Can You Match These Logos To The Soccer Teams?
- by D_Lamoureux
- – on
- in Sports
Some teams call it a badge, others a crest, but in North America we know them as team logos. Either way, this is one of the most important parts of a sports organization. This is what people see first when they think of your team. This is what your fans will wear on every article of clothing they have. This is what the players wear over their hearts, and what they point to when they score. Nothing represents the team as well as a good logo.
How do clubs decide on a logo? Many different ways. Most old clubs started out borrowing the coat of arms from the city they're located in. Eventually this would have to be changed so the club could have a copyrighted logo to sell merchandise with. New logos usually keep a few aspects of the first logo, or something that relates the team to the city. Other common characteristics of a good logo include the team's name, team colours, and a fun mascot or image that differentiates from other clubs.
Of course, the big thing is recognition. Clubs need the public to recognize their logo when they see it. Have these clubs done a good enough job? Can you recognize the teams that correspond with these logos?
Which football club is this?
This team’s crest has been a similar design for most of their history: the red cross in the upper left, the yellow and red stripes on the upper right, and the blue and red stripes with a soccer ball overlaid on the bottom. The cross and the red & yellow stripes are directly taken from the city’s coat of arms. The red and blue stripes represent the colours used for the club’s uniforms. The team’s initials are placed in the centre. The order of these letters were changed during Franco’s reign over Spain, and changed back once he lost power.
Which football club is this?
This club’s badge is as iconic as it is simple. Let’s start with the colours. This team was originally red, blue, and white, but were changed just before World War I after they absorbed three other sporting clubs. The BvB part stands for “Ballspiel-Verein Borussia”, which means “Borussia club for ball games.” Although, there is allegedly a subsection of fans that will tell you it stands for "Borussen vom Borsigplatz", meaning “Borussia fans from Borsigplatz.” The 09, represents the year the club was founded: 1909.
Which football club is this?
This MLS team was the first non-American club to join in 2007. This was the logo they had at the time, and they’ve had it ever since. The red maple leaf at the top represents this team’s Canadian heritage. Since this team joined, two other Canadian teams also entered the MLS. This is the only one of those three teams to make the MLS Cup Final, which they did in 2016 when they lost in penalties to the visiting Seattle Sounders.
Which football club is this?
This English club has changed their logo quite a few times over its 110+ year history. The current badge was chosen after a 30-day consultation period where the club listened to its supporters criticism’s of the old one, as well as what they wanted to see in the new one. This goes back to the 70s and 80s era badge. The rose of Lancashire sits on top of three diagonal lines which represent the city’s three rivers. The ship represents the city’s ship canal, which, like the club, is over 100 years old.
Which football club is this?
This is the crest of one of the true powers of European club football. They’re the only team to win the current Champions League two consecutive years, and have won the European Championship 12 times. The lettering on their crest has been done the same way since 1908, when it was just that inside of a circle. They added the crown after receiving the “Royal” status by Spanish King Alfonso XIII in 1920. The Region of Castillo’s dark purple band replaced the crown in 1931 when the monarchy lost power. The crown returned, and the band stayed in 1941.
Which football club is this?
What to say about this one… This Italian side’s badge tells you two things about the club. Their name starts with an “N” and they wear blue. What it doesn’t tell you, like the old logo did, is their nickname: The Little Donkeys. This began as a taunt from opposing fans, but it was adopted with pride. A donkey balancing on a soccer ball was featured on a prior badge. I much prefer that to the simplicity of a capital letter inside a circle.
Which football club is this?
This English powerhouse was established in 1888. The focal point of this club’s crest is the gold cannon. The cannon represents the club’s ties to the military, and has been featured on the crest since their beginning. The area the club was founded was also home to the Royal Arsenal, the Royal Artillery Regiment, and many military hospitals which still populate the area today. In the late 40s, they unveiled the motto: ‘Victoria Concordia Crescit’, Latin for ‘Victory grows out of harmony’. That motto appeared on a banner below the shield until their rebrand in 2001.
Which football club is this?
