Del Piero Gets Euros Call Up In Sticker Form

By: chris | April 9th, 2008

The Italian company Panini puts out stickers books or albums for the children when the big tournaments come rolling around. Each team participating gets its own album, and each player has a sticker representing them, which can then be placed in the book. Since the book comes out two months ahead of time, they have to make a somewhat educated guess. Usually, at least in the case of Italia, it’s not all that difficult. Picking 20 out of a 23 man squad this close to the tournament is often self-explanatory. Just not this year, as the grand question has remained: To Del Piero or not to Del Piero? Well dammit, they called him up. ADP’s on the roster.

This is funnier in the sense that the question to call or not to call Del Piero has become such a big deal in the boot this season rather than funny in that he simply was called up. Alex hasn’t helped matters by announcing he’ll only play striker (he may have retracted this, but it started the downfall) despite failing to realize he isn’t exactly the ideal candidate for the prima punta in Donadoni’s favored 4-2-3-1 system. But regardless, a certain faction can’t understand why the hell he wouldn’t be called up, while others wonder why the hell he would. A somewhat polarizing issue – why? Who the hell knows. It’s not like he’d provide anything more than spot duty anyway.

Roberto Donadoni has not been a huge fan of his lately, as ADP has been in and out of the squad and devoid of a call up the last two times around. With a mere two months until the tournament and one friendly remaining, it seems pretty logical to assume he very well may be sitting on the couch, rather than the bench, come June 7th. Making life more difficult has been the fact that he is not a vice-Luca Toni and never will be, something Marco Borriello, his supposed replacement, is (and wildly productive to boot). The good money is that his Azzurri career in its last stages, if not already done completely.

Just don’t tell the good people at Panini, who put him on their roster and now hope Donadoni will call him up for the euros. Well not just hoping, perhaps anticipating:

“As always, we are obliged to anticipate managers’ selections,” said the company, “We base our decision on objective factors, such as the number of appearances a player has made, or their club performances.”

Who knows, maybe Panini has called this one correctly. If not, maybe knowing that the good people at Panini want, even anticipate, him in the squad will soften the blow if Donadoni deems him unworthy of another call up. So while the team is seeking glory in Swissaustria, he can sit at home and place little stickers of himself on the pages through his tears.