The Panini Story

MEXICO 70

Pelé and Brazil lit up the first World Cup to be broadcast in glorious technicolour, while Panini brought their own brand of publishing magic to the table.

After nearly a decade of making a name for themselves in their native Italy with the domestic football Calciatori albums, Panini now started thinking bigger. After all, if they could win the affection of football fans in Italy, why not also look further afield to other countries? They figured the best way to do this was through the biggest football event on the planet, the FIFA World Cup.

Mexico 70 can be viewed as a soft launch because while the Italian album was heavily marketed and distributed, the International version (mostly available in West Germany, France and Spain, pictured on page 14) and the UK edition were much scarcer.

Adhesive football stickers (with peel-off backing paper) were still in their infancy so Mexico 70 was mostly made up of cards, with only a selection of stickers for first-page tournament logos and branding (including mascot Juanito, the little boy dressed in a sombrero and Mexico kit); official posters for previous World Cups; and national flags and football association emblems for each team in the finals. Players’ pictures – 11 to 14 per team – and team group shots were all printed on card.

The Italian edition of Mexico 70 has strong Panini branding – ‘the knight’ is seen wielding his trusty lance on the front cover – while the increasingly prominent bicycle-kicking exponent takes aim at a supersized football.

There were no Panini markings on the International or UK covers. Instead there was a map of Mexico with the host cities pinpointed, and a football imprinted with iconography from the Mexican flag. On the

MEXICO 70 ALBUM FACTS

PAGES: 48 ALBUM PRICE: 2 SHILLINGS NUMBER OF STICKERS/CARDS: 288 PACKET COST: 2d FOR THREE STICKERS/CARDS

back was a pre-printed series of stamps issued for previous World Cups.

As attractive as the album and sticker packets might have looked to would-be collectors in the UK, few ever got to see them as distribution was limited.

The Mexico World Cup saw reigning world champions England drawn to play 1958 and 1962 winners Brazil in Group 3, with their clash in Guadalajara likely to decide which team topped the group. Despite one of the greatest saves of all time by Gordon Banks – seen with a wispy moustache and yellow jersey in Mexico 70 – to deny Pelé and that tackle by Bobby Moore, Jairzinho scored the only goal around the hour mark.

That meant Brazil earned the right to face Peru in the quarter-final while England had a re-run of the 1966 final against West Germany.

Peru had finished runners-up in Group 4 thanks to victories in their first two games. Teófilo Cubillas, a red sash running across his otherwise all-white shirt in Mexico 70, scored the winner in a 3–2 victory over Bulgaria (having been 2–0 down), then hit two more in the 3–0 defeat of Morocco. West Germany looked in ominous form with star striker Gerd Müller contributing six goals in the group phase, including a hattrick against Peru.

Hosts Mexico played out a goalless draw with the Soviet Union in the opening match of the tournament before each won their remaining two games to reach the last eight. Anatoliy Byshovets (or Anatole Bichevetz in Mexico 70) scored twice in Soviet wins over Belgium and El Salvador.

Group 2 was short on incident as Italy finished top while Uruguay edged out Sweden for second place by a single goal. Having only scored once in their first three matches, Italy’s form in front of goal improved markedly in the knockout rounds, starting with a 4–1 win over Mexico, despite going a goal behind. Luigi Riva scored twice.

Brazil’s 4–2 quarter-final win over Peru was equally exciting with two goals for Tostão and Jairzinho keeping up his record of scoring in every game. Víctor Espárrago’s late extra-time goal for Uruguay against Soviet Union set up an all-South American semi-final.

Italy would meet the winners of the England v West Germany quarter-final and it seemed the holders were well on their way thanks to goals from Alan Mullery and Martin Peters. Franz Beckenbauer pulled a goal back and then German skipper Uwe Seeler took the game into extra-time. Müller then scored the winner in the 108th minute.

West Germany suffered their own high-scoring agony in the semi-final in one of the alltime great World Cup matches. Roberto Boninsegna’s early goal gave Italy an advantage they only relinquished in the 90th minute, when Karl-Heinz Schnellinger levelled. Müller added two goals in extra-time but Italy scored three of their own, Gianni Rivera hitting the winner nine minutes from the end.

Brazil also had to come from behind to defeat Uruguay 3–1 after Luis Cubilla had given the favourites an early scare.

Hopes were high for the final and it lived up to expectations as Pelé and Boninsegna – a highprofile absentee from Mexico 70 – traded goals in the first half. Brazil then turned on the style in the second-half, Gérson putting them ahead, Jairzinho completing his run of scoring in every game and then Carlos Alberto emphasising their superiority by charging through from right-back to smash home a perfectly weighted pass from Pelé.

It was a fitting way to end not only the maiden colour World Cup broadcast, but the first to be augmented by Panini – a tradition that continues to this day.

1970 WORLD CUP

Winners:

BRAZIL

Runners-up:

ITALY

Third:

WEST GERMANY

Fourth:

URUGUAY

Golden Boot:

GERD MÜLLER (10)