World Football Club Crests

To adopt the word ‘Victory’ and use it in the name of a club could have devastating consequences: defeat makes the team an irresistible target for irony and sarcasm, and the ridicule of opposing fans. But that’s precisely the risk the team took when they were founded in 2004, and Melbourne Victory have managed to live up to their name many times over.

Melbourne Victory was one of the eight original clubs who took part in the first season, 2005/2006, of the Australian league, the A-League. It took only one year before the club lived up to their name, winning both the Premiership and the Championship in 2006/07. Victory have built on those two triumphs since then, and today they are the team with the most titles. In addition, in every season since the A-League was founded, Melbourne Victory have been the club with the highest average attendances – just over 20,000 in recent years.

CLUB: Melbourne Victory FC

NICKNAME: Victory and Big V

FOUNDED: 2004

STADIUM: AAMI Park, Melbourne (30,050 capacity) and Marvel Stadium, Melbourne (56,347 capacity)

HISTORIC PLAYERS: Kevin Muscat, Archie Thompson, Robbie Kruse, Mark Milligan, Harry Kewell, Leigh Broxham and Carl Valeri

2004–present. From the start, the colours of Melbourne Victory have been navy blue, white and silver. These are closely connected to Victoria, coming from the state’s flag and crest. In fact, several of the state’s teams, in various sports, use this colour combination, including Melbourne United (basketball) and Carlton Blues (Australian rules football). That the provocative name Victory is taken from the state itself is not difficult to deduce, but the background of the white V is rather harder to work out. It actually comes from Victoria’s state team in Australian rules football, which traditionally have the letter V on their jerseys and are simply called Big V, a nickname also used for Melbourne Victory today. The crest has been noted internationally because it is very like that of the French team Bordeaux.

2014–2015. For Melbourne Victory’s 10th season in the A-League, this special commemorative emblem was unveiled, which proudly proclaims the club’s history. The season ended with the club becoming the first to secure the treble: the Premiership, the Championship and Westfield FFA Cup.

For Melbourne Victory’s inaugural season the use of the letter V was restricted to the club badge. It has since been incorporated into the shirt design. Here, Harry Kewell celebrates scoring against the Central Coast Mariners in 2012.