The Story of Enganche Calcio: Origins, the Logo and Vision

The Origins of Enganche Calcio

The story behind Enganche Calcio is long. While it was officially founded in 2019, the idea of starting a sport's brand, was simmering long before. 

The process started after receiving a few rejections from applications made to other sporting brands. I thought I had the perfect CV, tailor-made cover letter, necessary skill sets, knowledge, desire etc for each position I applied to at these brands but still kept on getting rejected. One such rejection occurred in the summer of 2016, while I was living in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Having applied on a Sunday morning a few hours after the job was posted with "perfectly customized" documents, it turned to be a waking point as the rejection letter/email was received on the evening of the same day of my application. 

I was angry, disappointed and felt cheated. I opened my heart out on that cover letter expressing my love for the company and of course outlining perfectly how I would be a great fit. But that wasn't enough - rejection received on the same day of my application - that also, on a Sunday! After the rage calmed inside of me, that's when my mind started doing some actual quality thinking. The two fundamental conclusions I made from this job application heartbreak experience, that still stuck with me till this day, were the following:

1. You are not the only talented person in the planet. Talent, skill and charisma is abundant everywhere. Accept who you are and work from there. Make your shoulders bigger, stronger and wider and take on more responsibility, problems, heartaches and forge your character from there. Basically, don't let a setback stop you.
   
   
2.  If you want something, maybe you have a create it yourself. I wanted to work for XYZ sports brand, club etc. It would have been great to learn how the big players do it, surrounded by super smart people, working with big teams, projects etc. However, it wasn't happening. So, why not start your own brand instead? Sure, it would be difficult and feel impossible most of the time but you would potentially be able to create something of your own and potentially leave a legacy - regardless of the size and impact. Basically part 2, forge your own path, dare to dream, create and don't wait for external validation.

The Holy Trinity, the Hook and the Artist

Those two points still serve as a key learnings and values for the brand. However, we are in 2025 now while this post is being written. Many things have evolved and been built upon. The world around has changed considerably since then so it is only natural that the brand has also had a some new thoughts of its own too. I want to share these with you as we continue with this post but before I do, I want to tell the story behind the logo - which has remained the same since Enganche Calcio's birth:

Don't let setbacks stop you and forge your own path - remember? For those who know what the word 'Enganche' means would agree that these two sayings represent the word well. 

While Enganche, in regular Spanish/Castilian, means hook, the word in the context of football in Argentinian (Spanish/Castilian) indicates a specific position on the field, aka the number 10, attacking midfielder etc. This player can be seen as the engine, playmaker, creative spark or simply the hook of the team. When things seem low, when all hope is lost, a divine spark enters the Enganche and this players turns things around. In other words, when pressurized, the Enganche gets inspired and makes art. 

Building upon this, it is only a coincidence that the inside image of the logo actually ended up resembling as a hook! The logo itself, a triangle, has a significance in football (along with other team ball sports too). When you defend, you create pressure on the opponents in order to win back possession. This is often done by creating a triangle - one attacking to recover the ball, one acting as a cover if initial pressure fails and the third providing a quick transition option if ball is recovered. However, the opposite is also true when you attack - an example being the 1-2-1 combination play - a triangle is built here too. 

While artistry, making football or any sport you play look beautiful by infusing your expressions is something we love at Enganche Calcio, teamwork, building foundations (or triangles) is something which makes the manifestation even more magnificent. 

The logo was designed by Augusto Braga Ramos, an artist, powerlifter and pure football fan (aka ultra). You can find him here.

What is the future of Enganche Calcio?

There are many dreams for Enganche Calcio. Some dreams for the brand have already come true and this remains the foundation for believing the unrealized dreams might materialize at one point also.

One of the first dreams that have been realized is the manifestation of the brand itself. Enganche Calcio exists, is in business, has made sales and is live. These things were unimaginable before. With these steps taken, we didn't stop dreaming. 

December 2024, we rose up again with some new product lines. Shorts, flip-flops and a beach hat. Having a sports a brand, selling t-shirts and now also selling shorts to go along with those t-shirts gives us immense joy because what better is there to do sports in shorts and t-shirt under the sun? For us, very few things would beat that feeling.

On top of that, having realized the t-shirt and shorts dream, our current products are made to order. So we have avoided, unlike before, sitting on a huge stock, but now produce only when we get an order. We envision the bulk of our business to run on this principle in the future too - mostly due to convenience and efficiency but also avoiding excessive production. We want to, in the future, work predominantly with bamboo cotton and hemp as these materials are renewable and water-efficient. However, we currently don't see a way around in avoiding polyester and other synthetic materials as when it comes to sportswear, these materials give that flexibility and durability required. By making products on order with the exception of specific designed items, along with the fabrics mentioned, we believe we would be able to stay true to our cause which is to create sportswear made to last beyond a lifetime.

The Third Half: Going beyond apparel and sports 

Slowly as the dreams are realized, we envision entering other domains with other dreams too. We would like to sponsor a sports club, or maybe even start our own. This is not something out of this world (even if it was, we would still want to do it). We love Calcio (football/soccer) but have equal amount of love for all sports. Why not Enganche Futevôlei, Enganche Baloncesto or our martial arts dream, Enganche Marzo? So it is only natural that we would establish a sports club where various disciplines could be practiced, and together, develop that club into a global brand - how great would it be to have Enganche Calcio as the sponsor of the kits.

We will at some stage also have a podcast as the world of sports isn't enough. The name of this blog is Chronicles from the Third Half. So, what is the Third Half? Definitions can be many and related to different parts of the world, but the one we go by is that moment after a game (or a training session) that you have with the team, friends or even yourself! It can be inside the changing room or in the nearest bar. There need not to be intoxicants involved but there can be too. What is discussed in these third halves? Everything. There are no limits. Apart from the post-match/training analysis, literally all subjects, perspectives on all events happening everywhere is discussed. This is what the podcast envisions to be also. Definitely, homage to the sport, to sweat, to endorphins, to defeat or to the victory followed by discussions about everything taking place in and outside of this beautiful planet we live in.