The Alternate Soccer Universe: Ligue Première De Football -- Corsaires (January 22)

[MDGP]

F.C. MONTPELLIER

Founded in 1971 as a merger between A.C. Méditerranée and F.C. Lez, F.C. Montpellier has been the most successful club of the past decade, winning four league championships during that time. This success was built over a long period of time. The squad originated in the second division, and slowly worked it's way to relevance in the LPF over the next 15 years. By 1990, the squad was a mid-level mainstay in the league, and was known for it's ability to defeat the top teams in the league, without being a true contender. This led to a 1991 quote by Olympique Paris manager Olivier Pomnville prior to a match, (which has been translated) "They're like that snake [referring to the Montpellier Snake], they're are other's who are much more deadly, but they've still got a hell of a bite." Like other sports teams, the squad adopted the quote and were nicknamed "Les Serpents" by fans. The name became so popular that the squad began including a montpellier snake on its crest in 1995.

CREST

Montpellier's crest takes the shape of a square-top M, featuring two towers at the top. This M is derived from two landmarks in the city. The square shape of the M is based upon the city's arc de Triomphe, while the towers are taken from the front gate of la cathédrale Saint Pierre, a national monument located in the city. Upon one of the towers is the aforementioned Montpellier Snake. (Note, the fang may seem like it's in a weird place, but Montpellier Snakes have rear fangs). Underneath the M is a curved underline. This actually is meant to represent the mediterranean coast line as seen in this satellite image. As you can see, there is a sort of split created by the Mediterranean between the mainland and a small strip of land. The shape of the underline is directly derived from this.

The squad's colors are light blue and dark gold. Light blue is based upon the original color of A.C. Méditerranée. Gold is derived from the Rue du Bras, and other medieval era buildings, which feature a tan/gold color.

UNIFORMS

Montpellier features another traditional design, with a plain blue shirt with gold accents. The clash is white with blue raglan sleeves and gold accents. Originally, Adidas attempted to give the squad white adidas stripes, but the squad vehemently refused, opting to keep the traditional color scheme in place. The main feature of the uniforms is the (not-quite sublimated) pattern.

When viewed up close, the shirts feature a snake skin design. This is in gold on all blue portions of the shirt and is sublimated upon white portions (I tried gold and blue, but these didn't look very good). The snake-skin pattern is obviously derived from the team's nickname, and is extremely popular amongst fans (there is also argument as to whether this inspired or was inspired by college football's ever increasing use of similar sublimation, such as TCU's frogskin pattern).

[Guest darkpiranha]

Favorite one so far. I'd love to see some fake merch for this team.

[jmoe12]

Another beautiful identity. The pattern feels like a little much on the home, I would suggest confining it to the sleeves. The crest and clash uniform are definitely my favorites so far. Keep up the good work!

[RBRND]

I really like your thread. A lot of audacious concepts.

[FlyingLamprey]

God I need to check this thread more often because you have been nailing it with the last few concepts. Like, wow. Lemme go rapid fire through them. Clermont-Ferrande looks great. My favorite type of history is Roman, so it's nice to see Vercingetorix get his due. Plus, love the color combination - kelly and gold is a heavily underutilized combination. I really like the thought put into Stade Lille's crest - it's got a big story to tell but it's not too cluttered. Of course, you can't go wrong with the red-black-gold combo either. I'm a big fan of Ville Rose, as well. Pink, teal and black is always a great look, and the subtle references to the Basilica and the occitan cross. Nice is, well, nice! The colors remind me of what the Seahawks use, and the kits all fit together well (especially with that third kit). Corsica looks really sharp - you rarely see teams use just black and white, and it helps that the crest and uniforms are sharp. The only thing I'll mention is that Macron kits feature their logo on the shoulders (take a look at what Aston Villa is wearing this year to get a better idea). As for Montpellier - wow. I would buy a hat or shirt with that crest in a heartbeat. The uniforms look great as well, especially digging the sublimated scale pattern. Probably my favorite one so far. Overall, fantastic work as always. Keep up the good work, Lafarge!

[MDGP]

Thanks for the comments, guys! I'm glad to see that you appear to like Montpellier as much as I did.

Favorite one so far. I'd love to see some fake merch for this team.

I definitely plan to make some fake merchandise for the league at some point, though it likely won't be until I've completed all twenty teams in the league.

Another beautiful identity. The pattern feels like a little much on the home, I would suggest confining it to the sleeves. The crest and clash uniform are definitely my favorites so far. Keep up the good work!

