EM 2024: Kontra K gives a concert with the national team in the EM quarters

EM “Success is not luck”

Rapper Kontra K gives concert in the German EM quarters

Status: 20:57 | Reading time: 3 minutes

Last week Kontra K played live at the Hurricane Festival at Eichenring near Scheeßel

Quelle: picture alliance/Geisler-Fotopress/Rudi Keuntje

“Success is not luck”: This song by Kontra K has accompanied the German national team for months. It is played in the locker room, on the bus – and now also in the stadiums. On Thursday, the star rapper gave a concert in the team quarters – to warm up for the round of 16 match against Denmark.

When it comes to leisure activities for the national players during a tournament, the German Football Association (DFB) has always tried to provide variety. Foosball tables and table tennis tables are set up, among other things. The association also invites guests, such as TV chef Tim Mälzer, who recently distributed his ice cream creations in the team camp – or snack bar owner Arif Keles from Berlin, who served kebabs to the players, coaches and support staff.

Musicians have also done the honors. In 2021, for example, Peter Maffay visited the German national team in Herzogenaurach for a small concert and played a few songs in Adidas’ “Homeground”. “We were very happy about it. But what is decisive, of course, is what happens on the pitch now,” said captain Manuel Neuer before the round of 16 match against England, which the German team then lost 2-0.

Before the first knockout match of this European Championship in Dortmund against Denmark on Saturday (9 p.m., ZDF and MagentaTV), another musician paid a visit to the national team. It was Kontra K, the Berlin star rapper whose song “Success is not luck” has accompanied the German team for months. At 8:53 p.m. the time had come: Kontra K played the unofficial anthem of the DFB team.

“Because when, if not now and who, if not us,” sings Kontra K

A few days before the German team moved into its European Championship quarters at the beginning of June, national coach Julian Nagelsmann announced in a podcast that a musician would visit the team, coaches and support staff during the tournament. He did not want to reveal the name at the time. Now the secret has been revealed.

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Before the second group match against Hungary in Stuttgart (2:0), the stadium announcer announced that the team had wanted Kontra K’s hit “Success is not luck” to be played. It says: “Success is not luck! It is just the result of blood, sweat and tears – life pays everything back.”

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The lines echoed through the Stuttgart Arena, which was sold out with 54,000 spectators that evening. The 36-year-old’s song also says: “Nothing is free, you have to walk every inch yourself. Because nothing will happen on its own. Motivated, tunnel vision to the goal. Because when, if not now and who, if not us?” The song was also played in the stadium shortly before kick-off at the team’s request during the last group match against Switzerland (1:1) in Frankfurt/Main.

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The song by the sports-loving Berlin rapper is very popular among the German team – and is currently a symbol of the development and success of the selection. Nagelsmann is also celebrating the song, which has been viewed more than 69 million times on YouTube. Last November, when the German team lost to Turkey and Austria, it was played in the background during training, on the team bus, in the dressing room.

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After the victory against Hungary, Nagelsmann said of the song: “I’ve been listening to the song for a long time. I can’t agree with all the lines, but there’s a lot of truth in it.” One-off success can be a happy thing, Nagelsmann said, “but there’s an enormous amount of work behind it. You sometimes have to do things that aren’t so much fun.”