‘Golazo!’- why one of football’s most iconic intros has returned

Competition between sports broadcasters is serious business.

Purchasing the rights to show tournaments and leagues on television can be very expensive, and with (hopefully) plenty of viewers watching at home, quality of coverage must be top-notch to avoid being pilloried by fans and outdone by rivals.

But that does not mean broadcasters cannot admire – and even celebrate – the work of their peers.

Football fans were pleasantly surprised to see that BBC Alba’s brand new coverage of Italy’s Serie A – appearing on free-to-air TV in the UK for the first time since 2008 – brought the back the theme tune and graphics from Gazzetta Football Italia, the hugely popular Italian football show broadcast by Channel 4 between 1992 and 2002.

When BBC Alba struck the deal for its Serie A rights – eight games featuring Scottish players before the nation’s return to the World Cup this summer – staff in Scotland worked with colleagues at production company Sunset Vine to build a plan for the best coverage possible.

They decided that bringing back the iconic intro, complete with the cry of ‘Golazo’ at the end of the theme tune, was the best approach.

When the title sequence played before kick-off between Bologna and Torino on Sunday evening, it was met with a hugely popular reception online.

“It was a no-brainer to bring back the branding – we would have done people a disservice if we hadn’t thought about it,” said Margaret Cameron, director of content at Alba.

“It was a very deliberate choice to put out a well-timed nostalgia bomb.”

Neil Paterson, commercial, rights and business affairs manager at the BBC, said: “I’m 42, so I loved the Channel 4 show and wanted it to be a nod to that.

“The BBC has blanket music agreements with a company called BMG, and the theme song was included in that, so it was pretty straightforward.

“I get on well with Channel 4’s head of sport, so it was a case of calling them as a courtesy to let them know what we were planning. They were really pleased and excited about it.”

Seven Scottish players, including Napoli’s Ballon d’Or nominee Scott McTominay, are playing in Serie A this season.

“We became aware towards the end of last season that DAZN, which owns the UK rights for Serie A, were willing to sublet some international rights,” said Cameron.

“We have been thinking about this since then because we want to capitalise on what is a really big moment in Scottish sporting history – going back to the World Cup with some great players who are playing in one of Europe’s best leagues.”

While some broadcasters buy TV rights in order to sell subscriptions to sports packages and advertising slots, the BBC does so in order to offer licence-fee payers the best value for money.

BBC Alba is a partnership between the BBC and MG Alba, meaning the channel’s output is funded by both the licence fee and the Scottish government. It broadcasts content in Gaelic, with co-commentary on Serie A matches featuring both Gaelic and English.

“Sport is really important to us. It’s a good way to tap in to audiences in Scotland that are underserved and offer them something which is normally behind a paywall,” said Cameron.

The theme song is a remix of 1992 dance anthem I’m Stronger Now by Definitive Two with added football lingo and commentary.

Social media posts about the title sequence generated thousands of interactions online.

“It’s been really nice to see the big, positive reaction”, said Grant Philips, executive producer at Sunset+Vine, which works with BBC Alba on projects across many sports.

“It evokes all those memories so many people have from back then.”

In the 1990s and early 2000s, Serie A was the world’s leading football league. Its clubs spent the most money, boasted the best players and attracted the attention of fans around the globe.

The programme featured live coverage of matches presented by broadcaster James Richardson, whose intellectual and elegant approach was a hit.

“I still meet people who used to watch it, and they have such nice things to say about it – how much they enjoyed watching,” Richardson told World Football Index last year.