The story behind each crest of top European clubs

#2 Barcelona

Barcelona crests over the years (Courtesy: Fcbarcelona.com)

Barcelona’s first crest was actually the coat of arms of the city. The bat on the top of the Crown of Aragon is a heraldic symbol dating back to the middle ages. The diamond is cut into four triangles, two of which represent the Catalonian flag and two which are the flag of St. George, the Patron Saint of Catalonia. A branch from a laurel tree and another from a palm tree envelope the diamond. This badge was used by the club from its inception in 1899 until 1910.

At that stage, the club set its members a challenge – to come up with a new crest. Carles Comamala was credited with winning the competition and his new version was adopted. Comamala actually played for the club between 1903-1912.

Since then, the basic premise of the design hasn’t really changed. It is essentially a shield in terms of its shape, has the Blaugrana stripes along the bottom, representing club colours, along with a football. The flags of Catalonia and St. George take their place in the top half of the design.

The main changes, aside from more aesthetically pleasing rounded edges, is to the lettering in the bold stripe across the middle of the badge.

FCB explains itself but for those who need it spelling out; Futbol Club Barcelona. This was of writing it is Catalan. When General Franco came to power, he insisted that the Castillian version of the name be used, hence between 1949 and the dictator's death in 1974, the badge was rendered with C de FB or CFB – Club de Futbol Barcelona.