Shinies, Foils and Glimmers

suffered a seizure just a few hours before the game. The Inter Milan striker was initially left out of the starting line-up, only to be reinstated shortly before kick-off. An out-of-sorts Brazilian side were put to the sword by France’s own talisman – Zidane – who scored with two first-half headers. The second-half became a procession and the coup de grace was supplied by substitute Patrick Vieira, who set up Arsenal team-mate Emmanuel Petit for number three.

1998 WORLD CUP

Winners:

FRANCE

Runners-up:

BRAZIL

Third:

CROATIA

Fourth:

NETHERLANDS

Golden Boot:

DAVOR ŠUKER (6)

PANINI LEGENDS

Where there’s stickers there’s gold – the collectability of Panini’s brilliant output has changed dramatically in recent times.

For many football fans – young and old – the word ‘legend’ is frequently bandied about for the likes of Pelé, Diego Maradona, Bobby Moore, George Best, Zinedine Zidane, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and a handful of others.

But in Panini’s own list of royalty there are three players whose place in the company’s esteemed history remains assured. Nils Liedholm, the Sweden captain in 1958 when they reached the World Cup Final and AC Milan star throughout their golden 1950s era, was the cover star of the first Panini Calciatori album, for the 1961–62 season. Inter Milan midfielder Bruno Bolchi – who was the team’s captain and had just broken into the national side – was the first card (they were cards rather than stickers in the early days) to be printed for that debut Panini collection.

But most famous of the trio in football sticker terms is Carlo Parola, whose signature bicycle kick move inspired Panini for the cover of the 1965–66 Calciatori album. From that point onwards the illustrated image – known fondly as ‘La Rovesciata di Panini’ – has been used in one form or other in numerous albums and packet designs, including from Football 78 to Football 88 in the UK.

While stickers for some of the game’s more celebrated players have always been a little more sought after, nothing prepared the Panini community for a gamechanging year in 2020. While a global pandemic was wreaking havoc, the extra time spent indoors meant lots of people started sifting through their own possessions. A lot of football stickers and sports trading cards were unearthed in various lofts and attics, kickstarting an urge