EDICOLA NEWS: THE REVIEWS nr. 327
album: Calciatori Anteprima 2023/24 (Panini)
stickers: 350 (1-350)
starter pack: album + 5 packets 4,90€
box: 24 packets (6 stickers per packet) 1,00€ each
The evolution of the Calciatori Anteprima albums has been exemplary in these three years, both in the format (from pocket to large) and in the financial commitment to complete it. It’s appreciable that Panini tries to make some attempts, then they realize that there is a safe formula so why not take advantage of it.
From the point of view of us collectors we can turn our noses up at so many releases in the short term, especially for those who follow both stickers and cards, from the publisher’s point of view the reasoning, ultimately, is simple: the brand Calciatori has significant costs, why limit yourself to just one album a year? Anyway, first of all the writer, in the end that Calciatori logo on the cover is clever, no one forces you to purchase but in the end many do it mainly for this reason. This is clearly the case and Panini knows it well, or this would be the review of the “Super Calcio” of the 1920s.
The album has certainly improved compared to the first year, rather embarrassing, than the second year, graphics were not excellent. It is clearly a shortened version of what we will see on newsstands, in, it is important to underline, less than two months. Certainly the details are different and this makes it actually collectible.
11 stickers for each Serie A club, 9 players in action, one of which is a double sticker, the coach and the shirt. Looking to the future it could be a preview of what we may or may not have in December’s Footballers. So will the coach’s figurine be missing? Hard to believe but not impossible.
The most interesting aspect, certainly the most evident novelty, is the presence of Serie B and C. For the cadet series, the shirt sticker and the three most representative players. This aspect is not insignificant considering that it is foreseeable that in the main album there will be 3 or 4 players per card, here the athletes are presented individually. In the Footballers’ section, Serie C will probably present the classic championships, here we have the shirts. Well, if in the main album there will only be the championships, at this point why not find the team stickers here like in the good old days?!
For an album destined to remain the protagonist on newsstands for such a short time, it remains a demanding collection, 350 stickers in total are not few, the choice of boxes containing just 24 packets is extremely questionable, a sign that Panini itself perhaps doesn’t believe in the product until the end. Sachet that reaches the round sum of 1 euro, six stickers inside but let’s hope it’s not the sad omen of what we’ll see in December when the most loved album of all arrives.
Collection only for a few? Yes and no, it is definitely not intended as such, but perhaps the result will be just that. For those who don’t have patience to wait until December, here is the solution. We would have done it much further graphically and in content from what is to come, think for example of the club pages in splash page format with the players to be inserted with round or shaped stickers.
Being a constantly changing project, who knows what we will see in 2025..
(EN)