The animal kingdom is well represented when it comes to football club crests, but away from the lions, the foxes and tigers; a zebra takes pride of place on the emblem of German club MSV Duisburg.
MSV Duisburg were founded in what is now the Duisburg district of Meiderich, as Meidericher Spielverein in 1902.
As original members of the Bundesliga in 1963, they finished runners-up in the league’s opening season before becoming something of a yo-yo club, and now find themselves in German football’s 3rd tier.
The club adopted their current name in 1967, to represent the wider city of Duisburg and like Queens Park Rangers, Die Zebras are famous for wearing wonderful blue and white hoops.
The hoops are the source of the club’s nickname and where the stylised blue and white zebra of MSV Duisburg’s badge comes from.
The club has worn a series of badges through their history, with the design usually revolving around a circular M, S & V monogram.
The modern version pairs the zebra with an established club crest to form an instantly memorable badge that looks perfect amid those hoops.
Duisburg have had some great kits down the years, bringing plenty of boldness and variety to their hooped shirts.
Those shirts range from Diadora’s outlandish late-90s interpretation of what die Zebras’ shirts should look like, to the most perfect sponsorship deal we can think of when Duisburg Zoo backed the club.
The case for the twinning through design of MSV and QPR continues with Duisburg’s irregular dalliance with red and black Dennis the Menace style hoops for their away kit.
Beyond the Spiders of Queen’s Park and those increasingly common Red Bulls, there’s a wealth of wildlife inspired weirdness available in the world of football.
We love the variety of design, colours and styles available in German football kits, and for the way those elements have been combined by MSV Duisburg; we make die Zebras’ badge a modern classic of a club crest.
Sartorial Soccer 