This crest is one of the more recognizable in soccer, because it belongs to one of the more recognizable clubs. This team is from the same city as another team on this list, and funny enough, they both used the same logo when starting out: the city’s crest. Like their rival, this team also kept the ship in their crest. The rest has changed dramatically. The two banners carry the team’s name, and are joined by soccer balls on either side. The “Red Devil” in the centre of the crest is a reference to their nickname, the “Red Devils.”
Which football club is this?
This is another wonderfully simple design. Red & black outline, team initials on top, founding year on the bottom, with the city’s flag (St. Ambrose cross) in the middle. The team’s colours are also in the club, it’s a defining aspect of the team. A common nickname for the team is “Rossoneri”, which means “red and black.” This Italian side has seen better days, but under new ownership it looks like they’re returning back towards the top of European club football.
Which football club is this?
This team’s badge is without a doubt one of the busiest. We’ll start with the oldest part of the logo, the centrepiece. This “Liverbird” was the focal point of the city’s coat of arms, and every logo the team’s had since 1897. The banner with “You’ll never walk alone”, the team’s motto and song title, was added for their 100th year anniversary in 1992, and kept in the subsequent years. The established date was also added that year, and stayed.
Which football club is this?
This is the badge of the top club in Germany. In most countries, this would be an argument, but in Germany, it’s hard to have one. This club has won 26 Bundesliga titles in total, including eight of the past 12. The crest is simple: the blue and white diamond pattern is emblematic of the Bavarian region of Germany, where the team is located. Around it is red and white ring with the team’s name, which, has been edited out to make this somewhat of a challenge.
Which football club is this?
This Spanish team has finished in the top half of the top division for the majority of the past two decades. This team typically overreaches its expectations. In 200o, they became the team from the second smallest city to ever win the Spanish League title, A Coruna. The city is in the region of Galicia, represented on the their badge by the diagonal blue stripe to match Galicia’s flag. The other part of the logo is a knight’s belt - with the team’s name written on it - surrounding the Sala Calvet Gymnasium’s original banner.
Which football club is this?
Another Spanish side, another team who uses their city’s crest as inspiration for their own. This club’s first logo was very simple: intertwined initials on a ball inside a blue circle. It was changed because another club’s badge was exactly the same. This is what they changed it to in 1917, and it’s been this way ever since. The bea, the tree, and the seven stars surrounding them were integral parts of the city’s coat of arms. The only aspect of the crest changed between 1917 and now is the number of red and white stripes, from six to four.
Which football club is this?
This badge design was chosen by the club in the 1950s. The blue lion in the logo is looking backwards, and holding a gold staff, and was inspired by the coat of arms from both the area the team is located in and the club’s president at the time. Because the image could not be copyrighted, they changed the logo briefly to a different looking lion alongside the letters “CFC.” This lasted from 1986 until the 2005 season, where the new, current badge was made to look similar to the one used between 1950 and 1986.
Which football club is this?
This team changed its logo just last season. While it is super-modern, and gorgeously simplistic, it was met with furious distaste from the fans. The old logos were always a black and white striped crest with a gold arc over the centre, the club’s name above the gold arc, and either a horse, a crown, or both below it. This badge has none of that. For fans of the “Old Lady” of Italian Football, it’s easy to see why they’d be upset with the club straying from tradition.
Which football club is this?
This Italian squad’s logo started out as just the red Fleur-de-Lis, the emblem of the city of Florence. It slowly morphed into what it is today, gaining the kite shape in the 1960s, and adding the team’s colour, violet, in the 1970s. The most creative they got with the logo was in 1980, when manager Flavio Pontello designed a logo with one half fleur-de-lis, and one half letter F. It was rejected by the team’s fans, and they returned to the proper fleur-de-lis logo within a decade.
Which football club is this?
This German side has won the Bundesliga four times in its history, and are six-time winners of the German Football Association’s knockout tournament, the DFB-Pokal. They’re best season was undoubtedly back in 2004, when they won both titles in the same year. None of this would have happened if it weren’t for a game of tug of war in 1899. The club began when a group of 16 year-olds won a football after a tug of war match. Their logo hasn’t changed much at all over the years.
