Logos in American sports are fairly literal.  Teams called the Wildcats have a logo of a wildcat.  Soccer crests are less literal.  This is probably because, especially in England,  a lot of these teams were founded in the late 1800s and early 1900s and their nicknames have a unique background.

No part of Aston Villa Football Club infers a lion, but the Villa crest has a lion right in the middle.  And there's been a lion in the crest since the earliest version I could find.  (According to the Villa sites, it's the Rampant Lion of Scotland, there because of the influence of William McGregor and George Ramsay.)

Some crests, don't make much sense.  And thanks to the magic that is Wikipedia, here are some amusing ones.

This all started off for me, when I found the crest of FC Avenir Beggen, a third division club from Luxembourg.

That does appear to be a gnome humping a football.

The lower leagues of England are a great source of whimsical ,old-timey crests.

There's blog favorite Tooting and Mitcham.

We have the awesomely named Dulwich Hamlet.  The only football team/Shakespeare performers.

And one of my favorites: Penzance

Other lower league across Europe have some fun ones.

There's AEP Paphos of the Cypriot Second Division.

Personally, if I was in charge of the club, I would get rid of cartoon guy, and instead adorn the center with sponsor tie ins.

 
Or random celebrities

From the 4th Division of Germany, may I present Wormatia Worms

But by far the best place for crests is Southeast Asia, specifically Singapore.  The S. League has the market cornered on creepy animal crests.

If it wasn't for the script at the bottom, that could easily be the cover of a hunting magazine.

Go on the Mighty Seahorse Lions!

Uhhhh.

That bear will frighten me for the rest of my life.

And finally, my personal favorite:

Bless you, Singapore.