From Pavarotti to Bruckner: classical music and football collide

France ’98, when Scotland last faced Morocco at a World Cup, ended in a three-nil defeat, and the songs fans carried with them told part of the story. Scotland’s anthem that year was Del Amitri’s Don’t Come Home Too Soon — as downbeat and lyrical a World Cup song as you could imagine — while the BBC used Fauré’s Pavane as its 1998 titles, shifting the mood from melancholic to almost apathetic.

England’s soundtrack ranged from the surreal party of Vindaloo to the smugness of Three Lions, yet they too exited in the round of 16 after David Beckham’s red card against Argentina. Classical and football have long overlapped. Edward Elgar set the match-report line “He Banged the Leather for Goal!” for his beloved Wolves in 1898, producing what might be the first bespoke football chant by a major composer.

pavarotti, bruckner, classical music, football, france 98, scotland, del amitri, fauré, three lions, edward elgar