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.

Recently-Acquired Panini Sticker Album of the Day #8: French 'Football 78'

Following on from its predecessor, Panini’s French edition ‘Football 78’ also seemed an essential acquisition when research revealed the opportunity existed to add such a publication to the collection, & so it came to pass.

This time, the stickers return to the head-and-shoulders portrait format for the images of the Ligue 1 clubs’ trainers and players, where one is better able to appreciate the varieties of personal grooming on display – of the former, it’s impossible not to admire the look of Strasbourg’s Gilbert Gress, whilst Paris SG’s newly-appointed Jean-Michel Larque (last year still a member of the Saint-Etienne playing staff – that’s one of the good things about owning consecutive albums, such an opportunity to see the subtle changes) & his ‘medallion man’ style might be considered a bit risqué, were he not French.

The album’s centrespread is, on this occasion, comprised of stickers of the badges of the national associations of the countries against whom France had played football matches up to the time, & to conclude matters, any coverage of the Second Division is overlooked in order to make way for a gallery of monochrome portraits of the ‘stars of the past’ of French soccer.

As ever, words cannot do such a delightful archive justice, so please take the time to enjoy this selection of sample pages…

Recently-Acquired Panini Sticker Album of the Day #7: French 'Football 77'

Of course, as a confirmed football Europhile almost from the outset of developing an interest in the game, a Panini sticker album from elsewhere on the continent other than the recent acquisitions from Belgium would be a welcome addition to the collection, & so it has come to pass that we’ve managed to track down & procure a pair of later-Seventies editions from France, another of our ‘spiritual homes’ (of which there are a fair few), & here we (re)present the first of these, the ‘Football 77’ publication.

Using the same basic format as the Belgian edition from the previous year (please see yesterday’s post), suitably road-tested one might say, the French ‘77’ album features full-length portraits of the trainers & playing squads of the season’s Ligue 1 clubs, delightful as ever in the details of strips & personal appearance, especially in this case the trainers, many of whom chose to be pictured in their ‘civvies’, with flared trousers & denim much in evidence (included is a supplementary image of some more of the trainers removed from the context of their club pages), a centrepiece of that curiously manic cartoon as appeared in the Belgian ‘76’ edition, with the two groups of the ‘Deuxieme Division’ represented by just their crests, & concluding with the rules of the game again, mono-lingually this time.

Enough blather – here’s a sample selection of images (note the advertisement, in a football publication of all places, for Panini's 'Barbie' album, the like of which, coincidentally read this very morning, is humorously described in the wonderful & poignant 'Got, Not Got' as being amongst 'minority sports'!)...

Recently-Acquired Panini Sticker Album of the Day #6: Belgian 'Football 76'

Now, given its magnificence, as represented yesterday, what could be as good as the Belgian ‘Football 75’ Panini sticker album? Why, the ‘Football 76’ edition, a suitably fine companion to its predecessor, this time featuring full-length images of the fabulous assortment of players, resplendent not only in their personal grooming styles but also in their complete playing togs (or tracksuits), a delightfully different detail. Note the inclusion of the team managers this time & admire especially the casual ‘civvy’ style of the day sported by those of Beringen, (the tragically defunct name of) La Louviere (whose featured goalkeeper is the magnificently-named Jean-Paul Crucifix, something of a cross to bear, ho-ho) & Racing Mechelen: nice.

Other details occur: the filled-in nameplate featuring the handwritten evidence of the album’s original ownership (which person chose to favour the French legend beneath the players’ stickers over the Flemish alternative, as might be detected); the curious (in fact, rather bonkers) cartoon centrespread, with wibbly-edged shaped stickers; & the concluding section featuring, bilingually again, of course, the laws of the game.

All in all, the album constitutes another essential addition to the collection, &, rather than merely take my word for it, please enjoy this selection of sample pages…