The best and worst Football anthems of all time
A great football anthem captures the imagination and propels the game to new heights, but get it wrong and you become a laughing stock for generations to come.
In light of Pitbull dropping the official song for Copa America Centenario 2016, we went digging to find some of the best, and worst football anthems of all-time.
BEST
La Copa de la Vide (Cup of Life), Ricky Martin - 1998 FIFA World Cup
Ricky Martin's 'Cup of Life' is one of the most iconic football anthems of all time, after it headlined the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
The track was a smash hit, topping the charts around the world including six weeks in Australia, France and Sweden and four weeks in Germany.
Despite being released long before the digital era, the song sold 141,000 digital copies in the United States.
Nessun Dorma, Luciano Pavarotti - 1990 FIFA World Cup
The football world was captivated by Luciano Pavarotti's stunning rendition of Nessum Dorma at the 1990 FIFA World Cup presentation concert in Milan.
Many credit Pavarotti's performance for a football renaissance in England, when the sport shed its dark days of football hooliganism to become 'the beautiful game'.
Music journalist Colin Irwin said: "Italia 90 was when they had Nessun Dorma and I think that changed things. People started calling it 'the beautiful game' and opera was associated with it. People began to think of football as an art form.
"It had been damaged by that horrible period of hooliganism, racism and horrible football but then you had opera, Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker, and women started taking an interest. Stadiums became much safer and the whole culture of football changed really."
Waka Waka (This time for Africa), Shakira - 2010 FIFA World Cup
Columbian artist Shakira collaborated up with South African band Freshly Ground for 2010 FIFA World Cup smash hit 'Waka Waka'. It was the first time a World Cup was hosted in Africa and this anthem set the tone perfectly.
It sold 12 million copies worldwide, and with 1.1 billion hits on Youtube, it’s one of the most viewed clips of all time.
The Three Lions, David Baddiel, Frank Skinner & Lightning Seeds - UEFA Euro 1996
British comedians Frank Skinner and David Baddiel teamed up with Lighting seeds to produce the Three Lions for England’s 1996 UEFA EURO campaign.
It swept the football world by storm, even international rival Germany used the song in victory celebrations.
The anthem stood the test of time and still strikes a nerve with rival football fans. Supermarket Morrisons was forced to stop playing the Three Lions in Scotland after receiving complaints from angry football fans.
Vindaloo, Fat Les - 1998 FIFA World Cup
Arguably England’s most iconic football anthem, British band Fat Les mocked football chants by recording satirical track 'Vindaloo' for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Ironically, the song inspired football chants around the world and has since become a cult classic among fans.
Worst
Far away in America, The Village People - 1994 FIFA World Cup
Disco group The Village people produced this song for the German National Team for its 1994 FIFA World Cup campaign, and the look on the player's faces says it all.
It was so bad you would be forgiven for thinking it was sabotage by a rival nation.
Don't come home too soon, Del Amitri - 1998 FIFA World Cup
Scottish band Del Amitri produced this slow ballad to mark Scotland’s qualification for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
The song was criticised for being too negative and instead of giving the players the rev-up they needed, it pleaded - Don’t Come home too soon.’
It didn’t work and Scotland was knocked out in the group stages.
Superstar, Pitbull ft Becky G - Copa America Centenario 2016
His soundtrack for the 2014 FIFA World Cup We Are One was a smash hit, but 'Mr 305' raised a few eyebrows with this anthem for Copa America Centenario 2016. It remains to be seen which side of the list this song will feature.