I actually tried that initially, as well as making the sublimation blue (similar to the grey sublimation on the clash) on the torso area. Neither looked very good, IMO, which is why I went full sublimation.

I really like your thread. A lot of audacious concepts.

Thanks! I would normally describe them as weird or different, but I like audacious better, haha.

REDACTED Corsica looks really sharp - you rarely see teams use just black and white, and it helps that the crest and uniforms are sharp. The only thing I'll mention is that Macron kits feature their logo on the shoulders (take a look at what Aston Villa is wearing this year to get a better idea). As for Montpellier - wow. I would buy a hat or shirt with that crest in a heartbeat. REDACTED

Thanks for pointing the part about the Macron logo out. I didn't notice it in the pictures of Macron jerseys until you mentioned it. I'll get on adding the logo to the template. Regarding Montpellier, who knows. I've made real shirts with logos from this before, so you might see some for Montpellier in the future.

Once again, thanks for the comments! I should have the next concept up today or tomorrow.

[MDGP]

F.C. SAINT BÉNÉZET

Making it's first appearance in the top flight, F.C. Bénézet is expected to quickly and quietly be relegated this season. Founded in 1954 by a local church group, the Saints had little success for much of its existence. In 1997, a series of anonymous extremely large (think millions) donations and the purchase of the team by Theon Telfour has resulted in modest success based on lower tier standards. In 2004, the squad rose to the second tier for the first time since 1994 and slowly rose to a top 5 position in recent years. Last season, the Saints finally made the push and earned a promotion playoff berth, where they swept their way to the promotion.

CREST

Designed in 1961, the Saints' crest has undergone only very minor tweaks since, which had resulted in a rather odd crest by modern standards. The crest's imagery is mostly based upon Saint Bénézet, who is credited with starting the construction of Pont d'Avignon, which is alternatively known as Pont Saint-Bénézet. The main crest shape represents a stone block, which Bénézet is usually depicted as carrying and, according to legend, was the foundation for the bridge. The squad similarly used the shape to represent a strong foundation for the squad. The main feature upon the crest is the bridge itself, which spans only part the river Rhone (due to the collapse of the rest of the bridge). In order to depict this unique feature, the crest actually jettisons beyond the borders of the crest. Upon the extended portion of the bridge is a silhouette of Saint Bénézet holding his walking stick and gazing into the distance. This both represents the squads "vision towards the future" and the fate of Bénézet himself, who died prior to completion of the bridge. Finally, above the bridge is an arch-like shape. This represents the shape of the pope's iconic hat. For nearly 100 years, the Pope resided in the city of Avignon (seven consecutive popes to be precise). The squads original connection to the church and the significance of the Avignon Papacy resulted in the inclusion.

The colors of the squad are those found in the crest of Avignon, which features three gold keys on a red shield.

UNIFORMS

Puma makes its return to the series as the outfitters of the Saints. Historically, the squad has worn red and yellow hooped shirts, the inspiration of which can be seen in the current primary. The current design harkens back to the original design, while featuring the lower torso stripes that Puma loves so much (Please refer to previous posts regarding this before citing real-life examples). The three stripes were selected to represent the three keys upon the city crest. The clash uniforms are white and feature the same striping upon the arms, resulting in the kits being nicknamed "Ronald McDonald" kits despite the yellow and white being flipped. Otherwise, these are rather traditional uniforms for a rather traditional squad.

[jmoe12]

Interesting crest design, and beautiful kits, definitely rooting for this team to avoid relegation!

[MDGP]

ST. ETIENNE C.C.

The last of the clubs from the LPF's inaugural season, St. Etienne C.C. was (obviously) a cycling club initially. The club foresaw a soccer team as an excellent source of extra income through club membership and attendance. The plan was successful, and St. Etienne still has one of the largest and most rabid fan bases in the world, as indicated by numerous instances of sanctions against fans over the years. After winning their third championship in 1998, the club quickly collapsed, falling to the second division by 2004. The second division stay was short lived, and the team returned to the LPF in 2007, where they have remained.

CREST

The crest features a winged mermaid on a circular crest. The mermaid is an amalgamation of André César Vermare's War of 1870-1871 memorial and the fish located on the coat of arms of the Loire region, of which St. Etienne is the capital. Upon the wings are two ribbons, whose colors represent the flag of the Rhone Alps. The ribbons themselves represent one of the historical industries of the city.

