Top 10 logos (crest) in club football
Heritage, style, legend
Having featured the top 20 jerseys of all-time previously, this post, presents a selection of the Top 10 football club crests (logos) of all-time.
Criteria
Ranking crests is entirely subjective, as it involves numerous aspects due to the varied aesthetic preferences of individuals. To ensure consistency, it is essential to establish clear decision-making criteria. Mine are:
- Heritage: How closely a crest communicates the origins, history, geographic association or another peculiarity about the club.
- Design: How cohesive the design is, and how innovative it is.
Every crest has a story and also change over time. Where possible, I’m limiting myself to the better-known teams and currently used crests. Otherwise, it’ll become a book!
10. PSG
The crest features the Eiffel Tower, which is a symbol of Paris, along with red and blue, the city’s colours. The fleur-de-lis lily comes from the coat-of-arms of St-Germain-en-Laye, a commune near Paris, which the club also represents since being formed by a merger in 1970. Minimal, stylish and representative. An iconic crest — quite literally.
9. Newcastle
Incredible symbolism in this crest. The sea-horses, demi-lion holding St George’s cross and the castle (literally the then “new” castle) is taken from Newcastle Upon Tyne’s coat of arms. The shield has the black and white colours of the club. The crest screams Newcastle with all its might.
8. Ajax Amsterdam
The club’s crest depicts the head of Ajax, a mythological Greek hero of the Trojan War. The original logo was a player kicking a ball. The Ajax design was introduced in 1928, and looked like a sketch. In 1990, it was simplified into the stylized version above, which uses only 11 lines — matching the number of players on the field. Whether on or off the pitch, Ajax, style and innovation just go together.
7. Sampdoria
Like its jerseys, Sampdoria has an iconic crest featuring the pipe-smoking sailor Baciccia (the name of the city’s patron saint John the Baptist in the local dialect) nod to the maritime heritage of Liguria, whose capital is Genoa. The red blue white and black are colours of clubs that merged to form Unione Calcio Sampdoria in 1946. Like their jersey, the crest of the I Blucerchiati is also a cult-classic.
6. Athletic Club Bilbao
Athletic Club is famous for its Basque player policy. Little surprise then that its crests packs in so much symbolism about the history and culture of Bilbao and Biscay province. It incorporates four symbols from Bilbao’s coat-of-arms: a church, a bridge, wolves, and the sea. It also features two St Andrew’s crosses, and the red and white colors of Bilbao city’s flag. It also inspired the original crest of Atletico Madrid.
5. Benfica
Sport Lisboa e Benfica is the most successful club in Portugal. Its club mascot, the eagle Vitoria (Águia Vitória), sits proudly on top of its crest. The motto means “from many to one” and symbolizes the merger of Sport Lisboa (SL) and Groupo Sport Benfica (GSB) in 1908. The wheel represents the main sport of the latter group: cycling. The crest combines history, aspiration and traditional colours in a harmonious way.
4. Arsenal
The crest of Arsenal, a football club founded by munition workers at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich in 1886, quite literally reflects its history. The cannon, which has been on the crest for more than a century, is now more prominent than before, making the badge concise, self-explanatory, and instantly recognizable.
3. Ipswich Town
Featuring the sea, the Wolsey gate, and the Suffolk punch, a local draught horse breed that rests one hoof on a football, the crest is a clever design that reflects the history and culture of agrarian Suffolk County, and its main town, and port — Ipswich. Unique, representative, and beautiful.
2. Valencia
The most striking part of the crest is of course the bat. As per one story, James 1 of Aragon felt that a bat had brought him good luck while (re)conquering Valencia. Following victory, the bat became the official emblem and was added to the city’s coat-of-arms, from where it’s taken. The red and yellow stripes are from the Senyera (flag) of the Valencian autonomous region — a pattern it also shares with Catalonia.
1. AS Roma
A fusion of history and legend, the badge features the gold and red colors of the city and the mythical wolf that nursed brothers Remus and Romulus, the founders of Rome. The crest also commemorates the year 1927, when three clubs merged to form Associazione Sportiva Roma. Arguably the most iconic badge in football today.
If you liked this post, you will like my book 📗FIFA World Cup Finals Reimagined.
