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Bruno Bolchi as coach in 2005
Photo:
Giuseppe Pipita / IMAGO / LaPresse
Bruno Bolchi, the first footballer to be immortalized in a Panini picture, is dead. The former Inter Milan captain died on Tuesday evening at the age of 82 in a hospital in Florence.
Bolchi was considered the "Adam of stickers", as the "Gazzetta dello Sport" called him.
The sticker with his face from 1961 is one of the most coveted by collectors.
According to contemporary witnesses, it became "number one" when the Panini brothers Giuseppe and Franco presented their business idea to printers using a black-and-white photo of Bolchi as a template.
In 1961, Panini published the first football scrapbook with stickers entitled »Grande Raccolta Figurine Calciatori«, which included players from the Italian Serie A. In addition to Bolchi, they included Giovanni Trapattoni, who later became Bayern coach.
Bolchi made his debut for Inter at the age of 18.
Later he was captain and then played for Verona, Atalanta and FC Torino.
The midfielder was known for his robust style of play.
In 1963 he won the championship with Inter and the European Cup in 1964.
Born in Milan, he played four times in the Italian national team.
After his career, Bolchi became a coach and managed numerous teams.
He was not a friend of player changes, as he once revealed to the "Corriere dello Sport": "If one is injured at eleven against eleven, there are only 10. You started the game because you knew that you could do it by the end, and because you knew how to balance your energy."
The Panini Group, an Italian company based in Modena, is known worldwide for its trading cards and World Cup sticker albums, which have been published for every tournament since 1970.
The portraits of the stars are also very popular in the run-up to the World Cup in Qatar.
Panini wants to go out of business for the EM 2024.
kjo/sid
