a nostalgic journey
panini football stickers
F
or Birmingham fans of a certain vintage, a doublepage spread in a Panini sticker album was a given as part of their season cheering on Blues.
All of the quartet also popped up in a blue shirt in ‘Football 79’ but the last named moved to Nottingham Forest soon after Shoot! had given away the album plus free packets of stickers to get collectors off and running.
The Italian collectables business made their mainstream entry into the UK during the late 1970s, at which stage City was an established member of the top-flight.
While Francis went on to score the winner in that season’s European Cup Final, it was a less auspicious end to the season for Birmingham, who dropped into Division Two. Blues returned to Division One at the first attempt, however, starting another four-year tenure as a two-page Panini sticker album component. Archie Gemmill, Frank Worthington, Colin Todd and Mick Harford were among the biggest names to crop up in a Blues shirt during this time.
Panini’s first album covering the British domestic game featured an unlikely presence in the Birmingham manager’s position – Alf Ramsey. The former England boss may have only been in the hotseat for a few months but it coincided with the January 1978 release of ‘Football 78’. Among the playing squad were several who enjoyed far longer careers at St Andrews such as Gary Pendrey, Joe Gallagher, Malcolm Page and Trevor Francis.
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An anomaly occurred in ‘Football 84’ when midfielder Martin Kuhl was purported to have made his first appearance on a Panini sticker – except the image was actually of fellow youngster Wayne Mumford.
Following relegation that season and another swift – albeit fleeting - return to Division One, Kuhl finally got his rightful sticker in ‘Football 86’. Also taking his Panini bow in that album was goalkeeper David Seaman, in what would turn out to be his only outing in a Birmingham shirt but by no means his last in sticker form. If Blues need a further incentive to get back to the promised land, the acquisition of the Premier League collectables licence by Panini from the 2019-20 season means it could be just like old times for long-standing fans and a new experience of ‘got got need’ for younger followers. Greg Lansdowne is the author of ‘Panini Football Stickers – The Official Celebration’, published by Bloomsbury and now available to purchase online and in major bookstores.
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