Only Good Stickers: Panini Euro 2020

giovedì 18 novembre 2021

Panini Euro 2020 - Pearl Edition

Euro 2020 was postponed to the summer 2021 but it kept its original name and the same was for the official sticker collection released by Panini. There are three versions of the album and stickers, depending on the country of release: the Blue version (654 stickers + updates), the Orange version (678 stickers + updates) and the Pearl Edition that we present here.

The Pearl Edition was released only in Switzerland and it is of higher quality than the others, continuing the tradition of the recent Euro and World Cup albums, when for example the Gold Edition 2018 or the Silver edition 2014 were produced only for Switzerland. The Pearl edition includes a base set of 678 stickers, with other 15 stickers released by Coca-Cola that find space in the album. Compared to the Blue and Orange edition there is not a general update set with new players for all the teams. Instead, the special set "Making History" dedicated to the Swiss team was released. It includes 24 stickers with new players, the coach Petkovic, and actions of the games played by Switzerland during the tournament, where they reached the quarterfinals.

The Pearl edition album was released also in the hardcover version with a collector box including the hardcover album and 100 packets. The introductory pages of the album include six metallic stickers: the logo, the mascot, the trophy (two stickers), the poster "Sign for an equal game", and the Panini symbol. The 24 competing teams are shown divided in the six groups from A to F. The first two pages introduce the four teams in the group with four celebratory stickers. Then for each team there are the team badge sticker and 20 player stickers over two pages. As for the Euro 2016 album, there are also the stickers of players in action, with two teams per page and 12 players per team (two players on each sticker). At the end of the album, after all the teams, there is the two-page section Rivals United, including 15 stickers. These stickers cannot be found in regular packets, but with Coca-Cola product. There are in total 14 players and one shiny stickers called "Impossible stickers". However, also the Coca-cola stickers could be ordered at Panini International for a regular price.

Euro 2020 was played in several European country, with the final games (semifinals and final) host by Wembley, in England. After a thrilling final, Italy defeated England at penalties and won the Euro 2020.