Olé, Olé, Olé
Encyclopedia
"Olé, Olé, Olé" is a football chant
of a Spanish
origin. It has become associated with supporters of the Republic of Ireland national football team
.
from 1982. It was during the final match of the Spanish Football League
that year. After Real Sociedad
had been proclaimed champion, the people at the Anoeta stadium
in San Sebastián
started to sing "Campeones, campeones, hobe, hobe, hobe", which literally means "Champions, champions, we are the best". The latter three words belonging to the Basque language
. The chant expanded to the rest of Spain, and become known as "Oé, Oé, Oé", which later was misunderstood by foreigners as "Olé, Olé, Olé".
The word "olé" itself, being a Spanish
interjection of Arabic
origin related mostly with bullfighting
, but also with sports.
The chant is used frequently in football games around the world, and can be heard in Montreal Canadiens
hockey games when the team is winning. It is also used by supporters of the University of California, Santa Barbara
's Gaucho intercollegiate sports teams, particularly the basketball and soccer programs, and led to the creation of a mascot, simply named Olé.
It was also appropriated by the supporters of the Republic of Ireland national football team
.
label Hans Kusters Music, asked music producer Roland Verlooven and singer Grand Jojo to "write a song for the Belgian soccer champs Anderlecht
called “Anderlecht Champion”". It was composed by Armath (an alias of Roland Verlooven) and Deja, and recorded both in French
and Dutch
by the Belgian singer Grand Jojo, along with the players of R.S.C. Anderlecht, and released that year by Disques Vogue
.
A year later, he recorded another version, "E Viva Mexico", which introduced the chorus "Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé, We are the champions".
Both of the versions used a slightly different variation of the chant, which probably was also originated in Spain. This chant was the basis for many versions to be recorded by many other artists, including the more popular 1987 hit of a group known as "The Fans". The other being Chumbawamba
's 1998 hit "Top of the World (Olé, Olé, Olé)
".
In 2009 it was recorded by Overtone, and used in the 2009 film Invictus
.
by ZYX Records
.
The text of it goes "Olé, olé, olé, olé, we are the champions, we are the champions", but there are widespread misunderstandings of it rather being "...we are the champs, we are the champs" by many who have simply not heard and understood the lyrics correctly.
as his entrance theme. In Argentina
, sometimes the name of a person the people could be cheering to is added at the end; e.g: "Olé, olé olé ole, Die-go, Die-go! (referring to Diego Armando Maradona).
Anderlecht Champion aka Ole, Ole, Ole, We Are The Champions aka The Name Of The Game is published by Hans Kusters Music NV.
Football chant
A football chant or terrace chant, is a song or chant sung at association football matches. They can be historic, dating back to the formation of the club, adaptations of popular songs, or spontaneous reactions to events on the pitch. They are one of the last remaining sources of an oral folk song...
of a Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
origin. It has become associated with supporters of the Republic of Ireland national football team
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
.
Origin
One evidence of the chant appeared in an article of the Spanish newspaper La VanguardiaLa Vanguardia
La Vanguardia is Catalonia's leading daily newspaper as well as the fourth best-selling in Spain. It has its headquarters in Barcelona, Catalonia's largest city....
from 1982. It was during the final match of the Spanish Football League
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
that year. After Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909...
had been proclaimed champion, the people at the Anoeta stadium
Estadio Anoeta
Anoeta is a multi-purpose stadium in Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Real Sociedad. In recent years, it has also been used for occasional Heineken Cup rugby union fixtures by nearby French club Biarritz Olympique...
in San Sebastián
San Sebastián
Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...
started to sing "Campeones, campeones, hobe, hobe, hobe", which literally means "Champions, champions, we are the best". The latter three words belonging to the Basque language
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
. The chant expanded to the rest of Spain, and become known as "Oé, Oé, Oé", which later was misunderstood by foreigners as "Olé, Olé, Olé".
The word "olé" itself, being a Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
interjection of Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
origin related mostly with bullfighting
Bullfighting
Bullfighting is a traditional spectacle of Spain, Portugal, southern France and some Latin American countries , in which one or more bulls are baited in a bullring for sport and entertainment...
