Badge(s) of the Day # 107, 108 & 109: Torpedo Moscow(s)

Featuring today the acquisition of a discrete collection within the collection, not without a certain complexity attached to its details, with a total of three different objects representing two distinct clubs bearing the fabulous name of Torpedo Moscow, with our favourite exotic Cyrillic script in evidence along with the clubs’ iconic ‘T’ logo upon all three - the badge in football shirt form is unique to the collection, & the one to the right, of the very short-lived ‘Torpedo-Metallurg’ phase of the other, Torpedo-ZIL, club (that subsequently became the already now-defunct FC Moscow), is a particular delight with its industrial/manufacturing ‘cog’ and vintage racing car elements within the overall design.

Badge of the Day #106: Rapid Bucharest

Another addition to the collection, & the first to represent a club from Rumania, in the form of the noble name of Rapid Bucharest, in, of course, its native form.

Badge(s) of the Day #104 & 105: Slavia Praha

Today featuring further valuable, irresistible additions to the collection in the form of not one object, but two, representing the mighty Slavia Praha, both of a certain ‘hauntological’ vintage, with, indeed, and commemorating the august club’s 75^th anniversary, that to the right of the picture dating from 1968.

Both are fine designs, the left again of a ‘shield’ shape, variations on the basic theme & red, white & blue colour scheme, with the club’s inverted five-point star insignia an essential component.

A previously-acquired Slavia Praha badge may be found here.

Badge of the Day #103: Spartak Sofia

Another of the latest additions to the European club collection in the form of this rather lovely vintage object representing the former Spartak Sofia of Bulgaria, the badge pre-dating 1969, when Spartak merged with Levski to become Levski-Spartak, one of the great & favourite names, the acquisition of whose badge was featured here on TOoT.

Again, the ‘shield’ form of the object is an interesting one, & of course the Cyrillic ‘Spartak’ & the red star are ever-seductive elements of the design, making the whole rather irresistible.

Badge of the Day #102: Radnicki Nis

Today featuring the second of the pair of badges freely & very kindly gifted by Tomislav via Delcampe, this one representing, in Serbian Cyrillic, Radnički Niš, a name with which TOoT is familiar & would have come to prominence in 1982, when, in the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup, the club was drawn against Dundee United & subsequently overcame a 0 – 2 first leg reverse with a 3 – 0 win in the return to progress to the semi-finals of the tournament.

Other than this, & the continuing awareness of at least their existence, I can’t say I’ve particularly considered following or favouring Radnički, but it’s a jolly nice badge of a certain vintage that invariably appeals, featuring as it does a Yugoslavian red star, with a very interesting & distinctive ‘kite’ shape, that will be welcomed into the collection.

Badge of the Day #101: NK Slaven Koprivnica

Today’s addition to the collection was by no means an intentional one, but to be welcomed into the still-expanding fold all the same, being sent as one of a pair of free gifts by Tomislav in Osijek, from whom we recently acquired a small number of international football badges via the Delcampe website, a veritable treasure trove of the exotic & obscure from across Europe.

This particular example, most unusual & striking in its octagonal form, is a fine object representing the name of Slaven Koprivnica of Croatia, featuring the red and white checkered signifier of their home nation & also our favourite red star, a noble & ‘ostalgic’, indeed Yugo-nostalgic, addition to any such design.

Of the club & its history, we must admit to having known nothing as such, but the discovery that their home is a stadium with a capacity of a mere 3,200 spectators is an instantly endearing one.

Football Memorabilia Corner: RWDM Champion/Kampioen

Another item of European football memorabilia today, & a rather desirable one too, in the form of a pennant, recently acquired from Poland, representing a celebration of the one & only Belgian championship won by our beloved RWD Molenbeek, a proper hauntological object for what is now sadly a ghost, delightfully nostalgic & redolent of its day, not least with that groovy font proclaiming the club’s name at the top.  

Badge of the Day #100: Karpaty Lviv #3

Yes, we here at TOoT might already be the proud owners of a pair of badges representing our beloved Karpaty Lviv/Lvov, as posted here back in December of 2013, but the opportunity to acquire this 'essential' vintage object, redolent with Ostalgie, proved too enticing to pass up, & thus it recently came to be. Again, the football & pine trees feature as in one of the previous examples, but the format of the design is a bit different, thus justifying the small investment.

This last season has, alas, not been the best for the mighty Karpaty, suffering a nine-point deduction & finishing second-bottom of the Ukranian Premier League, but they shall doubtless rise again soon, ideally to do battle with the equally fabulous Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, such gallant runners-up in the Europa League Final, for domestic supremacy.

Badge of the Day #99: La Louvière

Bitten by the badge-collecting bug again, even if only lightly, it has recently seemed imperative to acquire a few more choice objects for the collection, including this one representing the sadly defunct name of La Louvière of Belgium - another of those ineffably melancholy ones to which one is so attracted - & their rather fine wolf logo.

Badge of the Day #98: World Cup '74

Reactivating a feature from yesteryear here on TOoT (please see the archives from November 2013 - May 2014 for the previous 97 entries in the series), it seems most fitting to have finally acquired for he collection this rather lovely vintage object, a lapel pin depicting the official German-language logo of the 1974 FIFA World Cup, as represented on each of the 256 drawings that formed the drawing project finished in March of this year (again, please consult the archives).

Thanks to Tomislav in Osijek for this one.

World Cup '74 Portrait Collection: Squad #16 (Zaire)

all drawings graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil, each 30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait Collection: Squad #15 (Yugoslavia)

all drawings graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil, each 30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait Collection: Squad #14 (Uruguay)

all drawings graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil, each 30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait Collection: Squad #13 (Sweden)

all drawings graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil, each 30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait Collection: Squad #12 (Scotland)

Today the opposite of tomato is Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty

all drawings graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil, each 30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait Collection: Squad #11 (Poland)

all drawings graphite & putty eraser, some with watercolour pencil, each 30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait Collection: Squad #10 (Italy)

all drawings graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil, each 30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait Collection: Squad #9 (Holland)

all drawings graphite & putty eraser. with watercolour pencil, each 30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait Collection: Squad #8 (Haiti)

all drawings graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil, each 30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait Collection: Squad #7 (West Germany)

all drawings graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil, each 30x21cm