Gourt Home::Gourt :: Star (football crest)
In football (soccer), some national and club sides include one or more stars as part of (or beside) the crest appearing on their shirt, to represent important trophies the team has previously won. Sometimes this is a unilateral decision by the team concerned rather than a privilege earned and sanctioned by any governing body. Note that some clubs have stars on their crest that do not signify any particular titles, for example Manchester City.
Standardised significance
The first team to adopt a star was Juventus, who added one above their crest in 1958 to represent their tenth Serie A title. This was an extension of the existing convention by which the reigning champions are entitled to display the scudetto on their shirts for the following season. The star was later formally adopted as a symbol for ten titles.
The Turkish league introduced a similar scheme in 2000, with one star per 5 titles.
In the Bundesliga in Germany, a standardised star system was introduced in 2004 called Verdiente Meistervereine (roughly "championships earned"). It has a sliding scale of 1, 2, and 3 stars for 3, 5, and 10 titles. This controversially excludes champions from before the formation of the Bundesliga in 1963, and from the East German League; some affected teams have unilaterally and unofficially added the stars to which they feel they are entitled.
Since 2006, all clubs currently playing in the Swedish premier league that have won ten or more championships have added a star above their crest. IFK Norrköping, have ten titles but no star, as they are currently playing in a lower division.
Major League Soccer's previously informal system, one star per MLS Cup title, was standardised in 2006, with the exception that defending champions will wear the MLS Scudetto for one season in place of the star.
Ad hoc adoptions
Brazil added three stars above their crest after winning their third World Cup in 1970. Italy did likewise in 1982. All world champions have since followed suit. Uruguay display four stars, regarding their triumphs in the 1924 and 1928 Olympics as equivalent to their two World Cup wins.
More recently, club teams have added stars: either upon winning a landmark trophy, or in response to a rival team's having added stars. Manchester United wore two stars in their UEFA Champions League matches in 1999-2000, to celebrate their second victory in the competition the preceding season. Liverpool F.C. likewise wore four stars in 2001-02, their first campaign in the event since the Heysel Stadium disaster in 1985. They wore five stars in the competition in 2005-06 after their fifth victory.
List
Excluding the temporary stars, the following teams have chosen to add stars to their shirts:
| Team | Trophy represented | First worn | Number of stars | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brazil | World Cup | 1971 | 5 | Added after third win; fourth and fifth stars added later. Briefly wore 2 stars on a tour of Europe in 1968. |
| Uruguay | World Cup and Olympics | ? | 4 | Represent 2 World cups and 2 Olympic titles |
| Egypt | African Cup of Nations | ? | 4 | A fifth star is due for the 2006 victory |
| Italy | World Cup | 1982 | 4 | Added after fourth win at Germany 2006 |
| Germany (men) | World Cup | 1996 | 3 | Added six years after third win |
| Argentina | World Cup | 2003 | 2 | Second win was in 1986 |
| United States (women) | Women's World Cup | 1991 | 2 | Worn on the sleeve |
| England | World Cup | 2002 | 1 | Title won in 1966. Star added after a campaign on Sky Sports' Soccer AM programme. |
| France | World Cup | 1998 | 1 | |
| Germany (women) | Women's World Cup | 2003 | 1 | |
| Norway (women) | Women's World Cup | 1995 | 1 | Worn on the sleeve |
| JS Kabylie | various African titles | ? | 6 | 2 Champions League, 3 CAF Cup, one CAF super cup |
| Boca Juniors | Argentine, South American and Intercontinental | 1970 | 42 | The Boca crest has one star for each major title won |
| Rosario Central | Argentine league and CONMEBOL Cup | ? | 5+1 | 5 blue stars for league; 1 yellow star for cup. |
| Rapid Vienna | Austrian league | ? | 3 | Each represents 10 titles. |
| Wacker Tirol | Austrian league | ? | 1 | Represents 10 titles won by predecessor club FC Wacker Innsbruck. |
| Santa Cruz | Pernambucan Championship | ? | 3+5 | Club crest has 5 stars for the 5-in-a-row (1969-73) and 3 stars for 3 "super-championships". |
