[K]now the logo... FC Barcelona

Wednesday, 15. July 2009 - Swagatam Banerjee

A football club's logo is an identity of the club itself. Be it a small para (colony) club in some remote corner of Kolkata or a European giant playing in the UEFA Champions' League, each club has its unique logo which symbolises not only its history but also its principles and the passion that ignites its fans.

While at first glance, a logo might seem to be just a pictorial representation of the club, the real story extends much deeper, right into the hearts of those fans who form the core of the club. A logo is also a dynamic entity, evolving over the years as the history of the club is written and re-written, incorporating into itself fragments of the tragedies and achievements that the club has to go through over the years.

The commercial value of the logo is also worthy of consideration. Millions of dollars change hands to acquire the rights to put a 2-3 inch logo on merchandise ranging from team jerseys to bathroom accessories. And the presence of a logo makes the neighbourhood expensive as well. Try to put your company's emblem next to a high-class club logo and expect to shell out a considerable sum just to have the legal right to do so. A logo is what differentiates a hundred rupees fake from a three thousand rupees original. It is the first thing a fan looks for when buying his football merchandise. It is no wonder then that each club regards its logo with a sense of pride and respect, much like a nation guards its national flag. After all, when the clarion call comes to vanquish the arch rival for a prestigious trophy, it is the banner bearing the club's logo that the players rally under.

We will continue our series with the logo of one of the famous clubs in world football, FC Barcelona, Spain...


FC Barcelona

FC Barcelona or Futbol Club Barcelona, popularly known as Barca, is a Spanish football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia. It was founded in 1899 by Joan Gamper, born as Hans-Max Gamper in Winterthur, Switzerland, and has gone on to become one of the top clubs of the world. Over the years,it has developed into a Catalan institution and its motto, "Més que un club" (More than a club), does justice to its eminence. In 2009, FC Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win the treble of La Liga (League), Copa del Rey (King's Cup) and the UEFA Champions' League.

The logo of Barcelona is shaped like a cauldron and divided into two halves by a band running horizontally through the middle. The letters "F", "C" and "B" are imprinted on the band and obviously stand for Futbol Club Barcelona.

The top half of the logo is further divided longitudinally into two halves. The left half contains the St. George's Cross, a red cross centred on a white background. St. George is the patron saint of Barcelona (as well as other places like England, Georgia and Genoa). There are numerous churches and shrines dedicated to St. George in India too, particularly in the state of Kerala. The St. George Orthodox Syrian Church, situated in the village of Puthupally in Kottayam district of Kerala, is one of them.

The right half of the top division consists of the red and yellow stripes of the Senyera, the Catalonian flag. It is based on the Coat of Arms of Catalonia, one of the oldest coats of arms in Europe. Legend says that the four red bars are the result of Charles the Bald (also known as Charles II), the King of West Francia, smearing four bloodied fingers over Wilfred the Hairy's golden shield following the latter's brave fight against the Saracens.

The lower half of the logo is made up of the club colours of blue and red (Blau-grana) with the picture of a football in the centre. It is said that the choice of colours was based on the red and blue (RotBlau) colours of FC Basel, a team which Joan Gamper had captained earlier in his life. The striking resemblance of the FC Barcelona logo to that of the FC Basel one can be seen easily. The initials FCB are similar and what is more striking is that the shape, type and colour of the football in both crests are absolutely identical. It is quite unusual to see such similarity in the crest and colours of two clubs from different countries and shows how much history can be associated with the small symbol on a player's jersey!

(Data and graphics courtesy: www.fansfc.com, www.hqfl.dk)