In the past ten years, the UEFA Champions League final has not only started with football celebrations, but also with musical but also musically. In a tradition that increasingly reflects the Super Bowl half -time show, UEFA invites you to perform a globally recognized artist or a band every year, shortly before the largest club match in world football.
In recent years, Alicia Keys, Imagine Dragons, Black Eyed Peas and Lenny Kravitz have entered the stage. This time it was Linkin Parks it was to shine.
The group of founding member Mike Shinoda and singer Emily Armstrong, who were tragic in Chester Bennington in 2017, delivered a dramatic four-song medley in the Allianz Arena. You contained “The Leaver Machine”, “at the end”, “Numb” and “Heavy is the Crown”.
Completely with pyrotechnics, atmospheric pictures and massive standing ovations, it looked as if the Nu-Metal legends had hit the right notes with the crowd.
But while Linkin Park tried so much and ended up so far, it was still not enough for Marco van Basten.
The Dutch football legend did not hold back in his brutal review of the show before the game and toldCiggo Sport: “The Linkin Park performance was garbage – absolutely garbage. It is a shame that Uefa allows this.”
Although he checked the band, Van Basten’s frustration was clearly more geared towards the concept than the actors themselves. The former balloon d’Or winner argued that the spectacle distracts the players shortly before the kick -off, at a time when they should concentrate and warm up on the field.
“I find it absolutely idiotic,” he added, adding the entire production as “worthless – absolutely worthless”.
For Van Basten, the show before the game clearly feels how a step closer to the beautiful game is.