Which football club is this?
This badge belongs to a historic team, which is why they’re probably okay with the badge looking like one from an older team. The first logo was the Celtic cross, and later changed to the clover. The clover in the badge was originally only three leaves, but the version with four leaves we see today was designed in 1908, after the club won four trophies that season. They wouldn’t use the four-leaf clover on their logo, however, until 1938. This is how a club can stay recognizable even when their team hasn’t been as good in past years.
Which football club is this?
This team’s logo has been pretty consistent throughout its existence. The inspiration was drawn from its founder’s personal seal, the difference being his featured the letters “D” and “M” overlayed on top of each other, and the club uses an “O” and an “M”. The star that sits above the logo was earned during the 1993 season, and signifies their triumph as winners of the European Champions League, the highest honour in club football. The club motto is “Droit Au But” meaning “Straight at goal”, sits on the bottom of the badge.
Which football club is this?
This crest is a mix of two clubs that merged, with a lot of meaning behind the symbols used. From the Sport Lisboa crest, they took: the eagle, a symbol of strength, victory, authority and pride; the banner below the eagle that reads “E Pluribus Unum” (Out of many, one.); the red/white shield representing their joy and enthusiasm for sports; the soccer ball; and the ladder on top with the club’s initials. From Groupo Sport, the other team they merged with, they took the bicycle wheel that remembers cycling as the club’s first sport.
Which football club is this?
This Danish club has a long, rich history that goes back over 100 years Actually, two histories. Kjøbenhavns Boldklub were founded in 1876, and although they began playing league football in 1978, they consider themselves the oldest football club in mainland Europe. In 1992, they merged with Boldklubben, another team with a rich history in Danish football. Boldklubben had a spot in the top division, and KB had the fan support despite not contending for a while. They have been extremely successful since. This club has finished top three in Denmark’s top division every season since 2000.
Which football club is this?
1863. Yes, this is an old club. There’s only one club in England that’s been around as long as this one has. Their older logos were much busier. The first one was created after the amalgamation of Stoke-on-Trent, Burslem, Fenton, Hanley, Longton and Tunstall into one borough, and tried representing each area in it. It had a potter, a shield, a vase, a camel, a scythe, an eagle, rope tied in knots and a boar’s head. The new logo just has the colours, the name, the nickname, and the year of foundation. I would’ve found room for the camel, personally.
Which football club is this?
This club has kept its crest the same for almost 100 years now. When you have something as good as this, why would you consider changing it? Everything aside from the soccer ball is taken from the city’s emblem. The red and yellow stripes symbolize the red and yellow surrender flag given to King James took over the area in the 13th century. When King James first entered the city, a bat flew past him. The bat then became a symbol of the city, and appears all over the place, including on top of its football team’s logo.
Which football club is this?
This Russian team has quite the history. The first use of the arrow logo was used by a club in Leningrad that called themselves the “Stalinets.” This was a play on words, as not only did they support Stalin, the word “Stahl” means “steel”, and the club was created at a metal factory. This is why they used the arrow logo. Throughout the years they added a gold ship, and a soccer ball to the logo, but were dropped in favour of the old arrow logo in 2013. They earned the gold star with their fifth league title in 2015.
Which football club is this?
This the crest of one of the top clubs in Mexico. Even though they’re still winning trophies today, their best years were in the 80s, where they won five Mexican Primera Division titles. Their crest features a soccer ball with a silhouette of the Americas between two letters, C and A. Thie the club was formed on an anniversary of the day Christopher Columbus touched foot in America. This was the inspiration for both the club’s name, and the crest.
Which football club is this?
This is one of the best footballing nations (Netherlands) most successful clubs. Their first logo was a red circle with the team’s name, and inside it was a boy kicking a football. That lasted from 1900-1928, when they changed the image to the head of the Greek God who shares his name with the club. They also removed the red outline. The updated logo is pictured, and insanely nice. The head is contoured in 11 different lines, representing the 11 players allowed on a soccer pitch. They also returned the red circle, although broken up by the team’s name.
Which football club is this?
