Manu Chao - La Vida Tombola

Singles about football often show themselves to be clunking and embarrassing affairs, so Manu Chao has given himself quite a task here. Ostensibly a tribute to Diego Maradona, La Vida Tombola was originally featured on Chao’s album La Radiolina, and has now become a single to coincide with the release of a new film about Maradona, a competent sphere kicker in his day. Despite the laissez-faire swirl of Spanish guitar, trumpets and airhorns, there’s genuine affection in Chao’s effortless croon. La Vida Tombola is a graceful ode that proves a genuine exception to the rule.[Ray Philp]