Middlesbrough. I’ll be honest. I’ve delayed doing this badge because it just looked a bit too straightforward. A lion. It would come from the crest of some local lord – and that would be it. Aha – not quite. Well, sort of. But that’s only one tiny bit of it. This lion tells a tale that stretches from before the Norman invasion right up to the Industrial Revolution and makes it instantly one of my favourite badges – so, without further ado, let’s do Middlesbrough FC the honour

Nestled between the redwood forests and large vineyards of Northern California’s wine country sits an ice rink named for, and built by, Charles M. Schulz – the creator of a little cartoon known as Snoopy. Snoopy’s Home Ice houses Santa Rosa’s semi-professional Santa Rosa Growlers. Their badge tells a tale of the local area – a part of the state of California that has still retained much of its natural beauty and wildlife. As such, they can help us tell another part of the Cal

The Yellow and Reds. The Wolves. La Magica. Few football clubs are so tightly bound to the identity of their city as Roma. Founded in 1927 through the merger of several Roman clubs, the idea was simple: create a footballing force powerful enough to challenge the wealthy giants of northern Italy. Since then, Roma have become one of Italy’s most passionately supported clubs, winning league titles, European trophies and producing legends such as Francesco Totti, the eternal capt

The Griffin. The Red and the Blues. The Old Fool. Founded in 1893, they are officially the oldest football club in Italy, and for large parts of the early game they dominated Italian football. But Genoa’s history has rarely been smooth. Periods of glory were followed by chaos, relegation, revival and collapse all over again. It was the great Italian journalist Gianni Brera who affectionately labelled them Il Vecchio Balordo — “The Old Fool” — a nickname that captured both th

This club takes the award for the most Instagrammable of hometowns. And in Italy, the competition is fierce. The Amalfi Coast is famously beautiful, with dozens of natural harbours and bays, colourful medieval housing running up the cliffs, and the sparkle of the sun off the Mediterranean. Many a model has been photographed with these iconic views in the background – and many a tourist has drunk more than their fair share of the local delicacy, limoncello, made from the area’

Ancient city, from a culturally rich and unique island with a famous club that today is backed by one of the richest footballing stables in the world. Sounds like a winning mix right? Let's #GetTheBadgeIn and see what we can discover as we peek into the eagles' nest of Palermo. First things first - the team - they are currently in Serie B but have competed in Serie A and been in the UEFA Cup 5 times. They have tended to bounce between the two top leagues, having won the secon

I’ve written over 300 of these #GetTheBadgeIn posts so far – and one thing I’ve learned is that is very often the most simple of the badges that represent the most complex stories. Bologna is one of those. Founded in 1909, Bologna became one of the giants of early Italian football. Seven league titles, Coppa Italia triumphs and periods where they were genuinely one of the strongest sides in Europe. During the 1930s they became so dominant that they earned the nickname “Lo Squ

Napoli. Italian champions last season (which is why they can wear the Scudetto (little shield) this season). Their away kit this season is also a remarkable affair. A love letter to their city. I absolutely love kits like this – rooted deep in their home city’s culture and history. So let’s unpack it and see what we can learn. Most of the icons within the pattern refer to pre-Renaissance superstitions and folklore which show what life was like for Medieval Europeans before th

Carrarese – meaning from or of the Italian town of Carrara. Calcio meaning football/soccer. Ladies and gentlemen, I bring to you one of my new favourite teams. The Marbles of Italy’s Serie B. Carrara is on the Italian west coast, tucked up near the top end. Upper thigh – if Italy really does resemble a leg booting a football. It is a small town of monumental significance to Italian history. Why? Because it provided all their marble. From Ancient Rome to Renaissance Florence,

Società Sportiva Lazio (SS Lazio) is one of the most famous clubs in the world. Founded in 1900, they, as an organisation, compete in over 40 different sports. They are most famous, I think, amongst my generation, who grew up seeing them dominate Italian and European football. In the 90s, they reached the UEFA Cup Final in 1998 before winning the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup and Super Cup in 1999 and then the Serie A title in 2000. Formed by young men in the Prati district of the ci

