EDICOLA NEWS: THE REVIEWS nr. 285
album: Juventus 2022-23 (Euro Publishing)
stickers: 216 (1-216) + 30 cards (I1-I30)
starter pack: album + 24 stickers 4,00€
box: 50 packets (5 stickers or 4 stickers + 1 card) 0,80€ each
The World Cup in December somewhat upset the release of various sticker albums, including the now traditional albums of the Milanese house dedicated to Inter, Juventus and Milan. In fact, to be completely honest, we almost thought they wouldn’t come out this year. Instead here they are.
We have had albums dedicated to the big three (we don’t want the others..) of Italian football for several years. Difficult to be innovative, year after year, in fact it doesn’t happen. In recent years the similar structure is quite similar. We think more could be done. The potential ideas are plentiful. At least there are always different details between one club album and another, with the result that, in our humble opinion, some releases are more appreciable than others.
(n.b. these first two introductory paragraphs are repeated in the three different reviews)
The rather sparkling first pages of the album, the entire squad of players, the typical team in 8 puzzle stickers and the new arrivals to which great prominence is given. The choice not to repeat the giant photos that we will find elsewhere in the album is appreciable and successful. Emphasis for the return of Romelu Lukaku and also for the newfound attacking duo with Lautaro Martinez, one of the main architects of the 2021 championship. Victories that in part continued the following year with the victory of the Italian Cup and Italian Super Cup, celebrated with one page each.
The most abundant part of the album is, as always, dedicated to the presentation of all the players of the first team, in addition to coach Simone Inzaghi. The choice in this part of giving the same space and the same number of stickers (5) to all 26 different players, whether they are established champions such as Handanovic and Barella or hopefuls of international football such as Asllani or Valentin Carboni, is always appreciable.
The stickers reproduce the player bust or in action, single and double. The autograph, in the past as a stick-on sticker, is now printed on the album. Better. We have opened several packets without finding special stickers, we are not sure but they may not be present. For this type of album it’s not a duty, maybe renewing yourself a little yes.
The album ends with the Primavera and Women’s, a look at the fans and at the Curva Nord Milano, an appreciable page dedicated to Inter Campus. For many years, the club has been at the forefront of solidarity and support initiatives for children and young people from many parts of the world.
Compared to the Juventus album, the Inter album is certainly more dynamic. However, it shares the same problem, the total lack of references to the historical glory of the club born in 1908. These types of albums are designed for diehard fans but we also believe for children, bringing them closer to the world of stickers, perhaps waiting to try to deal with the much more demanding, also in terms of costs, Calciatori Panini. Let the kids know who not only Javier Zanetti or Ronaldo the Phenomenon were, but also Giacinto Facchetti, Walter Zenga, Sandro Mazzola, Giuseppe Meazza, etc. it is to keep the collective memory alive and strong. Football was not born yesterday and has a beautiful history.
In addition to the 216 stickers, we also find 30 cards this year. Nothing particularly significant, although of good quality. Also considering the unchanged cost of the packet, where you can find 4 stickers and 1 card or 5 stickers, we can accept this solution without problems.
In our opinion, this album has great uncultivated potential, where one could really indulge oneself even with different formats of the stickers, etc. However, if this leads to an increase in costs, then it is better to stick with the current proposal, which certainly pleases the most convinced Inter fans.
(EN)