What if clubs combined their technical sponsor with their logo?

In some cases, technical sponsors become distinctive and inseparable elements of a football club's visual identity. This can happen due to the aesthetics of a logo, particularly in its variations—just think of the impact of the Trefoil by adidas since it appeared on the Third kits of Tier 1 clubs of the Three Stripes—or through templates and patterns that make jerseys more recognizable in the collective imagination. Sometimes, however, it is simply a matter of tradition: imagine, for instance, the German National Team switching from adidas to Nike, or what might have happened if adidas had indeed partnered with the Brazilian National Team.

However, let’s narrow the focus and concentrate on the aesthetics of technical sponsor logos: with a bit of imagination, we tried to envision how the crests of football clubs would look if the technical sponsor were integrated into them. Some results appear more utopian than others, like that of Salzburg, where the two pumas would replace the iconic bulls, or that of Fiorentina, where the Kappa Omini would take the place of the lily, the symbol of the city of Florence. Others, like those of Swansea and Venezia, seem much more feasible or, rather, potentially acceptable to fanbases, even the most traditionalist ones.

Or the base of the Bari rooster with the logo of Lotto, the team's sponsor from 1997-2005, as if he were wearing a polo shirt with the collar turned up. Or the Uhlsport symbol framing the Fiorentina lily, a nod to the German brand that sponsored the Viola from 1993-95. In some cases, the relationship between brand and team is so enduring that the two become synonymous, in other cases they are ephemeral phenomena that over time become part of a club's lore and shape its aesthetic, albeit in a less assertive but perhaps more creative way.