| 01.06.2008 |
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| Welcome to Alpine Kicks – DW.WORLD.DE's Euro 2008 Blog. Well, the 2008 European Championships are almost upon us and we know this because the official tournament song has been announced. "Can You Hear Me?" by Enrique Iglesias will be the soundtrack for Euro 2008 and UEFA can barely hide their excitement at getting the Spanish pop star to lend his dulcet tones to the championships: "Enrique is the perfect choice for us," said UEFA commercial director Philippe Margraff. "He is an international superstar who loves soccer and has European roots. 'Can You Hear Me?' will help create even more of a party atmosphere for the fans at Euro 2008." Apart from the dubious title of the song -- which after hearing it, prompts the answer "Yes, unfortunately" -- and the fact that is hardly the kind of rousing tune that unites a soccer crowd, the biggest question must be why UEFA chose a Spaniard to sing the official song for a tournament held in Switzerland and Austria. Looking at the list of potential local stars which could have been lined up to belt out the theme tune, it becomes clear why UEFA looked to the man that most male soccer fans will recognize as the swarthy type hanging around Anna Kournikova. While Austria could have fought for the inclusion of pop-punkette Christina Stuermer or even Vienna's reluctant Singing Cistercian Monks, the Swiss would have been hard pressed to offer more suitable choices. Maybe pint-sized occasional dentist DJ Bobo could have put on one of his bacofoil-clad extravaganzas for his home nation. Failing that, Basel-born heartthrob Baschi could have tried his floppy-fringed best to woo the beer-bellied masses with one of his Justin Timberlake impersonations. Thankfully Switzerland didn't reactivate Celine Dion's honorary Swiss nationality to drag the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest winner back to the Alpine nation to croon for the championship co-hosts. Back in the days before she sang about hearts going on and ships hitting icebergs, the Canadian diva apparently represented Switzerland just because they were nice enough to ask her to. If accepting a polite request to be Swiss for the day was all it took, surely the co-hosts could have opted someone in to make a stand for Switzerland. Maybe, to keep the Eurovision theme going, Finnish monster metallers Lordi might have been coaxed from the dungeon they’ve been hiding in since 2006 to crank out some Black Sabbath-esque stomp called "Soccer Rocker Shocker"…or something. Considering Finland bombed out in qualification, they could have been brought on as a neutral substitute. Anything would have been better than the insipid Enrique and his inoffensive, yet soulless, call to arms. |
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