Aston Villa, owned by American businessman Randy Lerner, has unveiled a new logo for its football club (pictured right).

The new crest is quite a dramatic change for Villa. The club has adopted a retro feel to the design, which harkens back to more nostalgic period in the club’s history.

Regarding the design, the star signifies the one European Cup that Villa won. ‘Prepared’ is the club’s motto. The use of ‘AVFC’ to signify Aston Villa Football Club also is very retro as more and more clubs these days avoid putting the words ‘FC’ into their crest (the best example is Manchester United).

An interactive guide to the new crest explaining every feature is available on the Aston Villa web site here. Free registration may be required.

Personally, I love the new design. It makes Villa look historic but bold, and makes me feel like Villa has a lot to look forward to in the future. It’ll be interesting to see how the new crest looks on the new shirts from Aston Villa this summer, manufactured by Nike.

This Saturday before Villa’s home match against Sheffield United, the club will be celebrating the 25 year anniversary of when Aston Villa won the European Cup in 1982 after defeating Bayern Munich. The European Cup was the predecessor to the Champions League.