The use of the song as football chant has its origin in L'Aquila, a city hit by an earthquake in 2009. Stefano Righi performed the song for a concert in the city a few years later, this song was picked up afterwards by the ultras of the city's football club L'Aquila Calcio 1927 called the Red-Blue Eagles, who used it as a chant that starts with the line "Un giorno all'improvviso" (one sudden day). Their chant was adopted by fans of other Italian clubs such as Genoa, Juventus, and Napoli, and then spread to other clubs in Europe such as Atlético Madrid, Rangers and Porto.