The familiar exchange of “Got it” and “Need it” has returned to Italian football’s calendar, with Panini presenting its new Serie A sticker album in Lissone. The collection remains rooted in the ritual that has linked supporters across generations, but this edition is designed to follow the season as it unfolds, with additions for standout performers and players arriving in the winter window.
The coach and the club
Francesco Totti, now a Serie A ambassador, used the launch to look back on his own beginnings with the stickers. The former Roma captain recalled buying packs every day after starting out at Fortitudo, near his home in San Giovanni. He also joked that there had been one team whose stickers he used to place upside down.
Asked who would deserve Roma’s leading-player sticker at present, Totti did not select an individual. In his view, the side have been performing well as a collective. If he had to single out one figure, however, he named Gian Piero Gasperini.
Totti said the coach is building a close, united group with the desire to prove it can win. Roma, he argued, can remain in the Scudetto race, even if Inter possess an extra level. The Giallorossi, he added, are capable of making life difficult for the Nerazzurri.
The event also brought together Serie A president Ezio Simonelli, league chief executive Luigi De Siervo, Panini chief executive Ivam Faria, Panini’s Italian collectibles and distribution director Martina Limoni, Italian Players’ Association president Umberto Calcagno, coaches’ association president Renzo Ulivieri and transfer-market specialist Fabrizio Romano.
A collection that moves with the season
Beyond the traditional album, Panini will issue special “figu” items tied to the championship’s development. These will include Players of the Match and, after the winter transfer period, new signings.
The album will also contain dedicated sections for fantasy football and match award winners. Ulivieri noted the importance coaches attach to the Coach of the Month prize, a recognition paired in spirit with the player award handed out after each game.
An update section is scheduled after the winter market, with the related stickers due to be available from April 2027. A Calciatori Celebration collection, planned for June 2027, will revisit the principal moments of the campaign.
Tradition and a changing Serie A
Simonelli described Panini’s connection with Italian football as a 66-year tradition. He said he keeps every collection from 1961-62 onwards in his office, and welcomed a partnership he considers a source of pride for Serie A.
He particularly highlighted the album’s page for younger players, pointing to the number of emerging talents in the league and their progress with the national team.
The league president also presented the new collection against the backdrop of a livelier domestic competition. Serie A matches are now averaging five additional minutes of play, he said, while only one of the first 60 fixtures finished 0-0. He maintained that the public abroad has responded positively to those figures.
Simonelli added that the league’s players are covering more ground and doing so at greater speed. For him, the rising pace of matches can strengthen Serie A’s standing in international markets and, in time, offer Italian clubs a better platform for European competition.
