Ozzy, Ed and Annalisa: When Stars “Step Off” the Stage to the Field
“Hey, Geezer! Let’s hit Villa Park!” Ozzy Osbourne shouts into the phone. Listening to him on the other end of the line is his former bandmate Geezer Butler. And while in the background “Paranoid”, a Black Sabbath classic, fans of theAston Villa they are preparing for the new season.
At a certain point, 75-year-old Ozzy reappears, who despite being worn out by the disease (in 2020 he revealed that he had Parkinson’s disease, while last fall he declared that doctors found a tumor between his vertebrae during an operation), goes out onto the balcony of his house and asks his wife Sharon: “Sharoooon! Where are my Predators?”, alluding to the iconic football boots. Spoiler: she is wearing them, ready to go to Villa Park stadium, the “home” of Aston Villa. The video, funny and ironic, was made by the Birmingham club for .launch the 2024/2025 season kitwhich is highly anticipated for Aston Villa fans: it will mark the team’s return to the Champions League after forty-two years since the last time. Ozzy and Geezer, two icons of rock made in Birmingham, where the story of Black Sabbath began way back in 1968, take to the field for their favourite team. And they are not the only ones to do so. While the market is going crazy, with sensational moves and rumors, waiting for the start of the championships, Music stars make themselves available to clubs.
Ed Sheeran has decided to renew the partnership that links him to Ipswich Townof which it has been a sponsor since 2021. Also for the season now upon us, which will see the club return to compete in the Premier League, the English Serie A to be clear, The shirts that the players will wear on the field will feature the “+–=÷× Tour” logo of the red singer-songwriter from Halifax.
“The club is a big part of the community and this is my way of showing my support,” said the voice of “Thinking Out Loud”, 150 million copies sold worldwide, about the commercial link with the team coached by former assistant to Jose Mourinho at Manchester United Kieran McKenna. In Italy the .Genoa has enlisted Annalisa as the testimonial for the shirt for the 2024/25 season: “The photo you were all waiting for”, wrote the rossoblu club on social media, sharing a shot that shows the singer who grew up in Carcare, in the province of Savona, showing off the uniform with her name written on the back and the number 10 underneath. The voice of “Sinceramente” has a close connection with Genoa (despite – fun fact – being the honorary president of Carcarese, the team from her hometown): his “Bellissima” was used last year as the soundtrack for the season ticket campaignas well as ending up in the playlist of the Ferraris deejay during the home games of Alberto Gilardino’s men and being sung by the fans of the Gradinata Nord.
In December, posing with the Ligurian club’s shirt was Rita Orashowing off Genoa’s third kit from last season. The connection? None: “Genoa is a historic club, with cosmopolitan origins and current affairs. Ever since the new owners bought the club, we wanted to highlight the potential of the Genoa brand, interacting with influencers and celebrities who love football and identify with our values and history. We think this is a great way to bring Genoa to a new audience around the world,” said the CEO of the Rossoblu club, Andrés Blazquez. A bit like the same reason that had convinced Dua Lipa to show off the jersey of the on Instagram Palermolast fall: all true.
A Genoa shirt is also kept by Kanye West (while his ex-wife Kim Kardashian in Los Angeles goes around wearing a Roma jersey from the 1997/98 season): the club’s management gave it to him when last October the rapper went to watch the match between Genoa and Milan at the Ferraris, in the days when there were rumors of an imminent announcement of a show of his at the Rcf Arena in Reggio Emilia to present the new album “Vultures”, before the sensational change of heart. Speaking of international rappers. Last June 21 Savage performed on the i-Days stage in Milan wearing a retro Juventus shirt with Alex Del Piero’s number 10 printed on the back, while
In the video for “I know?” Travis Scott made Emily Ratajkowski wear an Inter jersey.
And while the wait grows for the soundtrack of the new EA Sports FC, the video game that has taken the place of the classic Fifa, coming out on September 29th and anticipated by a trailer which features “Everything in its right place” by Radiohead, Geolier and Blanco are recruited by Napoli and Roma to announce their return to the game to their respective fans. “Napoli is not just a football team: it is a lifestyle, just like being Neapolitan. It is a blood bond, something that is dint’ ‘o core”, says Geolier in the video, which shows some glimpses of the Neapolitan city. “When I was little, my father told me: ‘Being a Romanista goes beyond passion, it means being part of the family. I feel that feeling that makes me embrace the city, its history, as if it were a mother”, says Blanco, from Brescia but with half Roman blood, in the video made by Roma to announce their return to EA Sports FC.