This soccer club does not have a rich history at all. In fact, they’ve yet to play a professional game. In 2018 they’ll become the second MLS team in their city behind the club that brought David Beckham to the U.S.. But this MLS club has a lot going for them. Along with a pretty decent-looking badge, they also have a capable coach having hired former-USA, Egypt, and Swansea City manager Bob Bradley. They also have a brand new stadium to look forward to, one that boasts the steepest supporters section in the league. Exciting stuff for California soccer.
Which football club is this?
This Mexican club started out as a University team, and eventually began competing in Mexico’s Segunda (Second) Division. This team has an interesting connection with the American University of Notre Dame. During the club’s beginning, the players looked to Notre Dame as an example of both academic and sporting excellence. To honour that, they chose the Fighting Irish’s blue and gold as the colours to represent their own team, and have used them ever since. If you can figure out which jungle cat they used in their crest, you’ll be able to answer this question correctly.
Which football club is this?
This club had to jump through a lot of hoops to get the German FA to comply with its takeover by the popular Austrian energy drink company. They found the correct loopholes, and in just under eight seasons, they’ve flown from the fifth-division to UEFA Champions League, an unheard of achievement. The logo is almost identical to the other logos of teams owned by this company, except it says “RB” instead of “Red Bull”. Also, there is no yellow sun between the bulls, only the soccer ball. This is once again due to the country’s rules against corporate ownership.
Which football club is this?
We’ve seen other teams add a star to their logo to represent a win in a big competition. Usually, this is fine because that particular competition is particularly difficult to win. Well in 1970, this team began adding a star to its logo for every title they won. Are you done counting yet? There’s 52. 52 stars for 52 titles. Considering this Buenos Aires club has won the past two Argentinian league titles, pretty soon they’re gonna need either a bigger badge, or smaller stars.
Which football club is this?
This German team’s badge is so much fun. It’s basically a normal badge, with a giant goat resting his arms on it. “Resting” is generous, too. It kind of looks like the goat is playing with badge as if it were a ball. But why is their mascot a goat? In the 1950s, the team was given a billy goat by a travelling circus, with the promise that they would use it as their mascot. The goat, Hennes I, attended games for 16 years. The team has kept the tradition going, their current live mascot goat is Hennes VII.
Which football club is this?
Not to be confused with the British indie rock group that shares this name, this South African team is one of the best in the Premier Soccer League. They got its start after a South African player returned from playing in the USA, naming the team after both himself, and the NASL squad he played for. The team has taken on other names, such as the “Amakhosi” (meaning ‘kings’), and the “Glamour Boys” (because their owner insists they dress professionally when representing the club). The team has yet to alter their badge at all since they were created.
Which football club is this?
This club’s logo differs from most in that it’s 3-dimensional. The 3-D look makes it feel more like a button than a badge, but either way, it’s theirs. This French club is relatively young, established in 1970, and taken over by new ownership in 2001 following bankruptcy. They haven’t been overly successful since joining Ligue 1, finishing in a Champions League place just once in the team’s history. Their colours are purple to relate to their city, which is known as ‘la Cité des violettes’ (the City of Violets).
Which football club is this?
This team may bounce between France’s first and second division, but this logo is top-tier. This French club unveiled this new crest in 2016, after going three seasons with a crest that honoured their 100th anniversary. While the new crest is similar to the centenary in that they have identical colours and shapes, they both differ from the badges before it. The blue they used was much lighter, and instead of a viking’s face, the boat or a soccer ball was used as the main symbol. The viking symbolism is because of the ties to Normandy, where the club plays out of.
Which football club is this?
This club has seen quite a few changes to both their nickname, and their crest. They got their first nickname in ‘74-75, ‘The Dolphins’, and had a dolphin in the middle of their crest to display it. It didn’t last long. They apparently got their current nickname during a derby match with Crystal Palace, where they responded to Palace’s “Eagles, Eagles,” chant with “Seagulls, Seagulls.” They’ve been called the seagulls ever since. Their current crest is an alteration of the previous one with a seagull, although it compares the closest with the dolphin crest from the 70s.