A B-Side BY Armin

Goal.com

About: (Est. 1958) “Goal.com is the world’s largest football website and is owned and powered by digital sports media business PERFORM. The success of the site is down to the hard work and dedication of over 400 editorial staff based in over 50 countries around the World who produce an average of 1,500 news stories per day in 15 languages across 22 editions. This unparalleled global reach and in-depth coverage of the world’s most popular game attracted over 23 million unique users in May 2011 (Source: Google Analytics) from more than 220 countries.”

Design by: Elmwood.

Ed.’s Notes: First, WTF was the old logo? Second, how awesome is the ™ symbol in a circle as the ball being kicked right into where it’s the hardest to stop?.

Relevant links: N/A.

Thanks to Nickolai Sukharev for first tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Minnesota United FC

About: (Est. 2010) “Minnesota United FC represents the next era of professional soccer in the beautiful state of Minnesota. We are proud of who and what has come before us—from the raucous party that was the Kicks, the magical years the Thunder spent developing local talent, to the recent 2011 NASL Championship. Now we are excited for what the future holds. We seek to help the world’s game grow in the Twin Cities through strong play on the field and constant giveback off it.”

Design by: Zeus Jones.

Ed.’s Notes: Bigger view of the logo and sample applications below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: Zeus Jones case study. Minnesota FC United Press Release.

Select quote: “[We] whittled our many design ideas down into one that centered on Minnesota’s iconic loon, which has an active, aggressive nature that we thought was inspirational for a soccer team. The design also incorporates a star to tie to their past, as well as a blue stripe to represent the Mississippi river.”

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A B-Side BY Armin

Paris Saint-Germain FC

About: (Est. 1986) “Paris Saint-Germain Football Club, also known simply as Paris Saint-Germain and familiarly as Paris SG or PSG, is a professional association football club based in Paris, France. The club was founded on 12 August 1970, thanks to the merger of Paris FC and Stade Saint-Germain. PSG has been playing in the Ligue 1 since 1974, the current championship record, and is one of the most prestigious outfits in French football having won two League titles, eight French Cups, three League Cups and two Trophées des Champions.” (Source: Wikipedia)

Design by: Dragon Rouge

Ed.’s Notes: Meh (expressed with a French accent).

Relevant links: Press release. Dragon Rouge news with video

Select quote: “The city of light, which is an undisputed icon throughout the world, represents unparalleled leverage to propel Paris Saint-Germain up among the greatest global sporting brands. The new logo thus has the name ‘Paris’ clearly brought to the fore, with the Eiffel Tower at the heart of the logo. The base of the logo has the name ‘Saint Germain’ which continues to be associated with the brand, along with the fleur de lys emblem. The logo has a greater synthesis of ideas and a more immediate impact, and is now ideally placed to capture the imagination of football and sports fans around the world.”

Thanks to Plamen Jordanov for first tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Seattle Reign FC

About: (Est. 2012) “Seattle Reign FC is one of eight clubs that will compete in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) beginning in the Spring of 2013.”

Design by: N/A.

Ed.’s Notes: Detail view of the logo and (a nicer) alternate version below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: SB Nation story.

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Opinion BY Armin

U.S. Soccer Development Academy

About: “Following a comprehensive review of elite player development in the United States and around the world, U.S. Soccer created the Development Academy in 2007 to improve the everyday environment for the elite youth player.The Development Academy is a partnership between U.S. Soccer and the top youth clubs around the country to provide the best youth players in the U.S. with an every day environment designed to produce the next generation of National Team players. The Academy’s programming philosophy is based on increased training, less total games and more competitive games.”

Design by: Stone Ward.

Ed.’s Notes: Larger view of the logo below (or after the jump).

Relevant links: N/A.

Provided quote: “The 4 stripes represent the 4 pillars of the academy. 2 stars for the 2 main age groups. Crest is their connection to the U.S. Soccer National Team program and affiliation with U.S. Soccer in general.”

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A B-Side BY Armin

Portland Thorns FC

About: As part of the new, 8-team professional women’s soccer league organized by U.S. Soccer, set to being play in Spring 2013, “Peregrine Sports, LLC — parent company of the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer — today announced that its new professional women’s soccer club will be named Portland Thorns FC.”

Design by: Brent Diskin.

Ed.’s Notes: The logo has been designed by a Portland Timbers’ superfan and, although it’s not the greatest logo on earth, with the premise of being a fan-designed logo it surprisingly doesn’t suck.

Relevant links: Q&A with the designer. Press release.

Select quote: “The circular badge features team colors of red, green and black with a protective wreath of thorns surrounding a familiar, stylized rose in the center. Further, city-inspired details are presented in the form of a pair of four-pointed stars, or hypocycloids, that house the letters ‘F’ and ‘C’ and anchor the sides of the badge, a callout to the left-centered, directional star prominent on Portland’s official city flag that also flies in the stands and high atop JELD-WEN Field in downtown Portland.”

Thanks to Chris Campbell for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Cardiff City FC

Founded in 1899, Cardiff City FC, known as the “Bluebirds,” are a professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales in the English football league system. After being in debt for many years, a Malaysian businessman took over. This month, a new crest with a big dragon sitting on top of a bluebird was introduced, as well as a change in uniforms with red taking over blue as the home version. Pissing-off of soccer fans ensued. Story here.

Thanks to Brett Stone for first tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

LOSC Lille

Founded in 1944, LOSC Lille Métropole is a soccer team that plays in the Ligue 1 of French soccer. They have won the championship three times, most recently in the 2010-11 season. A new logo designed by the Paris office of Dragon Rouge was introduced last month, updating their Great Dane/German Mastiff mascot. More info here (in French). Brandtastic video of the new logo below (or after the jump).

