EDICOLA NEWS: THE REVIEWS nr. 81
stickers: 448 (1-448)
starter pack: € 5.90 (album + 7 packets)
packets: € 0.80 (5 stickers)
box: 50 packets
comment: normally the review is carried out after going to newsstands to buy the album and the first box, in this case instead all the packets were opened first and by making them right can only confirm the beauty of this album.
The Panini Fifa365 can have different interpretations, it is an anomalous album because it is not connected to any precise competition or paradoxically it is connected to all. Now that Panini has taken the rights to the Premier League, we have the elite of European football, as much as the official Champions League album: 4 English teams, 3 Spanish, 3 German, 3 Italian, etc.
If anything, this has limited the presence of other clubs that would have made the joy of many fans, we do not find teams from Belgium, Portugal, Turkey, northern Europe, etc. The door to South America is always fascinating, to underline the presence of the Mexican club Monterrey next to the two Argentinian and the two Brazilians, a little bit to tell the truth, but it is understandable the choice to privilege the teams that in Europe have greater following .
On South America, moreover, the hope is always that, one day, Panini will be able to make the Copa Libertadores album, incredible that apart from some amateur production, the most fascinating tournament in the world doesn’t have its own sticker album!
Speaking of clubs, being a world album, it is impossible not to notice the lack of MLS, J League and Chinese Super League clubs. Without wanting to give marketing lessons, extending the album to Chinese teams could implement the sticker tour in a huge market. From the outside it does not even seem so complicated, just think that Panini, holder of the rights of Inter, with the Chinese property could (we believe) easily ask to include in the album the Suning, where among other things they play footballers known also in Europe like Eder and Miranda.
Having said that the album remains very nice, each team has as many as 33 stickers, they are in large part half as the Serie B of the Calciatori, but in reality they are images larger than the standard. In addition to sweaters and badges, a special motion for the “Living Football” figurines, holographic and of great visual impact. Panini continues to present the stickers in action in blocks of three players, a valuable but not fundamental choice, among other things being 9 elements are not even a complete team. From collectors better without favoring some more clubs.
The album, however, has clearly improved compared to the previous editions, minus single thematic stickers (in the past we also had albums with 6-7 Cristiano Ronaldo or Messi repeated in various forms ..), the last pages see a summary of the world championship per club, fortunately the pages dedicated to the women’s world championship and to that of U20 played in Poland remain.
Also this year we have some variants in certain countries, where we find 442 instead of 448 stickers (those from 5 to 10 are missing, so pay attention to the double numbering!), there are the inevitable extra teams: Crvena Zvezda, Partizan and Maribor (Serbia / Sovenia edition), Young Boys (Swiss edition), with possible further additions and to find out if there are differences in the South American edition.
It is an album that you either love or don’t understand, one wonders what will happen to Panini, if anything, one day he will come back to print the Champions League (a far hypothesis at the moment), for now it remains a very pleasant album to browse and with the possibility of have teams that we rarely find together.
Improved quality, some good ideas, others to review, a nice preview of the Calciatori and Premier League albums scheduled for release at the end of December.
Final judgment: 8,5/10
(EN)