The question of football clubs’ right to have stars and other mementos on their shirts is contentious, with permission to note successes in this way varying from league to league and country to country.
Football associations adopt the ‘star system’ to reward teams’ achievements, with the most common at club level being a gold insignia awarded for every 10 top flight titles won.
Bayern Munich boss Niko KovacHowever, with Bayern Munich taking on Liverpool in their Champions League last-16 tie tonight, the decoration adorning the German giants’ badge appears to buck that trend, but why?
Bayern have won five European Cup/Champions League crowns, with the latest coming in 2013, while they have recorded 28 domestic title successes, dating back to their first in the 1931/32 season.
Herein, however, is the answer to their four stars.
In 2004, the Deutsche Fussball Liga (DFL), governors of the first and second tiers of the Bundesliga system, decreed that commemorative stars would be awarded to teams that have reached set landmarks of three, five, 10 and 20 league titles.
The caveat being that it would only include Bundesliga titles won since the formation of the league system in 1963 (prior to that, the national champions had been decided by a knockout competition involving qualified teams from regional leagues).
So, the result is that Bayern have four stars to commemorate their successes – discounting their very first national title. Should they win two more league titles, a fifth star will be added to their shirt.
Comparatively, both Borussia Dortmund and Monchengladbach have two stars to represent their five respective titles, while Werder Bremen, Hamburg and Stuttgart have one, to represent their three titles won.