3 weeks ago
With this summer’s World Cup already mired successful contention complete politicisation, imaginable travel bans and rows complete ticket prices, fans were dealt different portion of sad news this week: nan tournament’s much-loved Panini sticker medium will beryllium discontinued aft 2030.
Guardian writers callback their Panini memories from years gone by.
‘I feared sticking it successful nan medium would bring bad luck’
Lorenzo Tondo
International correspondent
The past clip nan World Cup was held successful nan US it was nan sunny summertime of 1994 and nan tourney sparkled pinch stars of nan world game: nan Bulgarian Hristo Stoichkov, nan Brazilians Romário and Bebeto, nan “Maradona of nan Carpathians” Gheorghe Hagi, and moreover nan existent Diego Maradona – albeit astatine nan extremity of his career.
But nan astir desired, astir sought-after, astir prestigious Panini sticker – nan 1 that collectors considered worthy its weight successful golden – was that of Italy’s champion player, possibly nan astir iconic successful nan country’s history: nan Divine Ponytail, Roberto Baggio, who nan erstwhile twelvemonth had won nan Ballon d’Or.
As a instrumentality of Juventus, wherever Baggio played successful those years, I had a lifesize poster of him hanging connected my chamber door. I recovered his sticker soon earlier nan World Cup began, connected 17 June. My medium was incomplete, pinch dozens of duplicates, and ne'er did get finished. But who cared: I had Baggio! And his sticker was worthy nan value of nan full album, virtually – coming it costs astir €30 connected eBay.
At that time, successful my mini location municipality successful Sicily, stickers were exchanged among friends aliases played for successful games. One of nan astir celebrated games progressive placing a mini heap of stickers connected nan level and then, pinch a crisp slap of nan manus adjacent to nan pile, trying to “win” each nan stickers that were flipped over. Obviously cipher would person risked utilizing nan Baggio sticker for that game; losing it would person been a catastrophe.
For rather a while I carried his sticker successful my pouch for illustration a trophy. Partly because of nan taste superstition among america Sicilians, I feared that sticking it into nan medium would bring bad luck to Italy. In nan extremity I convinced myself to paste it in. And I paid nan price: Baggio missed nan punishment successful nan last that Italy mislaid against Brazil, and for years I shared nan consciousness of guilt for that conclusion pinch him.
Transport correspondent
When I yet cleared retired my puerility home, excessively agelong aft bereavement, immoderate things were achy to fto go, others hardly merited a 2nd glance. But nan Panini sticker books stored successful nan loft were easy; they came pinch me.
Those musty albums now inhabit a integrative crate connected nan level of our bedroom, overmuch to nan annoyance of my partner. I constituent retired nan hundreds of pounds we could waste them for connected eBay. (That won’t happen.)
Among them is nan World Cup medium Mexico 86, replete pinch nan good, nan bad and nan disfigured – a cherubic Gary Lineker, Maradona fresh to do nan “Hand of God”, and a charmless dispersed of Mexico’s quiet stadiums. Painstakingly completed, but not my prize Panini possession: that’s nan Football 83 Arthur Albiston sticker pinch Kevin Moran’s face, a mind-blowing find astatine superior school.
Forty years on, flicking done nan 1986 medium brings location really globalised shot has since become. Overseas players were still a comparative novelty and galore stickers really were caller faces: Poland’s players still chiefly looked to maine for illustration Lech Wałęsa, while African and Asian teams were doubled up, 2 players to a sticker. And an ageing, bearded but receding Canadian defender I ne'er noticed backmost past now seems to leap retired astatine me. How did he still negociate it?
Sketch writer and columnist
As pinch truthful galore things, I had nary thought what I was getting myself into. It was nan summertime of 1970 and I was shot obsessed. I imagined England would triumph nan World Cup conscionable arsenic it had 4 years earlier erstwhile I had watched nan last astatine location connected our achromatic and achromatic TV while Dad took my sisters retired for nan afternoon. Only this clip I was going to beryllium amended prepared. So erstwhile I saw a Mexico 70 sticker book successful nan newsagent, I had nary thought it was nan first of its kind. I simply nagged Mum to get it for me. And she gave in. Partly to extremity maine annoying her and partially because it only costs 2/- (that’s 10p to those who person only known a post-decimal world). Little did she realise that was only nan beginning; soon I was pestering her to bargain maine packs of stickers. I opportunity stickers, but almost each were really cards that needed to beryllium glued in. The stickers were conscionable nan flags and specials.
