Hit on fan miles

Salzburgers mix up the EM with a party anthem

Thousands of fans celebrate around the major soccer spectacle. Two Austrians also contribute to the exuberant atmosphere.

Even if Austria doesn't manage to win the much-anticipated European Championships, we are already at the forefront of the music at this year's European Championships!

Johann Gmachl from Seekirchen and his colleague Sebastian Alberer - the two perform as the DJ duo "Pazoo" - have launched their own song for the European Championships. "Stand Up For The Champions" is the title of the party anthem.

 Ex-ESC participant Pænda composed the lyrics

"Believe in fate or chance - I don't care, I believe in soccer. Full stadium, loud choirs - we sing wrong, but with honor," reads the song, which is a cover version of Right Said Fred's classic "Stand Up" from 2002. "Lukas Plöchl and Pænda, who took part in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, rewrote the German lyrics," says Johann Gmachl.

Of course, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for Austria. Nothing has been decided yet.

DJ Johann Gmachl

However, as catchy music alone does not make for success, Pazoo have brought two other prominent names on board for a collaboration: entertainer Jens "Knossi" Knossalla and German footballer Max Kruse. "We all met up at Hansa Studios in Berlin for the recording. Four hours and 358 audio tracks later, we were done."

Fans have been enthusiastically roaring along to the song on the fan miles for days. No matter which game. "Of course I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for Austria. Nothing has been decided yet," says Gmachl confidently. And it seems that even one or two Germans are rooting for Austria: "Max Kruse just put on my Austria jersey in the recording studio," laughs the Seekirchen native.