following season.

Zveig said the piece aimed to ‘stay true to football’s tradition, while capturing the event’s explosive energy’.

Who has won the most Europa League competitions?

Since its re-brand from the UEFA Cup in 2009, Sevilla have won the competition the most times, lifting the trophy on four ocassions - they also won it twice previously before it became the Europa League.

Atletico Madrid have also enjoyed a succesful past in the competition, winning it on three occasions, most recently in 2018.

Other past winners of the Europa League include Chelsea, Manchester United and Porto.