UNIFORMS

"Les Créateurs," (nicknamed for their players' flair and passing skill which created many scoring opportunities during their dominance in the mid 80's and St. Etienne's reputation as a city of design) have historically featured uniforms simple yellow primary uniforms and modern blue clash kits. The design of the clash is meant to emulate the design of the crest. The shorts on the primary and clash can and are regularly changed. The stars are located under the crest, which has been a tradition since the 1950s as a way to stand out. Upon the hem are the words "Les Créatuers" to represent the team's nickname.

ALTERNATE

For the upcoming season, St Etienne is moving into a brand new stadium, located next to the Cité du Design. The stadium was designed with the aid of designers from the institute, and the exterior was designed to match. The jersey features a sublimated triangle pattern found on the stadium and Cité du Design with triangles colored in with the team's primary colors. These represent the squads three championships, which replace the stars below the crest. The sleeves and collar feature the three colors in a minimal fashion. The shorts feature three sublimated stripes representing the iconic suspension wires that span the overhang above the stands. "Les Créatuers" is moved from the hem to beneath the crest, as a way to keep the crest layout similar to the normal layout. Finally, an in-line font is used on the jersey to further represent (as nike puts it) "the culture of design and innovation in St. Etienne," (despite the font being the same used by the Dutch during the World Cup).

[jmoe12]

Another beautiful crest! I like the primary and clash a lot, but I think the stars would look better on top of the crest rather than the bottom. The alternate is good, but I think the red triangle should be moved over one. The imbalance is really throwing me right now

[nas1787]

There are some really unique crests throughout this league, this latest is no different. Great job thinking outside the box.

Also it should be said, your new kit template is top notch!

[MDGP]

Thanks for the comments, guys!

Another beautiful crest! I like the primary and clash a lot, but I think the stars would look better on top of the crest rather than the bottom. The alternate is good, but I think the red triangle should be moved over one. The imbalance is really throwing me right now

Originally, the triangles were actually arranged to form a triforce, but I couldn't bring myself to keep them that way, haha. That's moved the red further out when I couldn't get that image out of my head. However, I can try sliding it back in without touching the blue (which is directly inspired by the Cité du Design style), but that may cause the same problem vertically. Either way, I'll give it a shot when I'm finished with finals in the next two weeks.

There are some really unique crests throughout this league, this latest is no different. Great job thinking outside the box.

Also it should be said, your new kit template is top notch!

Thanks on both counts, nas!

[PascalHugo]

I like it so much. Compliment!

[MDGP]

It's been awhile (I really need to speed up these concepts if I ever want to finish this series), but I'm back with Team #16.

 

 

CORSAIRES

Corsaires is one of the most amazing stories in soccer history. Based in Le Havre, the Corsaires, named in honor of the ports and sea shipping of Le Havre, the squad began a torrid run, winning the fourth division in its inaugural season in 2012-13, the third division in 2013-14, and the second division in 2014-15, to rise to the LPF. Allegations of match fixing and cheating have been launched at the organization. However, the squad happened to sign extremely talented young players as well as seasoned lower level veterans. The squad, with an average age of 19 in its inaugural season, dominated the 4th division, winning easy. This led top tier squads to take notice and offer transfers for these players. However, in a surprise move, Corsaires rejected the offers, retaining the talent instead. As the young stars, led by French-American Charles Bergeron, matured, the squad got better, outplaying the second and third divisions. 

 

While many believe that this dominant streak will end this season with the promotion, some experts give Coraires a shot to compete.

 

CREST

While trying to make , an overly sophisticated unique logo, I eventually stumbled across a much more simplistic design, that would capture the feel I was looking for. Corsaires features a skull atop a shield, which features a cross to simulate skull and crossbones (without actually using bones). Beneath is a banner, which reads the club's name. The color scheme, featuring Dark Purple, seafoam green, and sky blue is meant to evoke the ocean and the ports. This shade of green was specifically chosen to simulate what the skull may look like after years of resting at the bottom of the sea, covered in algae. Fun Fact: the original inspiration for the shape of the crest was the Villa Maritime. As the logo developed, the crest took on a much rounder shape, and the original resemblance all but disappeared. 

 

 

 

UNIFORMS

Corsaires sport one of the more unique (if not the most unique) uniform set in the league. The primary shirt is purple with a blue/green stripe pattern running down the shoulders and sides of the shirt. Originally, the design was just on the shoulders, but with nike's wide use of the side stripe, the design was altered to include side stripes. The clash kit features a blue/green gradient, meant to make a gentle transition between the two. This design is heavily debated amongst fans, either being a favorite or most hated design, depending on who you ask. The shirts are sponsored by CMA-GCM, a shipping company headquartered in Le Havre.