Bundesliga club VfB Stuttgart will be dropping their “Furchtlos und treu” (“Fearless and loyal/true“) slogan yesterday. The club motto paid homage to the Kingdom of Württemberg; of which Stuttgart historically served as the largest city and focal point. King Wilhelm I of Württemberg adopted the militaristic slogan for the territory back in the early 19th century.
Stuttgart chose the motto as both a nod to their territorial heritage as well as a tribute to the club’s “Junge Wilden” (“Young Wild Ones“) who rose to prominence in the mid-aughts and ultimately claimed the 2006/07 Bundesliga title. As with many old German slogans, however, it was eventually co-opted by the Nazis.
Stuttgart’s new club motto, “Zusammen voran” (“forward together“) will be accompanied by some optical changes to the club’s logo. A new concordia font, the inclusion of the club’s founding date of 1893, and the presence of a rocking horse graphic will complete the rebranding.
“VfB Stuttgart has been moving everyone and everything since 1893,” Stuttgart CEO Alexander Wehrle noted in a club statement. “We are actively shaping the deep roots of VfB in the city and region in an ambitious and forward-looking manner. Our drive to move forward together has always been part of our club’s DNA, and from now on we will communicate this even more strongly and courageously to the outside world and live it ourselves.”
The clubs crest, colors, and trademark red-stripe kits shall all remain the same. German writers and journalists, not to mention those living in the historically consolidated German state of Baden-Württemberg, will also continue to refer to both Stuttgart denizens and their football team as “Württemberger“.
