World Football Club Crests

VfL Wolfsburg is a relatively young football club from a town that is not much older. The club was founded as the team of the Volkswagen factory, on September 12, 1945, just four months after the German surrender.

On 1 July, 1938, the Nazis founded the Stadt des KdF-Wagens bei Fallersleben, a purpose-built town to house the workers employed in the area’s Volkswagen factories. This is where the Volkswagen Beetle was created, but during the Second World War, the factories produced military vehicles, both cars and planes, as well as other materiel for the German forces. To separate the young town from its history, the British decided after the end of the war to rename it Wolfsburg, a name taken from a local castle. The work in the factories changed direction and the town, the workers and the football team became inseparable. As the town grew, so did the club.

For a long time, VfL Wolfsburg played in Germany’s lower divisions, making their debut in the Bundesliga only in the autumn of 1997. The team were tipped for failure but quickly established themselves in the top flight with the help of support from their owners Volkswagen. This facilitated the club’s unexpected league triumph in 2009, helped by stars Edin Džeko, Grafite and Diego Benaglio. Today the town has over 122,000 inhabitants: 72,000 work for Volkswagen, and the team’s home games attract an average attendance of 28,199.

CLUBS: VfL Wolfsburg

NICKNAME: Die Wölfe (the Wolves)

FOUNDED: 1945

STADIUM: Volkswagen Arena, Wolfsburg (30,000 capacity)

HISTORIC PLAYERS: Martin Petrov, Edin Džeko, Grafite, Zvjezdan Misimovic and Diego Benaglio

1950–1951. The club’s first emblem was taken from Wolfsburg’s town crest, which depicts a wolf and a castle. Castle Wolfsburg is close to the Volkswagen factory and is mentioned as early as 1302. Since then the castle has been rebuilt numerous times, but it remains one of the town’s great sights.

1951–1956. Between 1951 and 1956 a similar emblem was used along with the letters VfL, which stand for Verein für Leibesübungen (sports association).

1956–1998. In the mid-1950s, the club created a completely new crest, a W in which the castle is suggested by the three towers. Between 1998 and 2002 a further two similar emblems were used, both with the castle represented.

2002–present. On 16 July, 2002, Wolfsburg introduced an updated emblem, in which the circle framing the W is open at the top to symbolise the club’s striving towards the pinnacle of German football. However, the emblem was much criticised by the fans, who objected to the removal of the castle.

VfL Wolfsburg captain Waldemar Gust retrieves the ball from his own team’s goal as they lose 4-0 to VfL Bochum in a 1970/1971 Bundesliga promotion match.