Siena FC SSD was formed in 1904, when the club was founded in Siena as Società Studio e Divertimento (“Society for Study and Entertainment”) by a group that broke away from an existing sporting club. Eventually, they would evolve into Associazione Calcio Siena (“Siena Football Association”). Siena is a relatively small city but with a very long history. Their football team, perhaps initially stifled by its smaller recruitment pool compared to its larger rivals, spent much of

Tonight Sports Club Freiburg will take to the pitch at Tüpraş Stadium in Istanbul to play in their first ever European final - for a chance to win the Europa League Trohpy. England's historic Aston Villa stand in their way. Freiburg have been on supreme form in Europe this season as they're progressed to the final, making short of work of Belgium's Genk (5-2), Spain's Celta Vigo (6-1) and Portugal's Braga (4-3). But who are they? They aren't the most famous of German teams -

Inter Milan. Italian giants. Nay — global giants. One of the most recognisable football clubs on Earth. I do a deep dive #GetTheBadgeIn on the club itself elsewhere. But in this post I wanted to look at something else. A symbol that appears all over Inter kits, third strips, marketing campaigns, and social media — despite not actually being the club badge. The snake. Or, more specifically, the Biscione. To understand why a giant serpent swallowing a bloke appears across the b

Founded in 1924, AEK Athens (The Athletic Union of Constantinople – Athens) has grown into one of the most successful sides in Greek football history, winning 33 major domestic honours, including 14 league titles and 16 Greek Cups. On the European stage, AEK have repeatedly carried the Greek flag into continental competition, becoming the first Greek club to reach the quarter-finals of the European Cup (now the Champions League) in 1968–69, later reaching the semi-finals of t

Córdoba FC, or, to be more precise, Córdoba Club de Fútbol. The team itself dates back to 1934, before the current organisation was created in 1954. Over the decades, they have drifted around the second and third tiers of Spanish football, with a total of eight seasons in the top flight, La Liga, during the 1960s and 1970s. A 5th-place finish remains their highest achievement to date, but unfortunately their ground at the time did not meet UEFA specifications and so they were

Swindon is a place that gets a bad reputation. Supposedly, when Ricky Gervais was scripting The Office, the writers wanted to base the show in a town bleak and ordinary enough to fit their depiction of office life. I was strangely honoured to hear the shortlist reportedly came down to Ipswich (my hometown), Swindon, or Slough. Slough got the nod in the end, while Swindon became home to the rival branch office in the series. For American readers, think of how The US Office is

Yesterday, the Kidderminster Harriers F.C. won promotion to the National League, defeating South Shields F.C. 2-0 and moving back up the pyramid. The Harriers have enjoyed success in their past as an established EFL side, with a highest-ever finish of 10th in League Two in 2002. They have also built up quite a trophy cabinet, including an FA Trophy win and a remarkable 27 Worcestershire Senior Cups. The team have spent their entire history playing at Aggborough Stadium, a ver

Next up on our tour of Italian cities and their football teams is the ancient city of Padua. Nestled a few miles inland from Venice in the north-east corner of Italy, it has a remarkable history. They are represented on the pitch by Calcio Padova who are currently plying their trade in Serie B amongst the likes of Ashley Cole’s Cesena. Formed in 1910, their best days came in the late 1950s and early 1960s, recording a third-place finish in Serie A. Since then, they have bounc

Mainz, Germany. Located on the west bank of the Rhine River – Northern Europe’s most important trade route. It sits opposite Wiesbaden and close to Frankfurt, making it an important transport hub for the wider region. Its football team, FSV Mainz 05 (founded in 1905 – hence the 05, as many German teams do), has in recent decades cemented itself in the Bundesliga without really challenging for the top positions. A few Europa League forays and a quarter-final appearance in the

A club founded in 1904 (hence of 04), with a huge history, a massive fan base, and one of the strongest traditions of supporter involvement in European football. Relegated recently, yes – but back again now in the Bundasliga and ready to mix it with the big boys of the continent. They have a proud history, able to boast 7 league titles, five German Cups and a UEFA Cup win. They are the 6th biggest club in Europe if using club membership as a metric. To understand Schalke, th