, but also with sports.
The chant is used frequently in football games around the world, and can be heard in Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
hockey games when the team is winning. It is also used by supporters of the University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Santa Barbara
The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
's Gaucho intercollegiate sports teams, particularly the basketball and soccer programs, and led to the creation of a mascot, simply named Olé.
It was also appropriated by the supporters of the Republic of Ireland national football team
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
.
Anderlecht Champion
In 1985, Hans Kusters, the head of the BelgianBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
label Hans Kusters Music, asked music producer Roland Verlooven and singer Grand Jojo to "write a song for the Belgian soccer champs Anderlecht
R.S.C. Anderlecht
Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, usually known as Anderlecht or RSCA , is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht in the Brussels Capital Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian Pro League and is the most successful Belgian football team in European competitions as well as in the...
called “Anderlecht Champion”". It was composed by Armath (an alias of Roland Verlooven) and Deja, and recorded both in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
by the Belgian singer Grand Jojo, along with the players of R.S.C. Anderlecht, and released that year by Disques Vogue
Disques Vogue
Disques Vogue was founded in France in 1947, the same year that the USA Vogue closed shop. They originally specialized in jazz recordings, featuring such artists as Sidney Bechet, Django Reinhardt, Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, and Errol Garner. In the late 1950s Vogue expanded into pop music,...
.
A year later, he recorded another version, "E Viva Mexico", which introduced the chorus "Olé, Olé, Olé, Olé, We are the champions".
Both of the versions used a slightly different variation of the chant, which probably was also originated in Spain. This chant was the basis for many versions to be recorded by many other artists, including the more popular 1987 hit of a group known as "The Fans". The other being Chumbawamba
Chumbawamba
Chumbawamba is a British musical group who have, over a career spanning nearly three decades, played punk rock, pop-influenced music, world music, and folk music...
's 1998 hit "Top of the World (Olé, Olé, Olé)
Top of the World (Ole, Ole, Ole)
"Top of the World " is a stand alone single from Chumbawamba. It was released in June 1998, and the single reached the number 21 in the UK Singles Chart...
".
In 2009 it was recorded by Overtone, and used in the 2009 film Invictus
Invictus (film)
Invictus is a 2009 biographical sports drama film directed by Clint Eastwood starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.The story is based on the John Carlin book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation about the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World...
.
Olé, Olé, Olé (The Name of the Game)
In 1987, Roland Verlooven produced a more popular version of the chant, "Olé, Olé, Olé (The Name of the Game)". It was recorded by a group known as "The Fans", and published by Hans Kusters Music. It was released in Spain by Discos Games, and in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
by ZYX Records
ZYX Music
ZYX Music is a German record label which was founded in 1971 by Bernhard Mikulski. Until 1992, the label's name was Pop-Import Bernhard Mikulski. The label specialized in disco and early house music. Founder Bernhard Mikulski is credited with coining the term Italo disco in the 1980s...
.
The text of it goes "Olé, olé, olé, olé, we are the champions, we are the champions", but there are widespread misunderstandings of it rather being "...we are the champs, we are the champs" by many who have simply not heard and understood the lyrics correctly.
¡Olé!
It is also the chorus of a song titled "¡Olé!", by the Bouncing Souls. This version of the song is also used by Canadian professional wrestler El GenericoEl Generico
Rami Sebei is a Canadian professional wrestler, better known by his ring name El Generico. Sebei uses the gimmick of a luchador from Mexico...
as his entrance theme. In Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, sometimes the name of a person the people could be cheering to is added at the end; e.g: "Olé, olé olé ole, Die-go, Die-go! (referring to Diego Armando Maradona).
Anderlecht Champion aka Ole, Ole, Ole, We Are The Champions aka The Name Of The Game is published by Hans Kusters Music NV.
External links
- Anderlecht Champion at The Originals
- Ole, Allah and all Claim for the etymology of olé from Allaah (Allah, God) and lack of evidence