It’s finally here, the Champions League, of course! And just a few hours before kickoff, here’s a really innovative ad by Heineken, featuring some great footballers in the setting of an Opera house. The Champions League theme song itself goes off into its own opera (“Die Meister, Die Besten!”) and some of the world’s top footballers have been known to play the song before a match.
Following the theme, Gianluigi Buffon, Rene Adler, Patrick Vieira, Clarence Seedorf and Ruud Van Nistelrooy all star in this video, including its second part ‘Pantheon’ which takes place in a ancient Roman gladiatorial ring. Seedorf is most definitely a Champions League winner in his own league, having won three different cups with three different teams. Watch the ads, including some hilarious variations featuring Vieira, Ruud and Seedorf’s “penalty angels” below.
” I do think that there is a parallel between art and soccer, when you are playing in the Champions League you feel that you are in an arena. We players compare ourselves to gladiators and when the battle starts against the opponent you then have to go out there and try to win the match.” – Patrick Vieira, Executive of Football Development at Man City and former Inter Milan, Arsenal & Juventus player.
