Yet even the anthemic Champions League aria is not enough to overcome the issue of racism that has provided an unsavoury soundtrack to the Barclays Premier League in recent weeks.
The return of continental competition has served only to crank up the volume at Chelsea as John Terry will be required to wear a "United Against Racism" armband if he is chosen to captain the London club against Shakhtar Donetsk tonight. The defender would be a conspicuous figure as a result, given he is serving a four-match domestic for racially abusing Anton Ferdinand, the Queens Park Rangers defender.
The obvious solution would be to appoint a different captain for the match but the diktat given by UEFA, as part of a week of action by European anti-discrimination body FARE, has still denied the former England captain the chance to turn his back on another dark twist in his career.
A UEFA statement read: "Every team will be accom-panied on to the pitch by children wearing 'Unite Against Racism' T-shirts and the captains will be asked to wear a 'Unite Against Racism' branded armband."
The campaign will be promoted at 40 Champions League and Europa League matches this week, with short films also due to be broadcast on giant screens and special announcements made at stadiums to encourage fans to join UEFA in its call to unite against racism in football.
Manchester United have already watched an episode where a prominent player refused to join in with a similar promotion at the weekend and will be eager not to suffer a repeat performance. Rio Ferdinand declined to pull on a T-shirt branded by Kick It Out as a protest against what the defender perceives as a lack of action to combat racism in football.
The incident prompted the assumption that he was in for a dressing-down from his manager as a result, with Sir Alex Ferguson offering a rather curt promise to "deal with it" after a win over Stoke City at the weekend. Yet the Scot met with his player yesterday to discuss his reasons for not wearing the T-shirt – the Scot stated before the match that his side would all support the initiative – and would appear to be satisfied that the issue has now been resolved.
"There is no issue," said the United manager, whose side face Braga in the Champions League tonight. "There was a communication problem. But it has been resolved."
Ferdinand has not been allowed to go against his manager's express wishes without repercussions, though. Ferguson has built his stewardship of the club on unquestionable authority and he intimated that he has punished Ferdinand, even if his stance softened somewhat after their chat yesterday.
"I spoke to Rio," he said. "The issue is pretty simple. There was a communication problem. He felt I should have spoken to him on Friday and I didn't anticipate there would be any problem in the dressing room as far as the T-shirt was concerned.
"I have listened to the conviction of Rio and I think it is quite compelling. I can understand his stance. But I think you are always stronger as a union. There's more solidarity than as a single unit.
"The advice I would give is that he should take it up with the proper authorities. It is only through that he will make his voice heard. Obviously as the manager of the club when you lay down policy you don't want to see it being ignored. That's where my anger came on Saturday. But we have resolved the situation, there are no lingering problems and we move on. That is the end of the matter."
Ferdinand will not play against Braga at Old Trafford tonight, although that is not part of any internal sanctions. Both he and fellow defender Patrice Evra will be rested against the Portuguese with a league match at Chelsea looming on Sunday. That decision will stand even though United are already missing defenders Chris Smalling, with youngster Scott Wooton likely to partner Jonny Evans in central defence.
"[Ferdinand] and Patrice Evra will not play. There is a big game at Chelsea on Sunday. They will be the main changes," said Ferguson.
