Panini 1st Division 1997

"1st Division 1997" is the third consecutive Panini album of the Football League, after the 1995 and 1996 editions. Compared to the previous albums, 1st Division 1997 focuses mainly on the First Division (as it can be deduced from the title), with a marginal part for the Second and Third Division (only the teams stickers are included). The album begins with an introductory page about the Football League 1997 and then it shows the clubs of First Division in alphabetical order. Each club has 13 player stickers and a metallic club badge sticker. Team and stadium photos are printed on the album, together with the careers of each player.

In the center of the album there are six pages with the clubs of Second and Third Division. For them, only the team sticker is inlcuded.

Back cover of the album

Bolton Wanderers won the First Division with a final score of 98 points and the top goalscorer of the league, John McGinlay (24 goals). Also Barnsley and Crystal Palace were promoted to the Premiership at the end of the season. Manchester City took part in the First Division 1996/1997 after being relegated from the Premiership, but they got a disappointing 14th place with 61 points.

The league top scorer (McGinlay, 24 goals) and Paatelainen, the first Finn to play in the Premier League

Steve Bull, who scored 23 goals in the league (2nd place), and the Italian Ivano Bonetti, who played for many clubs in Italy, including Juventus

The club badge stickers of Bolton (1st place in the league) and Barnsley (2nd place)

International players of the First Division: the Bulgarian goalkeeper Mihailov (102 caps with the National team) and the Georgian Kinkladze (106 games and 20 goals in his years with Manchester City)

Album details:

Full name: 1st Division 1997

Publisher: Panini

League: Football League (Division One, Two, and Three)

Season: 1996/1997

Number of clubs and stickers:

• Division One: 24 clubs, 14 stickers
• Division Two: 24 clubs, 1 sticker
• Division Three: 24 clubs, 1 sticker

Other sections: No

Checklist: click here

Total number of stickers: 384