"Major Tom" in the stadium

DFB goal anthem moved Peter Schilling to tears!

Hearing his song when Germany scored moved Peter Schilling (left) to tears.

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS, Instagram/peter_schilling)

After more than 70,000 soccer fans signed a petition, the cult hit "Major Tom" actually played after Maximilian Mittelstadt's goal in Germany's international match against the Netherlands. An action that moved its author and singer Peter Schilling to tears, as he now admitted on Sky.

"A little tear rolled down my face. That's impressive when you're the author of that song. I wrote it, I produced it, wrote the lyrics, sang it, interpreted it, I don't know what all ... And 42 years after I released it, this song is playing and the generations after that are screaming it, singing it along. I can't express this feeling at all, I am deeply impressed," said the 68-year-old, giving an insight into his emotional world.

Will the unofficial anthem become official?
He also wrote on Instagram: "Over the past few days, I have looked at what has been posted, liked and commented on with regard to the possible goal anthem 'Major Tom' for the 2024 European Championships - and I would like to thank the entire community from the bottom of my heart for all of this. It came as a great surprise to me. At the end of the day, we have to leave it to the DFB and UEFA to decide. An unofficial goal anthem, on the other hand, would be entirely up to you. I'm looking forward to it."

The promotional clip for Germany's European Championship jersey is said to have set the ball rolling. In the video, several players and fans can be seen discussing the look of the new shirt. The clip is accompanied by Schilling's 1982 Neue Deutsche Welle hit "Major Tom (völlig losgelöst)".

"Feeling of a new beginning"
A song that obviously invites you to cheer. At least that's the opinion of over 70,000 soccer fans who have already signed the proposal. "Regardless of whether they were enthusiastic about the jersey or not, everyone agreed that the song suited a feeling of a new beginning in the national team and soon videos were doing the rounds that used this song as a goal anthem," the petition reads.

A taste of how the song would be received in the stadium was offered in the test match against the Netherlands. Peter Schilling's fans can only hope that the song actually catches on and that national coach Julian Nagelsmann's squad gets off to a successful rocket start in the home European Championship. Thomas Müller would probably like both (see video) ...