| Corinthians Paulista | World championship and Brazilian Championship | ? | 1+4 | larger star for World title above the other four. |
| São Paulo FC | Intercontinental Cup | 1992? | 3 (red) | Also 2 gold stars for triple jumper Adhemar da Silva |
| Atlético Mineiro | Brazilian Championship | ? | 1 | Represents title won in 1971. |
| Guarani FC | Brazilian Championship | ? | 1 | Represents title won in 1978. |
| Dalian Shide | Chinese Super League | ? | 8 | one title per star. |
| Atlético Junior | Colombian league | ? | 5 | one per title |
| Once Caldas | Colombian league and Copa Libertadores | ? | 2+1 | gold star over crest for libertadores; 2 stars within crest for leagues |
| CS Emelec | Ecuadorian Championship | ? | 10 | Stars under the crest (one per title) |
| Ipswich Town | English First Division, FA Cup, UEFA Cup | ? | 3 | Worn on left sleeve |
| Nantes | French league | ? | 8 | Represent one title per star |
| Marseille | European Cup | ? | 1 | Title won in 1993 |
| Saint-Étienne | French league | ? | 1 | Represents 10 titles |
| Bayern München | German Bundesliga | 2004 | 3 | Represents 10 titles |
| Dynamo Berlin | East German Oberliga | 2004 | 3 | Represents 10 titles. Unapproved by German FA |
| Borussia Mönchengladbach | German Bundesliga | 2004 | 2 | Represents 5 titles |
| Werder Bremen | German Bundesliga | 2004 | 1 | Represents 3 titles |
| Hamburger SV | German Bundesliga | 2004 | 1 | Represents 3 titles |
| Borussia Dortmund | German Bundesliga | 2004 | 1 | Represents 3 titles |
| Olympiakos | Greek league | ? | 3 | Each represents 10 titles |
| Shamrock Rovers | League of Ireland | 2003? | 1 | Represents 10 titles. |
| Shelbourne | League of Ireland | 2002? | 1 | Represents 10 titles. |
| Juventus | Italian Serie A | 1958 | 2 | Each star represents 10 titles |
| Inter Milan | Italian Serie A | 1966 | 1 | Represents 10 titles. Star is repeated inside crest. |
| A.C. Milan | Italian Serie A | 1979 | 1 | Represents 10 titles |
| Seongnam Ilhwa Chunma | Korean League | ? | 6 | one star per title |
| Chivas de Guadalajara | Mexican league | ? | 10 | One star per title |
| Cruz Azul | Mexican league | ? | 8 | One star per title |
| Club Toluca | Mexican league | ? | 8 | One star per title |
| CF Puebla | Mexican league and Mexican Cup | ? | 2+4 | 2 stars inside the crest for 2 league titles; 4 outside for 4 cup titles. |
| Necaxa | Mexican league | ? | 3 | One star per title |
| UANL Tigres | Mexican league | ? | 2 | One star per title |
| Rosenborg | Norwegian league | ? | 1 | represents 10 titles |
| Steaua Bucharest | Romanian League | ? | 2 | Each star represents 10 titles |
| Dinamo Bucharest | Romanian League | ? | 1 | The star represents 10 titles |
| Spartak Moscow | Russian Premier League | 2003 | 1 | The star represents 5 titles |
| Rangers | Scottish League | 2003 | 5 | Each star represents 10 titles |
| Aberdeen | European Cup Winners Cup and European Super Cup | 2005 | 2 | Both trophies won in 1983 |
| Celtic | European Cup | 2005 | 1 | European Cup won in 1967 |
| AIK | Swedish league | 2000 | 1 | Represents ten titles |
| Djurgårdens IF | Swedish league | 2006 | 1 | Represents ten titles |
| IFK Göteborg | Swedish league | 2006 | 1 | Represents ten titles. Previously worn in the 1990s. |
| Malmö FF | Swedish league | 2006 | 1 | Represents ten titles |
| Örgryte IS | Swedish league | 2006 | 1 | Represents ten titles |
| Grasshopper-Club Zürich | Swiss League | ? | 2 | Each represents 10 titles |
| FC Basel | Swiss League | 2004 | 1 | represents 10 titles |
| Servette FC | Swiss League | ? | 1 | represents 10 titles |
| Young Boys Bern | Swiss League | ? | 1 | represents 10 titles |
| FC Zürich | Swiss League | ? | 1 | represents 10 titles |
| Orlando Pirates | South African League | 2006 | 1 | |
| Fenerbahçe | Turkish league | 2000 | 3 | 5 titles per star |
| Galatasaray | Turkish league | 2000 | 3 | 5 titles per star |
| Beşiktaş JK | Turkish league | 2000 | 2 | 5 titles per star |
| Trabzonspor | Turkish league | 2000 | 1 | 5 titles |
| DC United | MLS Cup | 1996 | 4 | One star within crest, commemorates victory in inaugural MLS. |
| Chicago Fire | MLS Cup | 2006 | 1 | Title won in 1998 |
| Kansas City Wizards | MLS Cup | 2002 | 1 | Title won in 2000 |
| Los Angeles Galaxy | MLS Cup | 2003 | 1 | Title won in 2002 |
| Caracas FC | Venezuelan league | ? | 7 | One star per title |
| Deportivo Tachira | Venezuelan league | ? | 5 | One star per title |
"Star (football crest)"