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Opinion BY Armin

Boca Goes Global

Established in 1905, Club Atlético Boca Juniors (Boca Juniors for short and Boca for even shorter) is one of the best soccer teams in the world and the history of the sport. Based in the La Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Boca has won 51 national and international titles, including the most recent championship title of Argentina’s premier league. Beyond soccer, Boca Juniors also manages teams in other sports like basketball and volleyball, runs 24 soccer schools around the world, and even has its own hotel, Hotel Boca. At the end of April, Boca Juniors introduced a new global identity for all of its different properties, designed by Buenos Aires-based BridgerConway. From what I understand, this new logo does not replace the team’s shield but rather acts as a complement and endorser.

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Guest Opinion by John J. Custer Posted BY Brand New

A Mean Pegasus

Korinthos FC’s history began in the 1950s with the merger of two Greek teams of Corinth: Olympiakos Korinthos and A.E. Korinthos. Since then the team has powered through two more mergers combining the power of Aris Korinthos in 1964 and more recently joining forces with Pankorinthiakos in 2000. Since 2000, Korinthos FC has been competing in Greece’s semi-professional league Delta Ethniki, until 2010 when it was promoted to Gamma Ethniki (Football League 2), Greece’s third highest professional football league. With such fast growth and communal fans the football club was in need of a visual breath of fresh air that Portland, OR-based EIGHTDAY provided.

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Opinion BY Armin

Montreal Impact Earns a Crest

The Montreal Impact first played soccer in 1993 in the American Professional Soccer League. Despite finishing last in their inaugural season, they went on to win the championship the following one. They have been a staple of Canadian soccer ever since, most recently playing the in the North American Soccer League, and next year they will bump up to the big league as the latest expansion team of Major League Soccer. This, of course, warrants a new logo, designed by Montreal-based Pigeon*, who also designed the previous logo.

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Opinion BY Armin

Penalty to the Future

Launched in 1970, as part of Brazilian company Cambuci SA, Penalty is a comprehensive product line of soccer shoes, clothing, socks, accessories, and balls. From beach soccer, to indoor soccer, to field soccer, Penalty has everything a player would need, manufacturing all of its own products locally in Brazil. Penalty is a major sponsor of soccer teams in Brazil as well as in Argentina and is the official ball of various tournaments and leagues. Earlier this year, Penalty introduced a new logo implemented across all of its products designed by Sao Paulo-based Oz Design.

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A B-Side BY Armin

FOX Soccer

Launched in 2005, FOX Soccer, as its name implies, is a channel all about soccer operated by News Corporation’s Fox Entertainment Group. Earlier this month it introduced a new logo with “FOX attitude”. Press release here. More logo variations here.

Thanks to Gabe Shultz for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Wichita Wings

Originally an indoor soccer team that played from 1979 to 2001, the Wichita Wings are getting a second chance and will begin playing in the 2011 – 12 season of MISL. Story here.

In other news: when Whataburger called to get its logo back, it did.

Thanks to J. Jason Smith for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

North American Soccer League

Set to begin play this week, on April 9, the North American Soccer League (NASL) is a new, second-tier (to the MSL), men’s soccer league in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico, consisting of eight teams. The NASL previously existed from 1968 to 1984 and the new logo is based on the last one used by the league. The new identity has been designed by 343RLP+ Creative Group. Brief story here.

Thanks to Roy Levitt for the tip.

A B-Side BY Armin

Fort Lauderdale Strikers

Prior to the 2011 season known as Miami FC, the newly renamed Fort Lauderdale Strikers are a soccer team that play in the North American Soccer League. The new identity has been designed by 343RLP+ Creative Group. Press release here.

Thanks to Roy Levitt for the tip.

Opinion BY Armin

The Kansas City Wizards’ Last Trick

As one of the original ten teams in the inaugural season of the U.S.’s Major League Soccer in 1996, the Kansas City Wizards is one of the most established teams in the league, winning the MLS Cup in 2000. Originally named Kansas City Wiz (no ards and featuring a super retro logo at the time) the team changed its name in 1997 and last week it announced that it wasn’t messing with iterations of the word wizard anymore and instead it was changing to Sporting Kansas City. This coincides with the move to a snazzy new stadium in 2011, bringing to an apex the changes ushered by new ownership that began in 2006.

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Opinion BY Armin

Vancouver’s Sharp Mountains

Earlier this week we covered the inclusion of the 18th team to Major League Soccer but, as some astute Canadian soccer fans had pointed out since last week, it was the 17th team to join MLS that had them excited: The Vancouver Whitecaps. Their story is quite similar to the Portland Timbers, originally established in 1973 playing in the North American Soccer League and most recently played in the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) Division 2 league. They will start playing in MLS in the 2011 season.

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Opinion BY Armin

Lumberjack Soccer

While the whole world has soccer in their brains I figured the timing might be right to feature a diminutive component that helps fuel this worldwide craze. From the deep, damp and cold confines of the United States’ northwest, the Portland Timbers have had a soccer team since 1975 when it competed in the North American Soccer League and most recently played in the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) Division 2 league, or, more bluntly, the minor league to the Major Soccer League (MSL) where the Timbers will be graduating to in the upcoming 2011 season, becoming the 18th team. In preparation for the move, the Timbers unveiled a new identity designed by Rare Design, a firm in Hattiesburg, Mississippi with plenty of athletic identity experience.

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