EDICOLA NEWS: THE REVIEWS nr. 308
album: Azzurri 2023 (Panini)
stickers: 228 (1-228)
starter pack: album + 5 packets 4,90€
box: 36 packets (5 stciers per packet) 1,00€ each
eco blister: 5 packets 5,00€
News from Panini, one would almost think of an end-of-season album but in reality it looks ahead, to a 2024 that will be poor for the Modena house given that after 44 years it will no longer be the publisher of the album of stickers on European soccer championships. Men’s Euro2024 will in fact be branded Topps.
There is a fundamental fact that we appreciate a lot about this collection, the men’s national team and the women’s national team have the same spaces within the album. From a graphic point of view, perhaps it would have been more captivating to have first one and then the other but from the point of view of the message we are here, the players and the players considered in the same exact way, as it will always be more normal.
It is undeniable that women’s football, after so many years of darkness, with the birth of professional club teams has been able to get back on top, thanks also to the results of our national team. Who knows that one day I can’t even bring back a star for the Azzurre shirt, difficult but nothing is impossible.
The album presents 38 footballers in great prominence, dedicating a page to each of them. Here too there is alternation, there is not always the champion first and then the champion or vice versa, small but important details. In reality there are many more male and female players, the solution of the rookie sticker is nice, where not only potential new champions are presented, but also those who have recently started wearing the blue shirt and successfully, as in the case of Mateo Retegui.
The format is the one proposed every year by Europublishing for club albums (Inter, Juve, Milan and Rome). The captions are linked to memories, records and curiosities. Appropriate choice, in order not to make a mere repetition of what we already find in the other albums already released. The color of the spaces is nice, reminiscent of the colors of our flag.
The stickers are honestly a little repetitive, they portray footballers in the classic bust photo or in action. More could have been daring, for example by making shaped figurines. Among the most interesting are those that have the tricolor in the background, the departure from the cards is also appreciable, with the photos in action that have the real background, be it the training field or the stadium. You could also leave it visible and not blurry, but that’s something.
For thematic collectors, pay attention to the final pages, where stickers from previous competitions of great champions such as Roberto Baggio, Buffon, Cannavaro, Riva, Maldini, Paolo Rossi and the coach of the first World Cup Italy Vittorio Pozzo are re-proposed.
A non-essential collection but for enthusiasts and always looking for new stickers to attach, it can be a pleasant pastime.
(EN)