I still person nan album, having yet managed to complete it astir 12 years agone erstwhile nan past paper I needed appeared connected eBay. It’s now a portion of shot history. Not conscionable because astir of nan players person agelong since died, but because it speaks to different property – erstwhile shot was little commercialised and location were only 16 teams successful nan final. For a start, location was nary Fifa branding connected nan cover; it’s imaginable Panini ne'er moreover needed to bargain nan rights.
Nor do I ideate that immoderate of nan players sewage immoderate money for nan usage of their images. Not that each nan players were featured. The bigger teams sewage 14 subordinate cards and a squad photo. The Brazil squad is simply a roll-call of honour: Pelé, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto, Tostāo, Gérson, Edu, Rivelino … I could spell on. Lesser teams, specified arsenic Czechoslovakia, had to make do pinch conscionable 11 players and a squad photo. The Mexico 70 Panini medium virtually wrote immoderate footballers retired of history, remembered only by their families and a fistful of fans.
‘People were gathering strangers successful pubs to speech mini images’
Tim Jonze
Associate civilization editor
We person a inclination to deliberation that everything was amended erstwhile we were kids. But arsenic a child, collecting Panini could beryllium a frustrating experience, 1 heavy reliant connected really successful you were astatine badgering your parents for much money to bargain yet different packet of stickers that you inevitably already owned. Let’s not dress we don’t each retrieve nan twerp successful nan playground charging a premium for nan shiny Österreich crest everyone needed, contempt nan truth he had someway amassed 7 of them.
No, nan highest of my Panini emotion came not arsenic a kid, but successful 2014, erstwhile I decided to springiness sticker collecting a spell arsenic an adult. Friends gradually sewage connected board, arsenic did colleagues: group who had initially shown nary liking successful nan full point were gathering strangers successful pubs and car parks to speech mini images of nan correct backmost from Colombia.
One time I persuaded nan writer Hadley Freeman to commencement collecting, and she became instantly hooked. When we some recovered ourselves retired successful São Paulo covering events astir nan tournament, she returned nan favour successful style: she had blagged an invitation to nan Panini mill itself connected nan outskirts of nan metropolis and did I want to tag along? Umm, yes!
What a thrill it was to spot nan stickers being produced. And not successful immoderate hi-tech manner but connected noisy machines fed by existent people. In this amazingly mini building, women (it was chiefly women) still trim nan sheets of stickers by hand, sorted them into packets and looked aft sending retired spares.
Yes, sending retired spares! Because 1 point I learned from Mr Panini (José Eduardo Severo Martins, nan past main executive of Panini Brasil) was that nan institution had ever tally a strategy successful which, were you still missing a sticker aliases 3 astatine nan extremity of a campaign, you could simply nonstop disconnected for them instead. My mind flashed backmost to nan almost-finished albums of my puerility … each that heartache and I could person simply ordered nan Österreich crest successful nan post!
‘The crest stuck retired among nan mullets’
Dan Milmo
Global exertion editor
It was my achromatic whale, my aureate ticket. In nan world of shot stickers, anyway. In my childhood, nan rarest prize among nan panoply of outcomes offered by a Panini packet was nan nine crest, printed connected nan benignant of partially metallic insubstantial that wouldn’t beryllium wasted connected nan second-choice near back. And if you sewage nan badge of your existent squad then, well, you had genuinely gained introduction to Wonka’s factory.
So that was broadly really I felt 1 time successful nan mid-80s erstwhile I tore unfastened a pouch connected Ilford High Road and a West Ham crest stuck retired among nan (then perfectly acceptable) mullets. It went consecutive into nan West Ham conception – which was, typically, sparsely populated.
I was ne'er a completist, for financial and willpower reasons. But it felt for illustration nan benignant of section derby triumph that made your play worthwhile, immoderate nan result of nan remainder of it. I ne'er encountered different West Ham Panini crest, but by that shape I already knew that affectional highs and my favourite shot squad would not beryllium successful lockstep often.
